The Land of Painted Caves and Overall Series Reviews

     Okay, so I’ll be honest with you guys. Normally, I am super upset when a series ends, and I have to take a few days to grieve the end of the story. Even if it had a happy ending, I’ll never get to read a story with those characters again (at least not an authentic one written by the actual author).

     I enjoyed the characters of Ayla and Jondalar, and their love for each other was very inspiring. Once I had finished this final book, though, I was so excited!!! It felt like a huge accomplishment to finish this series, and I couldn’t believe I had finally made it through! Maybe it’s just been awhile since I’ve read a complete series straight through, but this one felt pretty overwhelming.

     However, it was still an incredibly written series. I knew I’d be itching to start on a book with new characters, but I felt that this book deserved a few days of closure as well. So, I told myself that I couldn’t start another book until I’d put up a review for each book in this series.

     Now, here I am, at the final review. It’s been a long journey, friends, but we’ve finally made it. Without further ado, here is my review and rating for The Land of Painted Caves and the series as a whole.

Rating:

  

  

     Growing up with the Clan, being cursed with death and banished from the only family she could remember, struggling to survive in the wilderness with only a horse and a cave lion to keep her company, saving a man’s life and traveling on an epic journey with him back to his homeland, meeting and befriending various tribes along the way (some friendlier than others), and finally making it to her future mate’s home to start a family of her own.

     These and many other events are all things that Ayla has gone through to become the person who we see in the sixth and final installment of Earth’s Children: The Land of Painted Caves. During each leg of her journey, we’ve been side-by-side with Ayla as she’s learned about acceptance, survival, love, perseverance, and family.

     Her lessons aren’t over just yet, though. This last book is all about Ayla’s final tests as an acolyte before she can become a full-fledged Zelandoni. On top of her training, she still has to find time to balance her equally-important role as a mother and wife. We’ve seen Ayla go up against giant prehistoric animals, dangerous elements of nature, and even harmful people of her own kind, but how will she do when facing the ordinary difficulties of everyday life?

     Whether or not you’re married with kids and trying to work a job at the same time, I think this book shows a side of Ayla that we can all relate to. We’ve all struggled to balance our obligatory work or school load with our social lives at some point or another. It’s a constant juggling act, no matter what role you play in life. 

     It’s actually kind of a relief to see in this book that we’re not alone in these struggles. Everybody goes through them, but as Ayla and Jondalar show us, if the people in your life are really important to you, you won’t let anything stop you from sticking together.

     I ended up giving this one three Star Lords, because I thought it wrapped the series up pretty well, but some of the problems with Jondalar and Ayla felt a little too similar to their struggles in The Mammoth Hunters. Once again, I found myself frustrated at how stupid they were both being, but I totally wanted to give Danug a huge high five after the talk he gave them at the end.

Overall Series Rating:

   

     Even though the average amount of Star Lords makes it seem like the series should be rated as a three, I decided to rate the overall series as a four. Jean M. Auel writes her books in a unique and impressively in-depth style that allows the reader to experience the prehistoric era in the most realistic way possible. I walked away from the series feeling like I really had gone on a journey back to the Ice Age.

     One of my favorite things about the series is how Auel fit in moments of innovation that perfectly explained how certain everyday creations could have come about. It feels like you’re watching life-changing history in the making when Ayla comes up with the idea for the “thread-puller” and Jondalar for the “spear-thrower”. Part of me kept waiting for one of them to invent the wheel. Not to mention, her explanation at the end for creating the term “father”. That word has deeper meaning for me after having read this series.

     Even if you are not sure whether you want to read the entire series, I recommend that you at least read the first novel if you get the chance. Auel is a master writer, and she knows how to fully immerse her readers in the story’s setting.

     Well, about seven months later, I’ve finally finished this astounding series. Hooray! If you’ve read through it yourself, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Did you feel as accomplished as I did to make it through?

     Other than that, I think the most appropriate thing I can leave you with is the last line of the Mother’s Song:

“Earth’s Children were Blessed. The Mother could rest.”

The Shelters of Stone Review

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*For those of you who haven’t read The Plains of Passage yet, SPOILER ALERT!

     I feel silly saying spoiler alert for this post because, was there really any doubt that Ayla and Jondalar would make it back to his homeland? True, there were a few moments that probably had us all a little worried (like the S’Armunai War of the Women), but sure enough, our heroes prevailed!

     In The Shelters of Stone, we join Ayla as she finally gets to meet the Zelandonii. In a way, the whole series has really been leading up to this book, more so than the final one. Ever since Ayla came to realize how different she was from the people of the Clan, she’s been searching for people like her and a place to call home.

     She’s been welcomed almost everywhere she’s gone and even adopted into another family, but there was always this temporary feeling at each place. Her heart belonged to Jondalar, and he could never be satisfied living somewhere other than his true home. Now, at long last, Ayla can really sink in her roots and start a family with him.

     This book was a tough one for me to rate because there wasn’t really anything in particular that I disliked about it. At the same time, nothing extraordinary really stood out to me.

     This far into the series, I’ve gotten used to Auel’s phenomenal attention to prehistoric detail, and I know all of the incredible things that Ayla is capable of. Overall, it was a bit less memorable than the other books. So, it has been given the rating of three Star Lords.

     The one thing I loved about this book, though, was that we finally got to meet all of these people that we’d heard so much about: Jondalar’s mother, Marthona; his older brother, Joharran; Willamar, Folara, and all of his other family members; Marona (ugh); and, of course, Zelandoni, not to be confused with Zelandonii, the name of the people as a whole (yeah, that’s totally not confusing).

     Needless to say, none of these people were expecting Jondalar to come back after five years had gone by, and they definitely weren’t expecting him to show up with a beautiful foreign woman, two horses, and a wolf. Read for yourself to see how each of them reacts and welcomes (or doesn’t welcome) Ayla into their home.

     If you’ve already read this book, I’d love to hear what you thought. Were Jondalar’s family members and his Zolena similar to how you thought they’d be?

The Plains of Passage Review

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* For those of you who haven’t read The Mammoth Hunters yet, SPOILER ALERT!

     Oh my goodness, this book was exhausting!

     In The Plains of Passage, Jean M. Auel’s fourth installment in the Earth’s Children series, Ayla and Jondalar go on a year-long journey to travel back to Jondalar’s people, known as the Zelandonii.

     Just like with all of the other books in the series, Auel does not fail to place her readers firmly in the story. I applaud her incredible craftsmanship, but, due to that skill, I too felt like I had gone on a journey of epic proportions. Can you even fathom taking an entire year to get somewhere?

     Allow me to digress for just a moment to put this into perspective. When I was about four years old, I went on a family road trip from Florida to the Grand Canyon. I don’t remember how long it took us to get there with all the stops we made along the way, but, according to MapQuest, it takes about a day-and-a-half one way if you drive continuously. 

(I tried to see how long it would take to walk there since Ayla and Jondalar traveled by foot and horseback, but MapQuest couldn’t even calculate it.)

     By the time I got home from this trip, you’d better believe I marched right into the house, grabbed my plastic Minnie Mouse chair, plopped it in front of the television, and sat my butt down. True story. At such a young age, even I understood that more than one day is too long to have to be on the road.

     Yet Ayla and Jondalar dared to set out into the wilderness for 365 days (give or take) through fields of grass that towered over their heads, bug-infested swamplands that made their skin itch, and many other treacherous landscapes.

     Using one of my favorite suspense tricks, Auel also gave them a pressing time limit in which they had to reach their destination. They had to make it across an icy plateau glacier that lay at the end of their journey before the end of winter. Otherwise, the ice would start to melt and it would be too dangerous to cross. 

     Remember, this was long before the invention of GPS, and there was hardly anyone around that you could stop and ask for directions. One wrong turn and they’d never make it home.

     While I was definitely anxious to see if they would get there in time, this book still felt like it took forever to read. I was probably more excited than Ayla and Jondalar by the time this trip was finally over.

      So, book #4 in this series was given 3 Star-Lords. Excellent attention to detail as usual, but a little too long of a trip for my tastes. I think next time I’ll just stay home in my Minnie Mouse chair and leave it to someone else to go traipsing through the plains of passage.

** I couldn't find a picture of me in my Minnie Mouse chair, so I've left you with the next best thing.

Mini me finds the lack of dinosaurs on this prehistoric trip to be highly disappointing.

The Mammoth Hunters Review

            

Rating:

  

*For those of you who haven’t read The Valley of Horses, SPOILER ALERT!

     I don’t know about you, but I was thrilled when Ayla finally met Jondalar. What are the odds, though, that the first of her kind that she meets is the most handsome man on the planet and he just happens to fall in love with her? If only it were that easy in real life.

     Nevertheless, now that she’s finally found her mate, Ayla travels with Jondalar and they happen to run into the Mamutoi along the way. The Mammoth Hunters is the third installment in the Earth’s Children series, and it focuses on Ayla and Jondalar’s extended stay with them.

     I gave this book three Star Lords because this one started to feel like it dragged a little bit more than the first two. It was exciting to see how Ayla handled meeting a whole group of Others for the first time, but spending a large part of the visit stuck in a cave with everyone in the winter can get kind of boring. You know how it gets when your relatives visit for the holidays. By the end of the season, you’re practically kicking them out the door so you can have a little time to yourself again. Yeah, it was a little like that.

                

     Still, it had its high points as well. In fact, my favorite scene in the entire series (and I’m writing this after having read all of the books in the series) is in this book. It’s all the way at the end, though, so I don’t want to say too much. Let’s just say it has to do with Jondalar asking Ayla a question, and leave it at that.

                

      During their stay with the Mamutoi, Ayla and Jondalar go through a pretty big rough patch in their relationship. Aeul gives us a deeper look into all of the interesting characters that she introduces and there’s a lot of fascinating anecdotes, but the underlying current is how Ayla and Jondalar develop (or don’t) as a couple. It definitely kept me reading to find out how they were going to fix things, but I also wanted to smack both of them upside the head for being so oblivious to each other’s true feelings.

       It’s interesting how silly a problem can appear when we’re given insight into what both people are thinking, but Ayla and Jondalar only have their own perceptions to go off of. They simply can’t see what we and all of the Mamutoi around them know to be true. By the end of the book, we come to the same realization as these two clueless lovebirds: love isn’t always as easy as you think it should be, but it’s always worth fighting for.

The Valley of Horses Review

Rating: 

                         

*For those of you who haven’t read The Clan of the Cave Bears, SPOILER ALERT!

                

     The second book in the Earth’s Children series is The Valley of Horses. At the end of the first book, Ayla finally leaves the Clan behind to find her own people, the Others. This novel follows her treacherous and solitary journey through the wilderness as she searches to meet someone else like herself.

     

     I personally really enjoyed this novel. The first book centers completely on Ayla’s similarities and differences to people of the Clan, and she’s forced to hold back her own unique skills to match their traditions. In this second installment, we get to see just what Ayla is capable of. For the first time, she doesn’t have anyone to tell her that she can’t hunt, take care of wounded animals, or even laugh. It’s exciting to see her explore her own abilities and find new and improved ways of doing things.

            

     I also really like how the format of this story was set up. Instead of just seeing things from Ayla’s perspective and what is going on where she is at, we get to follow two brothers as they go on a journey to places far from their home.  Both stories are told side-by-side, switching between perspectives after every few chapters.

     As a writer, I can’t help but appreciate how well this technique works for building up suspense. From the beginning, it’s obvious that Ayla is going to have a run-in with these brothers, and it makes the reader so curious to see how they will respond to each other. Every chapter I kept wondering, “Is this the chapter where they’re going to meet?”. To be honest, I was starting to get a little impatient because I was so looking forward to that scene. It was totally worth it when I got there though!

     The whole time I was reading this sequel, I kept thinking back to my experience reading Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. It takes place in a completely different setting, but Archer also uses the same suspenseful technique, writing from two different characters’ points of view and bringing them closer and closer to each other before they finally interact with each other. There’s something so satisfying about reading a book like that and finally getting to the scene where two important characters meet.

     Other great aspects of this novel are Auel’s incredible detail and realistic descriptions of prehistoric times. After reading the first book in the series, I would expect nothing less. So, with so much to love, The Valley of Horses definitely gets four Star Lords from me. If you enjoyed The Clan of the Cave Bear, you’ll love this one!

The Clan of the Cave Bear Review

Rating: 

                 


     So, I’ll be honest. I’m going through a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Earth’s Children series. Maybe I’m just not in the habit of reading lengthy series, but seriously (or should I say series-ously?). These books are taking me forever to read. I started the first book in mid-February, and I’ve just recently started reading the fifth one. Granted, each book is over 800 pages, but still. That’s a long time to spend with a cast of characters. However, I did say love/hate relationship, so don’t let this mini rant scare you away from reading it. I did give the first book four Star Lords after all. Read on to find out why!

     As I may or may not have mentioned before, one of my favorite things about reading is that you get to experience imaginary lands and ancient civilizations in such a realistic way that you almost feel like you’re there. Well, The Clan of the Cave Bear goes above and beyond in this regard, which is why I have given it the rating of four Star Lords.

  Set in prehistoric times during the middle of the Ice Age, this novel follows the life of Ayla, a young girl who loses her family to an earthquake and ends up being raised by the Clan, or as we know them, cavemen and cavewomen. Even though she is so different-looking from the people who raise her, Ayla does everything she can to fit in, learning their language and obeying their customs to the best of her abilities. With no memory of her birth parents, Ayla has no choice but to learn to survive among these strange and exotic people, and you get a front-row seat to her thrilling experience.

     If you’re looking for a light and enjoyable read, like junk food for your brain, then this book is not for you. But if your brain is craving a full-course Thanksgiving meal that’ll leave you full and satisfied for at least a week, then look no further. This book is filled to the brim with rich history and vivid descriptions of places that no longer exist. As the sole human among dozens of cave people, Ayla is our relatable guide in this ancient world, and she carries out her role very well. Everyone has felt like an outcast before, but Ayla’s trials take it to an entirely different level. It’s encouraging to see how she handles every situation that arises and grows into a strong young woman. 

     The thing about this book that I’m most stunned by is the incredible amount of realistic detail included. I shudder to think of how much research Jean M. Auel must have had to complete just to write this one book. With her in-depth description of the landscape and her detailed explanations for how to create prehistoric tools, I’m almost convinced that she’s hiding an iPed (see Rule #5) in her garage that she used to travel to the Ice Age. Either that or a caveman in her basement. 

     Her research for this series is so extensive that Auel was given honorary degrees from four different universities as well as the title of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government’s Ministry of Culture. I’m not even sure how much of her book is historical fact and how much is made-up fiction because she blends the pieces together so well. After reading this book though, I’m pretty sure that if I ever got stuck in the woods, I could cook up a mean stew and build all the necessary dishes and eating utensils just from my immediate surroundings. 

     So, do you think you could survive the coldest period in history with a group of cave dwellers? Could you live off of the land before the invention of the grocery store? Would you dare to face a wooly mammoth with nothing but a handmade spear and your fellow hunters? If you think you’ve got what it takes, join Ayla before the dawn of time in a world of epic proportions, where the wild animals are more ferocious and the winter winds more fierce.

My Personal Book Rating Scale

     For the sake of clarity, I’m going to be using a five-star rating scale. But stars are boring, so I’ll be calling it the 5-Star Lord Scale! In addition to being a play on the term ‘5 Stars’, Star Lord’s real last name is Quill, which is also awesome because, back in the good ole’ days, writers used feathery quill pens to write down their masterpieces.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The ratings I give a book are my own personal opinions. Everyone has different tastes, so I encourage you to seek out books that strike your fancy, no matter what they may be rated on here. I’d hate for you to pass over what could’ve been your favorite book because I personally thought it was awful.

    With that said, here’s a breakdown of every rating in my personal scale:

The Star Lord Scale

5 Star Lords: Two weeks later, and I’m still thinking about this book. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, unable to put it down but not wanting it to end. It was a reading experience that I’ll never forget and never get to re-live.

4 Star Lords: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were original elements that made me see things in a new light, and something in particular stuck out to me (writing style, character development, unexpected plot twist, etc.).

3 Star Lords: There were good parts and bad parts. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but it didn't really give a lasting effect. I would probably recommend it if you’ve never read it, but it’s not one I would necessarily pick up again.

2 Star Lords: I barely managed to finish this book. It was drawn out, poorly written, and confusing. Only through sheer determination did I get to the end. 

1 Star Lord: I couldn’t finish it. I put it down and walked away. Not because it goes against some personal morals, but because it was just that terrible. Every time I tried to sit down and keep reading the book, I immediately fell asleep or came close to it. How did this get published? *

* I know this last rating sounds harsh, but let me preface it by saying that I almost NEVER walk away from a book. I can think of only three books that I did not finish, and they were all well written from what I could tell, but I just couldn’t get into them. A book has to be reeeeeeeeaaaaally terrible if I give it this rating.

On the flip side, it will be rare for me to a rate a book as a five either. It has to be a truly magical reading experience for that to happen. Most of my ratings will range between two and four Star Lords.