The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children, #5)

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The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children #5)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 20,194 ratings · 688 reviews

Jean Auel's fifth novel about Ayla, the Cro-Magnon cavewoman raised by Neanderthals, is the biggest comeback bestseller in Amazon.com history. In The Shelters of Stone, Ayla meets the Zelandonii tribe of Jondalar, the Cro-Magnon hunk she rescued from Baby, her pet lion. Ayla is pregnant. How will Jondalar's mom react? Or his bitchy jilted fiancée? Ayla wows her future in-l...more

Paperback, 928 pages

Published July 1st 2003 by Bantam (first published January 1st 2002)

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Apr 10, 2012 Crystal Starr Light rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, so-boring-it-s-boring, so-bad-it-s-good, anachronistic-heroine, read-at-your-own-risk, audiobook, hello-my-name-is-mary-sue, plot-what-plot

A Prehistoric Clip Show

Okay, guys, that was really funny. Switching the novel with this fan fiction? Brilliant joke! You got me. Now, where's the real novel?

...

Uh...THIS is the novel?

Summary: Ayla and Jondalar return to his home. Everyone loves Ayla; Ayla and Jondalar tie the knot; Ayla gives birth to the hellspawn and somehow her name sounds better than Twilight's Renesmee--but only just barely.

Oh, yeah, and EVERY SINGLE STORY FROM THE LAST BOOK IS REPRINTED. So don't bother even READING the pr...more

30 likes · like · see review

Dec 29, 2012 Beth rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-and-probably-trashy-fict, i-want-my-money-back

Total Crap. Enough of "Pleasures" and discriptive scenes of ice age Europe. Some new information and a plot would have been great. The series has gone from one of my favorite books (Clan of the Cave Bear) to something I almost didn't finish. The series started crashing with "Plains of Passage" where Jondalar and Ayla "Pleasured" themselves across the continent while righing wrongs, curing injustice and improving life styles in their spare time. "Shelter" just bombed. Can't remember a single scen...more

20 likes · like · see review

Sep 19, 2011 Ally rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: lovers of redundancy and detail

Auel has written a beautiful saga about prehistoric man, and if I weren't so attached to her characters and their fate, I would have chucked this book long ago. Sadly, this is the worst of the five--mainly because it lacks plot and interest. Auel spends 200 pages on their first day with the Zelandoni, about 600 on the first month or so, then suddenly the last months whizz by in, maybe, 100 pages. She is redundant not only from her previous books, but within the book itself. She makes the same de...more

16 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2007 Ani rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: only those people who have read the first four and are really committed to this series

I can't believe we had to wait 12 years for this book. It is a far cry from The Clan of the Cave Bear, which was captivating in its detail and character development. This book is in sore need of an editor. There is too much detailed description, and the pace moves incredibly slowly. Ayla is too perfect of a character, and the characters who don't like her are inevitably drunks or jealous bitches.

I feel really committed to this series, since I really loved the first two books, and liked books 3...more

19 likes · like · see review

Dec 11, 2012 Shannon rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I find most amazing about this book is that Ayla somehow is managing to invent everything known to modern man. Fire, domesticated horses, dogs as pets, baby food, etc...you name it, and the perfect Ayla is doing it. It's too incredible to make the book seem real. And she's too perfect to make her seem like a real character.

Not to mention, I am bored by the pages and pages of descriptive text about every plant, animal and cave dwelling Ayla comes across. WHERE IS THE PLOT!!?!?!??!

I am more...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 12, 2009 Hannah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: too-awful-for-words

...hindsight being 20/20, I would have wished that Auel had spent an ADDITIONAL 12 years revising this book and gotten a better editor instead of dumping this horrible parody of our beloved Ayla on her fan kingdom. Not even a brief "thank you for your patience" on her dedication page to all of us who put her financial portfolio in the stratosphere these 20+ years.
It apprears she took her loyal readers for granted in a big way. It's obvious from the writing that she doesn't care about her charac...more

9 likes · like · see review

Oct 15, 2008 Danielle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

I couldn't wait for this book to end. Repetitive repetitive repetitive. Auel uses the same phrases and descriptions so many times throughout all five books that it drove me batty. How many formal introductions of the same characters do there have to be? How many times do you have to tell the story of how Ayla acquired her animals, found Jondalar, was raised by flatheads, etc. etc. etc. Did Auel really need to write out the really long mother song multiple times??? And the thing that drove me ins...more

13 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2007 Kim Bui rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would have liked to like this one more since I waited so long for it, but it seems as if the author just get lazier each book. The research is amazing, but the plot, the characters, all of that fails more with each book.

7 likes · like · see review

Jan 10, 2009 Kara rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Utter crap. Pretend the series ended with Plains of Passage and Ayla and Jondalar had a baby and lived happily ever after.

18 likes · like · see review

Feb 19, 2011 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reread, 2011

First read April 2009.
Sometimes you just need some caveman politics, cultural studies, and soft-core porn to comfort you in rough times. Or at least I do. (Also? This book was the fifth in a buy-four-get-one-free at the library book sale.)

Rereading February 2011 in anticipation of the last book in the series coming out this spring.

This book does not need to be 800+ pages long! If only Auel didn't have Ayla tell and re-tell the same stories every time she meets a new character - stories that read...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is book 5 in a series I have been following since high school. The first was Clan Of The Cave Bear, followed by Valley Of The Horses, The Mammoth Hunters, Plains Of Passage, and now The Shelters Of Stone. In Clan Of The Cave Bear, I got hooked on the story of the main character, named Ayla. The books are set in prehistoric eras when people were still hunting with spears, living in caves and dodging mammoths on the way home. (what's the dark stuff between a mammoth's toe nails? Slow cavemen....more

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Oct 05, 2008 Malcolm rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone interested in a good story and with an interest in prehistory

This book took me longer to read that the previous four books - not because it wasn't interesting to read. Rather, I didn't want the book to end. Certainly, this book has some "fill" that could have be cut but it doesn't distract from what is overall, a great read. Ayla and Jondalar cross a great glacier dividing northern Europe to return to Jondalars people who live in natural spacious stone caves. Ayla is accepted by his people, well most of them. Of course, there are a few flies in the ointm...more

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Oct 03, 2007 Emily Lakdawalla rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: only to people who are devoted to the series

This book is not worth reading unless you fell in love with Ayla in Clan of the Cave Bear and Valley of the Horses and are desperate to find out how her story continues. Each installment in this series is weighted down with the retelling of all of the previous books in the series, plus all the description that Jean Auel heaps into her books, to the point that this monster advances Ayla's story by barely a year. Typically, the description of technology, biology, and landscape in the Earth's Child...more

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Nov 29, 2007 Stef rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meh. What can I say. The series certainly continued on a horrible downward spiral. But why oh why did I read all of it? It couldn;t have been simply compulsion to finish.. And why do I find myself thinking about the story and the setting so much, could it have been because I have read nearly 3,000 pages of it over two months of my life? Hmmm, perhaps I liked it a little bit, if only for the familiarity of characters i have gotten to know (and hate!) so well. I wouldnt recommend anyone to begin t...more

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Mar 22, 2009 Corrie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Let me first say that I read the earlier books of this series approximately 20 years ago. I remember really enjoying them. At that time, at least to me, they were very original and exciting. The only complaint I had was that Ayla was such an 'amazing' woman, that it wouldn't have shocked me if the author had her invent electricity, the automobile and the computer since she invented everything else known to mankind.

However, reading this book now really made me wonder if they were as good as I tho...more

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Feb 24, 2009 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was excited to read this when I borrowed it from the library. Valley of Horses has been one of my fave books for years and I have read it many times. I read the Mammoth Hunters and Plains of Passage quite a long time ago but I dont remember them being as bad as this book.
NOTHING happens in this book. They arrive back at Jondalars home, they go to the Summer meeting, get mated (these two take FOREVER TO HAPPEN and then the rest is a few chapters at the end....), come home and she has a baby. TH...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Michelle Lilholm rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

I ranked it 3 stars, because there were two aspects that each removed a star.

First star to go:
Soooo many repetitions from the previous books and repetitions in general. I am so happy I this time around (have read the books before) just read The Shelters of Stone (SoS) in preparation of reading the 6th book in the series. Whole passages have been copied in from the previous books, and of course this makes SoS so much longer than it had to be.
Also repetitions in general. Names and where people b...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Hanna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book deserves 2 stars as such, but... The third one is for introducing the world of Ayla to me. This was my first book of this series, after all.

I'm so much into learning about historical (in this case prehistorical)times that the naive and repetitive style never truly bothered me, and I got hooked enough to read all the other Earth's Children books. I also found the amazing world of herbal medicine and my habit of drinking massive amounts of tea through these books.

The characters were simp...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Christian-Adam Ribeiraud rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-novel

The last book of the "Earth's Children" Series, that I have read. The Shelters of Stone continues the story of the adventures of Ayla and Jondalaar and their menagerie of wild animals, not pets, but friends. They travel through Europe during the last glacial epoch. They left behind their friend the Tiger, but still travel with two horses and a wolf, discovering new tools, new crafts and amass knowledge gleaned from the various tribes they encounter on their journey. A wonderful glimpse of what i...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Colleen O'Neill Conlan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Funny, the books in this series seem to get longer and longer, yet less seems to happen in them. In this volume, Ayla and Jondalar have completed their Journey across the continent back to Jondalar's homeland with the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. They are welcomed and celebrated and admired for the surprises they bring with them: a new way of hunting, a new way to make fire, and domesticated wild animals. Over the course of several months, they travel to the Summer Meeting camp, formalize their...more Funny, the books in this series seem to get longer and longer, yet less seems to happen in them. In this volume, Ayla and Jondalar have completed their Journey across the continent back to Jondalar's homeland with the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. They are welcomed and celebrated and admired for the surprises they bring with them: a new way of hunting, a new way to make fire, and domesticated wild animals. Over the course of several months, they travel to the Summer Meeting camp, formalize their love by tying the knot (literally), and have a baby. But it all feels tame and stable.

There are no new innovations here. In previous books in the series, Ayla learned to use a sling; raised a foal and a wolf pup to become loyal friends, helpers, and hunting partners; and discovered firestones; and Jondalar created the spear thrower. I miss having these new ideas as part of the neolithic storyline. I also very much miss any interaction with the Clan, which I count as an important aspect of this story. It's a big tease that the Cave leader wants to have a meeting to discuss issues of prior friction with Clan members, and for future opportunities to trade with them. I anticipated Ayla proving her value to the cave by acting as translator between the Zelandonii and Clan, but it never happens—a missed opportunity, as far as I'm concerned. There is an ongoing bit about a couple "mixed spirit" young men, one kind and one embittered and in denial about his family line. But it doesn't go anywhere. There is another false start with Jondalar's former girlfriend trying to humiliate Ayla with a hurtful ploy, and a hint of becoming a more concrete threat, but again, nothing happens. Maybe Auel is saving that for the final book, but at 750 or so pages in this one, I think more action could have taken place.

As with the other books, I find Auel's writing to be simplistic and repetitive. I'm so tired of the redundant sex scenes that I just skip them. I don't think Auel is a good writer, but she is a pretty good storyteller. I'm taken with the storyline and the characters, and I'm eager to see how Ayla's story concludes. I'm still holding out small hope that she is somehow able to reunite with her son, but that seems completely unlikely, considering she left the Clan half a continent away, and beyond a great glacier.
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Nov 06, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, jean-m-auel

The main flaw in this book (and the last couple of them as well) is the repetition. Ms. Auel is a good author who can illustrate a scene vividly, but her downfall is that she repeats herself so much.

I kept reading about how amazed people were at Ayla and Wolf and the horses. It happened like ten times. Enough is enough. Yeah, we get the idea. There's also how often people think Ayla is so hot or smart or amazing or whatever. Even Marona, despite her hatred for Ayla, is jealous because Ayla is so...more The main flaw in this book (and the last couple of them as well) is the repetition. Ms. Auel is a good author who can illustrate a scene vividly, but her downfall is that she repeats herself so much.

I kept reading about how amazed people were at Ayla and Wolf and the horses. It happened like ten times. Enough is enough. Yeah, we get the idea. There's also how often people think Ayla is so hot or smart or amazing or whatever. Even Marona, despite her hatred for Ayla, is jealous because Ayla is so awesome.

My problem is not that Ayla was able to do so many things. She had to figure out how to survive with the Clan and I liked that she was able to save Durc, that she was able to hunt and do other cool things. The second book was good. But the third and fourth books have a lot of repetition - people think Ayla and the animals are amazing, that she is so hot and gorgeous and brilliant, blah blah. Shelters of Stone was different in that it was centered in a community, much like Clan of the Cave bear, which is good because books 2-4 have Ayla living by herself or with Jondalar, just the two of them for the most part except their occasional encounter with other tribes. The Mammoth Hunters had some of its story set in a community, so it was good. After reading Plains of Passage, I was so ready to start this, and this book does have a lot of good parts.

The sex is also repetitive, as well as Jondalar and Ayla's thoughts about one another - she loves him so much, he loves her so much he can't imagine life without her, and so on and so forth. Honestly, it got old, I preferred reading about their interactions with other people (when the people weren't being so freaking amazed by Wolf) One thing I would have liked to see is Ayla throwing a temper tantrum. In many cases, having a cool head is good, but once in a while I'd like to see her actually get pissed off and scream at someone. She never confronts Tremeda, Marona, Brukeval, Laramar, or any of the others who act spiteful or mean towards her. She's all sweetness, and that got boring. It'd have been cool to see her get into a fistfight or whatever.

It'd also be nice to have someone NOT be attracted to Ayla. Men and women alike think she's gorgeous and everything, and her beauty is talked about quite a few times. Bleh! It'd be nice for someone to think, sure she's pretty, but she's just not my type'.

I'd have also wanted to see a gay or lesbian character, for the sake of variety. I don't mean just a MENTION of them, as has happened a couple of times in the series. I want a gay character as part of Jondalar's cave and flirting with either Jondalar or Ayla, depending on the character's gender. It certainly would add a new dimension to Jondalar and Ayla's relationship!

I heard that Ms. Auel had one more book planned after this, THEN two, but now it's back to one, to come out next year. Having just finished Shelters of Stone last week, I'm glad I don't have to wait as long as some of the others here did, and hope that there's not as much repetition and Ms. Auel actually tries something new. If she focuses on not being repetitive, Book 6 could be a true masterpiece and a wonderful way to end a creative series. (less)

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Aug 27, 2012 Chantal Boudreau rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I debated writing this review. I loved the first three books in the Earth’s Children series, and I was quite fond of the fourth book, but I honestly had mixed feelings about this book, the fifth in the series. Jean Auel’s characters are lovable and interesting, as always, and I can appreciate the amount of research that went into the story, as well as her vivid descriptions, but there were also entire sections of the book that I struggled to get through (the first couple of chapters filled with...more I debated writing this review. I loved the first three books in the Earth’s Children series, and I was quite fond of the fourth book, but I honestly had mixed feelings about this book, the fifth in the series. Jean Auel’s characters are lovable and interesting, as always, and I can appreciate the amount of research that went into the story, as well as her vivid descriptions, but there were also entire sections of the book that I struggled to get through (the first couple of chapters filled with introductions paragraphs long per person were a mind-numbing bust) and the book left me with a feeling that this was a bit of a bland intro to whatever story comes next in book six.

I’ve seen people say in reviews that certain books lack conflict, and I don’t think that’s true of most stories, nor in this one, but the conflict in this book is very mild in nature. The main conflicts include the Zelandonii women hazing Ayla when she first arrives, the debate as to whether the Clan are animals, and therefore hybrids like Echozar are abominations, or they are just a different type of people, and Ayla being pressured to become a Zelandoni (a wise-woman/shamaness of the Zelandonii.)

I still enjoyed a good portion of the book, Auel’s distinct flavour was there (like during the hunt where a tribesman is injured, or Ayla showing a crippled boy how to use a spear-thrower), but I also found enough of it was an “everyday life where Clan of The Cave Bear meets Melrose Place” kind of thing that definitely put me off in places (like Ayla trying to gain social acceptance at a party, dealing with the tribe drunk and his dysfunctional family, or getting the gossip on a girl who is marrying after getting pregnant before her First Rites ...ooh, scandal.) The matrimonial ritual and the birth of Jonayla were moving moments, but the preparation for the ritual seemed to drag on longer than I would have liked. The story mostly just chugged along with the occasional scene that delighted like the first three books, filled in with rather mundane events, some sex scenes and flashbacks to things that happened in earlier books. I find this does happen with some of the longer books written by well-established writers, fleshing out a weaker plot with “fillers” resulting in books that wouldn’t have been considered passable from authors of lesser celebrity. I don’t think it’s just a matter of the length of the book itself. I have read very long books, like Richard Adams’s Maia, that held my attention thoroughly from cover to cover despite its length.

The book was good enough I felt it was worth finishing, but not so good as to leave me completely satisfied. I do plan to eventually read the sixth book in the series, and I hope it is exciting as the first three; the lead in implied it could be.
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Werner My wife Barb and I have read the first five novels of this series together, and she periodically re-reads them. We're both great admirers of Ayla. For...more
updated Aug 28, 2012 03:30pm

Chantal Boudreau I do plan on reading LoPC, but it might not be for some time. I may have read Plains of Passage with a less critical eye, as I read it many years ago...more
Aug 28, 2012 03:39pm

Werner When it comes to re-reading books, I'm the same way --there's so many that I haven't read clamoring for my attention that re-reading things isn't high...more
Aug 29, 2012 05:46am

Apr 03, 2012 Tia Jones rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-didn-t-like

I ran out of books and my husband had bought this because he has a stronger constitution than I.

I will save you the trouble of reading the whole book, here's the condensed version:

Jondalar finally returns home to the Zelandonii, with Ayla at his side. Ayla is introduced to his family and friends and as she gets to know them they love her as much as every other soul on the planet does. Except, of course, the white trash and those ladies who want more of Jondalar's jondalar*. Although very annoyi...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Sarah (Tail-Kinker) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jondalar and Ayla have returned to his home of the Zelandonii and are preparing to be Mated and set up their hearth and begin their lives together...

Sometimes it seemed to take forever...the first few days took up much of the book overall and seemed to stumble around well-worn areas that have been rehashed interminably in earlier books. I understand that Ayla and Jondalar would be called upon to tell of their exploits, but do the readers have to be treated to these re-hashings? I would think a s...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently read this book for the 2nd or 3rd time and it was just OK. Even though I recently read the book, I only remember a few parts (says a lot about the book). The first 4 books were much better than this book and I think set such high expectations that the author couldn't live up to. As I stated in the review of the first 4 books, the author tends to repeat, repeat, & repeat the same things over and over again. It becomes annoying when the author tells you how to prepare certain foods...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Irene rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction

This fifth installment in the Earth's Children series is pretty good. (It's hard to forget how masterful Clan of the Cave Bear is and it's hard not to compare.) I enjoyed getting to spend time with Ayla and Jondalar again. Auel always does an incredible job of making me feel like I'm walking alongside her Cro-Magnon characters. I do have to admit that I skipped The Plains of Passage, mainly because I could not get into the story. Tried three different times to read that book and couldn't. A frie...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Rebecca Radnor rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction-adult, ancient-history

Having read the whole series.... book 1 ROCKED, book 2 was not bad... book 3 was cheesy.... book 4 was a bore, book 5 however seems to be getting back on track and is on par with book 2. Ms. Auel has this nasty habit of repeating everything so much that you have the feeling its to compensate for lack of inspiration. Lady, if we've gotten to book 5 all we need is a reminder (think flat heads) you don't have to tell us everything all over again, and DEFINITELY not more than once per book. That and...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Elizabeth Reuter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading and liking Clan of the Cave Bear as a kid, all the vitriol against Auel's Shelters of Stone surprised me, and made me curious despite never having read the volumes in-between.

While I agree with some criticisms, they don't spoil the book in my opinion. Ayla and Jondalar have silly scenes in and out of the sack, but they take up little page time. The story is slow, but doesn't drag so much as meander; Ayla learns about a new culture and meets new people, so the plot is character-base...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, prehistoric-fiction

This fifth book in the Earth's Children series lacks the wonderfulness of the first four. While Auel's bad is definitely better than some author's good, it may prove to be a disappointment to some readers, and I definitely recommend that anyone whose never read the series before start at the beginning with Clan of the Cave Bear. This book does not suit well as a stand-alone.

For those not familiar with the series (and a possible spoiler) Ayla was a little girl when she was adopted into a clan of...more This fifth book in the Earth's Children series lacks the wonderfulness of the first four. While Auel's bad is definitely better than some author's good, it may prove to be a disappointment to some readers, and I definitely recommend that anyone whose never read the series before start at the beginning with Clan of the Cave Bear. This book does not suit well as a stand-alone.

For those not familiar with the series (and a possible spoiler) Ayla was a little girl when she was adopted into a clan of Neanderthals. She was raised by them but eventually had to leave, and in doing so leave her son behind, to try to find others like herself. She didn't find them right away and instead spent time in a valley where she makes unlikely friends with a horse and lion. Eventually though, a handsome "other" named Jondalar ends up in her valley and they fall in love. The travel for awhile and stay with a tribe of people called the Mamutoi for a bit until finally making a perilous journey far to the west where Jondalar's people dwell.

This book starts when they first reach the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, Jondalar's home. People are excited and anxious for awhile as Jondalar and Ayla have brought their two horses and wolf pup with them, which before now, had never been heard of. They meet several people and have to convince them of Ayla's worthiness to join the Zelandoni. Some people are taking far too much of an interest in her however, and the First of the Zelandoni (spiritual leaders, healers, etc.) wants her to become a Zelandoni herself as she is believed to be too dangerous left to her own devices. But all Ayla wants is to have her matrimonial with Jondalar and raise the baby that she is currently pregnant with.

The characters are not as well written in this book. Ayla and Jondalar are once again too perfect. All of Jondalar's immediate family is too perfect as well and it would have been nice to even see some average people that were close to him instead of exceptional ones. It would have made the story much more believable. Those that aren't the nicest of people are usually far away from his family. The Zelandoni kind of creep me out too and I'm sure Auel wanted to make them sound important, but to me they just sound like a cult wanting to bring people "into the fold."

The writing is very descriptive but it doesn't work well for Auel in this novel. It gets boring at parts and often times, I really didn't care what a certain cave that is only mentioned once in the entire novel looked like up and down and inside and out. I was also disappointed with how she chose to incorporate her research. There were new things she must have learned and wanted to add but made it seem awkward if you were familiar with the other books. For example, she goes to great lengths to describe an Elan (spirit of a person) and uses it quite heavily in this book, however, Jondalar never mentions it in any of the other books. Auel explains this by having Jondalar trying to keep it simple for Ayla, but one would think that something so important to his culture would be the first thing he share with her. I can understand wanting to include research, but sometimes it just hurts the book instead. Another thing people should note about the writing of this book is that it has a lot of sex scenes that are very descriptive.

I like the series and as said before Auel's bad is still pretty good. I look forward to reading the finale and seeing what resolutions are made for Jondalar and Ayla's adventures.

Book 1: The Clan of the Cave Bear
Book 2: The Valley of Horses
Book 3: The Mammoth Hunters
Book 4: The Plains of Passage

The Shelters of Stone
Copyright 2002
749 pages + Character Listing

Review by M. Reynard 2011(less)

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Nov 11, 2010 Phoebe rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was looking for some low-brow entertainment when I turned to this, the final book of Jean Auel's series about Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals. Weighing in at nearly 900 pages, I wasn't expecting a quick read, but at least something light and fun to pass the time while my brain recovered from adjusting to life with a newborn. Sadly, of those 900 pages, only about 50 contained any evidence of plot. The rest of the book was made up of endless repetition of the action covered in the first four books....more

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About Jean M. Auel

Jean M. Auel, née Jean Marie Untinen is an American writer. She is best known for her Earth's Children books, a series of historical fiction novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals. Her books have sold 34 million copies world-wide in many translations.

Author Jean Marie Auel (surname pronounced like "owl") is the second of five children of...more Jean M. Auel, née Jean Marie Untinen is an American writer. She is best known for her Earth's Children books, a series of historical fiction novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals. Her books have sold 34 million copies world-wide in many translations.

Author Jean Marie Auel (surname pronounced like "owl") is the second of five children of Neil Solomon Untinen, a housepainter, and Martha Wirtanen. She and her husband, Ray Bernard Auel, have five children and live in Portland, Oregon.

Auel has been a member of Mensa since 1964. She attended Portland State University and the University of Portland. While studying, she worked as a clerk (1965-1966), a circuit board designer (1966-1973), technical writer (1973-1974), and a credit manager at Tektronix (1974-1976). At one time, she shared a secretary with author Ursula K. Le Guin.[citation needed] She earned an MBA in 1976 and has received honorary degrees from the University of Maine and Mount Vernon College for Women.

In 1977, Auel began extensive library research of the Ice Age for her first book. She joined a survival class to learn how to construct an ice cave, and learned primitive methods of making fire, tanning leather, and knapping stone from aboriginal skills expert Jim Riggs. Auel describes Riggs as "the kind of person you could put into one end of a wilderness naked, and he'd come out the other end fed, clothed, and sheltered." Clan of the Cave Bear was nominated for numerous literary awards, including an American Booksellers Association nomination for best first novel.

After the success of the first book, Auel was able to travel to prehistoric sites and to meet many of the experts with whom she had been corresponding. Her research has taken her across Europe from France to Ukraine, including most of what Marija Gimbutas called Old Europe. She has developed a close friendship with Dr. Jean Clottes of France who was responsible for, among many other things, the exploration of the Cosquer Cave discovered in 1985 and the Chauvet Cave discovered in 1994.

Jean Auel's books have been commended for their anthropological authenticity and their ethnobotanical accuracy. However, recent archaeological research may suggest that some prehistorical details in the series are inaccurate and others fictional, and that specifications of prehistorical milestones are sometimes arbitrary and inconsistent. For example, the differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens may have been exaggerated or underestimated in the series; it has been found that Neanderthals had a hyoid bone and may thus have been capable of using vocal language and not as dependent on sign language as portrayed in the series (the existence of a Neanderthal hyoid bone wasn't confirmed until 1983, some years after the first book in the series was published).
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Books by Jean M. Auel

The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, #1)

The Valley of Horses (Earth's Children, #2)

The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children, #3)

The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children, #4)

The Land of Painted Caves (Earth's Children, #6)

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The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children #5)

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