I totally agree! I reread this series nearly every year...Painted Caves is usually only every other read. I have probably read the series 15 - 18 times. My favourite is #2 for sure...Jondalar is a bit of a whiney b#tch in the Mammoth Hunters! I love Whinney and Baby!
Wow that’s a lot! Despite its flaws you must love it! Mammoth Hunters was so frustrating! I wish they would have just talked to each other! 😡 Whinney and Baby are wonderful and I love Wolf too! 🤩
I was also very disappointed with the lack of communication and stuff in the 6th book. I actually stopped reading and didn't finish. I feel like I should though, eventually. As much as I like Jondalar, my favorite sections are all when Ayla is alone. I think I mostly prefer the drama of VS nature rather than VS society.
That’s such a good way of thinking about it. That’s probably why I enjoyed Valley of the Horses to most because it was the epic natural survival story.
Well, I agree with your rankings completely. I have reread most of the books multiple times. I am drawn to The Valley of Horses time after time. Watching Ayla living by herself in her valley is something I appreciate and find so inviting. I love the character of Ayla and she is my favorite literary character of all time.
Absolutely love these books, I first read the first four back in the early nineties when I was a college. The Clan of the Cave Bear is a master piece. I just love the characters and how the story evolves, it’s brutal but full of love also and was desperately sad at the end. I read the last two over twenty years later and must say I found them hard going. Maybe it is because I was a lot older but they did not have the charm of the fist books. The last one just really annoyed me it just felt so wrong and out of character, even for the author. I’ve just stared reliving these wonderful books as audio versions and enjoying them massively in a different way. For me however I think book four finish’s the story perfectly as I read them originally. But I will try the last two again and see if I feel differently about them listening to them as audio books.
As someone whose read them relatively close together, I think the style did change. I’m not sure why, whether Auel ran out of steam or got more into the research than the story. Ending the series at book four does sound good. The couple has achieved their goal of reaching Jondalar’s people.
@@JoLovesToRead There was 30 years between the first and last book. I read the first three books at the same time back in the 80s. The rest as they came out. I agree that Valley of the Horses was the best. I think the last book was just written because of fan pressure, there was little left to give. There is a fan fiction 7th book called the Sacred Mountain. I think that is better than the Land of Painted Caves.
1 of my top 5 re-read series. One I coin inspirational in life. " Valley of Horses", I also rank #1 of the series. Other parts we may disagree on lol. I wander with these books often. Re-read many times over. Many lessons on several subjects buried within. Thank you to, the RUclips algorithm and the creator @JoLovesToRead I needed a reminder to dig out the 6 on paper physical books for my next journey. Kudoos to Jean M. Auel... Nice representation of well researched historical fiction
My Ranking 1 - Valley of Horses 2 - Clan of the Cave Bear 3 - The Plains of Passage 4 - The mammoth Hunters 5 - The Shelters of stone 6 - The land of painted Caves.
I read this series about 30 years ago my father suggested it. I’m just now reading it again and I’m in the middle of Plains of Passage. I had to laugh when you said “it’s a traveling book” because you are sooo right lol. I also agree with your ranking of each book in the series, you did a wonderful job. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who kinda skips ahead of the boring parts lol
I love enjoying recommendations from family, it's a wonderful thing to bond over. I'd like to create a guide when I re-read Plains of Passage that tell me where I should start and stop to get through the boring parts! Thank you, I'm glad you think so 🥰
I found the first book in this series as a 10 year old in a charity shop in a country house and absolutely fell in love. Jondalar is my least favourite character in the series for reasons im sure many people agree with. Unfortunately I adore the other Zelandonii characters so much that the fifth book is my favourite and if I'm going to pick one to reread it will be shelters of stone
Thank you so much! ☺️ I definitely felt the characters changed in the last books which was very disappointing. It’s sad when the first books in a series are the best.
Thank you for watching 🥰 I’m looking forward to a reread as well, I think it’ll be great knowing what’s going to happen, which characters are which ☺️ I also did a video discussing Ayla’s romantic options if you’re interested 😊 ruclips.net/video/plFd6RpDlhk/видео.html
I've read the books several times. Love them. In 2005 I moved to the High Pyrennees in France, which is not very far from the Painted Caves that Jean Auel's book, "The land of Painted Caves' is based on. It made our visits rather special.
@@JoLovesToRead Yes. We've been there several times. It's huge and very well preserved. It's only 50 kilometres from where we live. It's called the Grottes de Gargas. The caves are located near the town of Aventignan in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France close to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (also worth a visit). I only knew that Jean Auel had visited the caves after our first visit, which made the later visits almost unreal, bringing to life her books.
My order (favorite to least favorite) is 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6 (sorry, I can't do a countdown). Though sometimes this changes depending on my mood. I have books 1-4 on tape and I used to listen to them on repeat while working a desk job. I love the first four books, thought the fifth one was decent, but really loathed the last book. For me, it didn't even see like it was written by Auel...Ayla and Jondalar felt sooo OoC. That book made me so angry that I threw it across the room...it slid under my bed and remained there for at least a year before I picked it up again and forced myself to finish. I disagree with you about the cheating thing though. I felt like, given the society that they were in where no one was monogamous and most didn't care, the issue (to me) was that he slept with Marona. I think it could have been ANYONE, but her and Ayla would have been okay with it...but he picked HER...his ex-GF...the woman who was so mean to Ayla when they first arrived. That, to me, was unforgivable. And then the whole part about what she did to get back at Jondalar. Totally disgraceful. It was as if they hadn't learned a damned thing from book three! Mostly, I pretend that tLotPC doesn't exist! Lol. Unlike you, I LOVED the traveling of book four...so much fun! The only thing I didn't like was Jondalar's weird upset over Wolf and wanting to abandon him. Book three was great, but the miscommunications drove me nuts. I'm not sure who you're talking about when you talked about your favorite character in that book...I didn't recognize the name you used...maybe it's just your accent. The second book...LOVED all the stuff in Ayla's valley! ♥ And the only reason I put book one last is...as a mother, I could NEVER leave my child behind. I get why she did, but I couldn't do it.
Hi Jo, have read the series several times ( 4 now) and fully agree with your rankings. I agree the obsessions with plants and animals and Jean M Auel's tendency to repeat and go over descriptions time and time again makes you want to skip pages. The final book "land of the Painted Caves" was a huge disappointment to me. I had to force myself to read it the first time and the second I read just in case i missed something but alas was equally disappointed. Well done with your review. 10 out of 10!
(Spoiler at the bottom of my comment for any others reading) Thank you so much! I really appreciate your comment especially since it’s the first time I’ve tried this type of video 😅 I hope to begin a slow re-read next year and I’m looking forward to the first 3 books. Then with the 4th I want to catalogue where I should stop and start for future re-reads so I don’t have to go through the entire thing again. And I will never re-read 6 because it was horrible in my opinion 😭 I even started to write a fan fiction that had different events at the summer meeting that didn’t include -spoiler- Marona & Jondalar 😡
I agree with your ranking, but perhaps with book 4 and 5 switched. It's been so long since I've read the latter half of the series that I don't even remember everything, so it might be time to reread it. Book 2 is definitely my favourite, with book 1 being my 2nd.
Since the books are fairly different plotwise, it was surprisingly easy to do summaries, but I really want to re-read too, especially the first book. We spend such fleeting time with the clan, I want to soak it up again, but I definitely loved the 2nd the most with Ayla being free of rules and then finding acceptance and love with Jondalar.
Joey i have finally watched your video, cant believe it took me so long. I loved the way you did the whole book review. It was very interesting and quite insightful. I am glad you loved them as much as i do. I was first introduced to these by a friend of Darren's when I was living in Sydney back in 1987 and bought the first two copies in a second hand book shop in paperback. As the years went on as soon as she would finish the next book I would race into town to buy it. I would have to buy them in hardcover as that is how they would originally come out. I to loved the first few books better. I loved meeting the clan and was sad when she left them. I liked how she brought them back into it throughout the series by meetings with other clan. I wished that one day she would get to meet her son. It was great though that she eventually met her own kind and found Jondalar, so I to dont understand the last book when Jondalar had the affair. Just didnt make sense, Ayla was meant to be the one. The only thing I can think of it that in the book sometimes when they have the festivals its ok to spend the night with someone else if you wish, maybe thats how she meant to perceive. I to think she got to lost in the spiritual side of things and didnt really like that, i would often skip those parts. I still think its the best series of all time for me and would highly recommend the read thanks
I love the earth children’s series and you made my day because I came searching for some earth children’s series reaction. I’ve read the whole series. I’ve read the first three books many times. I agree with your ranking! I was very sad how the last couple books went and agree that perhaps she just got too caught up in the research as it is her passion. Thanks for sharing!
Now you've made my day by writing this comment haha 🥰 When I do a re-read I think I'll read books 1-3 in their entirety and then maybe just skip to the part in book 4 where they are held in the women camp.
@@JoLovesToRead The first few are well worth re-reading in my opinion or at least the first 2😎😅Have you read the southern vampire mysteries series by Charlaine Harris? I’m starting that reread now.
I’m partway through my first time reading it, the next book I’m up to is #9. I love the series! Super easy to read and the romances are great 😍 I’d definitely reread one day, especially since I don’t remember much of when Eric lost his memory and lived with Sookie, but that’s a fan favourite so I’m interested to reread. Quinn has been my favourite love interest so far but she just broke up with him 😢 Although I’m eager to see who is next!
@@JoLovesToRead yay! Love it! I feel like I was reminded of the book series because I feel like Harris copped out the last couple books. The series finale in particular was an epic let down in my opinion… not because of how it ended or anything like that it just felt like a copout after reading the whole series. I’m interested to hear what you think! … ain’t gonna lie Eric and Sookie one of my all-time favorite ships 🤷🏼♀️😍😅 I have reread several of the books because I just love the world… That’s what it’s all about for me, I want to fall into a world…and both of these authors created amazing worlds I fell I love with
There's so much pressure on a finale, and quite common for it to not be done well! Guess I'll find out how I feel in a few books time haha I definitely think I'd re-read the series. They're so fun and easy to get through!
I've read books 1-5 of this series and I'm desperate to share and discuss!!! I haven't read the 6th book and I actually fast forwarded that part of your video because I HAVE to finish this series. I love these books and I agree with alot of your takes! Thanks for making this video and sharing your opinion. HMU if you wanna have a book club discussion session. I have many opinions haha
thats exactly how i would rate them. I hated the last book. But overall im really grateful for her wsriting the series.its one of my favourite bookseries.
I’m grateful too, they’re good books despite the last one. The romance and character relationships were wonderful and the historical details interesting 😊
I love these books so much! I started reading them in middle school and read the first 5 books over and over, before 6 came out. Yeah... Land of Painted Caves is my least favorite 5th: Plains of Passage 4th: Shelters of Stone 3rd: Clan of the Cave Bear 2nd: The Mammoth Hunters 1st: The Valley of Horses
I have the audiobooks and have listened to them a few times a year. I wish she didn't rush through the last one and cut it off. I would like to see it get picked up as a series on HBO or something. BTW what historical area does the series take place in? Good job. 👍
There was going to be a series back in 2015 with Fox and Lifetime, but it got cancelled before the pilot even aired! 😭 I think there was a dispute about how many episodes they were going to make, Fox wanted it to be GoT-esque (which I am so up for!) But Lifetime wouldn't commit to that many or something. The Critical Drinker did a video about it if you wanted to have a look! I have re-read the series every couple of years for the last 12 years or so, even pre-ordered Land of the Painted Caves when it was published, but have never finished it (despite re-reading the rest several times since then!)
I totally agree with your rankings! I loved and disliked all the same things you did. One thing you didn't mention about the sixth book was how Jonayla had absolutely no personality and oftentimes it seemed as though she didn't even exist. I had been very excited to see how Ayla and Jondalar would raise a daughter, after Ayla's detailed journey in the first book with Durc. In the end we learned a lot more about how Ayla mothered a horse, a cave lion, and a wolf than her human daughter. A huge opportunity missed, in my opinion.
That’s such a good point! She does seem very flat after all the build up of them having their own child. It really seemed like to me that Auel lost her steam in the final book. Or cared more about the research than the story.
I am now reading the books for the second time and have caught myself skipping pages of descriptions of nature. I also quickly skip the fragments where events from previous books are explained again, as if you didn't already know that.
If I do a re-read, I would love to flag where to start and stop reading especially for The Plains of Passage so I can skip the nature parts and go straight to the story 😊
If you're someone who doesn't have to read the entire series, I would seriously consider skipping this book! It was not good! A lot was boring and went no where and the other parts deviated from who I believe the characters are.
I put them in this order 1. Shelters of Stone 2. Clan of the Cavebear 3. Valley of Horses 4. Plains of Passage 5. Land of the Painted Caves 6. Mammoth Hunters I really like the story in the 5th one, the 1st one as well, the dual plot line in the 2nd one is really good, the fourth is mostly boring but it's interesting enough with the different tribes, and then the sixth, it's really stupid, because it might be interesting, but knowing that the infedility part is coming up, so you can't focus on the actual story, and the third one is really good, but it's at the bottom, because the love triangle is so mfing stupid, I can't handle it, if that wasn't in the story, this book could be the best or second best, but the love triangle is so bad, it puts it to the worst place
я впервые начала читать этот цикл ещё в свои 12 лет. это была моя первая любовь)))). эх, ностальгия... я прочла 4 книги, на 5 не хватило времени, да и не смогла найти, а 6 у нас не переведена, к сожалению. но! это мой второй самый любимый цикл, буду любить его вечно
Wow you are a long time lover of the series! I'm sorry the last wasn't translated, but glad you could enjoy so many of them and that they've stayed with you for all these years.
Totally agree with your assessment of valley of the horses as number one and painted caves is number six. I'm 70 and have been listening to Jane Auel all my life. ( I'm not a reader, I prefer audio.). Unlike you, for me it's the fleshing out of archeology that's enjoyable about this series.
Wow, I'm glad you've loved Jean Auel for so many years! My mum started the series when she was a teenager and now she's in her 50's and still re-reads them. I love that people with different reading tastes can get different things out of them.
Thank you for watching! 🥰 I agree! I could quite happily reread books 1-3 and then the last part of book 4 from the S’Armani camp and end the series feeling satisfied with Ayla meeting Jondalar’s family.
I didn't like the painted caves either. I was expecting more interactions with the Clan, e.g. for trading, where Ayla's language and signing skills could be put to even more use.
I read the 1st book at age 16 (Shelters of Stone is my favorite) and I am now 50 and I Love all all of them except for the last book (Jondalar would never cheat on Ayla)
Totally agree - he never would!! Silly decision by the author and there’s not even a good resolution because Jondalar never admits he did the wrong thing.
I agree mostly with your choice of favourites. The first four books in the EC series were great and I have a memories of reading them. However the series really went downhill after book 5 TSOS and book 6 LOPC I have decided not to read. It is a shame because there was so much that could have been done in the series. Such as the reaction and social affects of men making women pregnant. It took me 14 years to finish book 5 that is how bad it got for me
I 100% agree, so much potential wasted! I kept wanting to see more interaction between Ayla & the clan, and to talk more about how much the clan was hated.
Thank goodness for this video and don’t worry about the blotchiness I am the same way when I get shy or embarrassed. I guess on fair skin it’s understandable. I have the first book in this series and I am kind of so so on the series on whether to buy the rest of the books as for the last one I haven’t heard great things about it either. Many think the author got lost in her own thoughts and rushed everything. Thanks again for the video.
Thank you so much 🥰 I highly recommend the second and the third is good if you enjoy relationship drama. As for the last I personally I think Auel enjoyed the research too much and rushed the plot. Apparently she received criticism about Jondalar and Ayla being Mary Sue’s so she degraded their characters but it just felt out of place to me 🤦♀️
I feel some type of way about this... This is my opinion, if yours differs, that's fine. I just have a lot of feelings about this because I've been stewing over it for a decade. I was with you all the way up until the end. I've read all the books and whenever I recommend the series I tell them to read the first one and suffer the cliff hanger. Reading the rest isn't worth it the unsatisfying conclusions. Waste of time. Jondalar is a big jealous baby and I cannot stand him. He should have married that horrible lady at the 9th cave and saved us all the trouble. Having a big dick and pretty blue eyes really isn't a personality. He's got no redeeming qualities. Spare me the same monotonous sex scenes and the ungracious judgement. It would have been best if she'd married Ranec... He really loved and appreciated her. He also had a personality that was complex and mature. The Mamutoi should have been her home. They grew so much with her and it was downhill after leaving them. Because we just experienced the same conflicts. It meant that it was boring and repetitive because we'd already done it all. By the forth book I started resenting Ayla too- she's lost any kind of meaningful internal conflict because she was left to be this weird anime hyper innocent but able to tell if anybody is lying and had 5 million skills and can speak every language. Mary Sue. Yuck. She earned a good life... But reading about her perfecting got on my last damn nerve. Failing that, plains of passage would have ONLY been saved by visiting Durc- what a wildly disappointing/anticlimactic series. The first book was SO rich in internal conflict and did such a phenomenal job of teaching us about the world without doing TOO many text walls. It's truly magnetic. Clan of the Cave Bear is my favourite book. I have read it many times. I have long since thrown out the rest of the series. Not worth my time.
I love reading other people's opinions! Thank you for sharing yours ❤️ I definitely agree that the series is repetitive after book 3 especially with character development. It frustrated me to no end that Jondalar thought Ayla would be okay if he was intimate with another woman because they'd learnt they wanted to be monogamous in book 3. I made this video years ago, so I would be interested to see how I feel about Jondalar and Ranec these days. I remember thinking that Ranec only loved Ayla for her beauty, but it's interesting that you interpreted it as he loved her in a healthier way than Jondalar. I love that readers interpret things differently and that our views change over the years. I think I was okay with Jondalar and Ayla being together because I saw them both as Mary Sues, but I do think it was heartbreaking that Ayla left the Mamutoi for Jondalar when she'd finally found people who treated her like family. I will forever be heartbroken that she wasn't reunited with Durc and that relationships with the Neanderthals were never explored in the final books. I thought it was setting up for that with some of the interactions and with Brukeval - who I also thought could have been a potential love interest with some character development. I did a video about all of Ayla's love interests and potentials if you're interested, but it is a few years old as well ruclips.net/video/plFd6RpDlhk/видео.html Thank you for sharing you opinion ❤️❤️
@@JoLovesToRead hi! I'm the one who aired their self righteous opinions in your comment section. Thank you for responding graciously lol. I just wanted to reply regarding the Jondalar/Ranec thing: Jondalar "loves" Ayla because she's beautiful, talented, and can fit his thingy in her/she's a good lay. Her history and where she comes from is a black mark to him... Even when he gets over it, he doesn't really get over it. He's ashamed of her. He's constantly fighting his shame of her. Ranec, views her as a work of art. He's more fascinated by her past than disgusted with it. It seems to me that his take on her beauty is more mature and refined. He is able to handle her rejection. He is able to handle different parts of her that Jondalar cannot. I don't think they had a particularly deep relationship, I would grant that. But the deepest thing she has with Jondalar is that he was her first (in multiple different ways) and the plot said he can bring her back from the void-but I don't think there's a reasonable explanation for that. Other than because he's the main love interest. I think... Idk. The impression I get is that Jondalar is more interested in Ayla for status (skills she brings) and eye candy reasons (which makes more sense when you realise he is still attracted to that horrible woman in the ninth cave in spite of everything she did to Ayla)... The vibe with her and Ranec is that they could grow into a partnership that is mature and full... Her and Jondalar are so... Surface level. Maybe it's just the vibe I get. Maybe just I think Jondalar is trash (true anyway). It would have been better had Jondalar died to the cave lion, and his brother had fallen in love with her instead. At least then there would be some interesting internal conflict... Especially with his mate passing... Loss of his brother too... Then he would have a reason to hold back... rather than the self enforced thing because he makes up her history as a mother acolyte, but because he is grieving the woman he loves. Then he could have stayed with the Mamutoi and whatever.... Just... Anything but Jondalar lol.
I totally agree, Land of the Painted Caves is the worst-written of the series. To me, every page screamed "I'm tired of this and just want it to be over", especially when dealing with an unpleasant character. Brukeval? He just kind of disappears. Marona? Does a slow fade to nowhere. Laramar? Moves away. No real resolve or closure anywhere.
I'm definitely curious to see what I think as an even older adult! Especially the earlier books. I just remember being super frustrated by the last book because I thought they learnt to communicate with each other in book 3! 😅😂
@@JoLovesToRead when I read them now I stop after book 3, her time with the mammoth hunters would have been so much better if he hadn't been such a stick in the mud
I agree with your review and order. Couple of things about the series, a little too much graphic sex for my taste and I wish Ayla would learn to say no or communicate better, the riffs between her and Jondalar in the mammoth hunters make me scream sometimes especially after the had talked about things they seem to pop up over and over. Favorite parts are the animals and when wolf saves the day. I listen to the series or audiobooks and the last 2 books Ayla has a east block accent that drives me NUTS!
100% agree on Ayla needing to communicate. The drama in The Mammoth Hunters was interesting to begin with, but then it got too long and drawn out! I also hated how they supposedly learnt their lesson in communicating in The Mammoth Hunters, but not communicating is then the downfall again of The Painted Caves. It was so frustrating for them to have apparently grown as a couple, but then take steps back in the last book. I loved the second book for those reasons too. It was fascinating to see Ayla survive with the help of the animals only. They were the real stars of the series! Audiobook narrators can make or break things! That sucks!
Thank you so much, you’ve made my day ☺️ It really disappointed me because there are so many other ways to bring conflict into a relationship and I thought it wasn’t in character either. I’m glad you sold your copy and made some money back!! 😏
Auel's incessant descriptions and repetitions reminded me of another, more famous, book, which caused me to skip entire chapters full of lists of creatures the narrator merely viewed: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Auel's habit of describing sexual intercourse in the same exhaustive detail actually made THAT boring, too, and I would skim through those, the only reason I gave them even that much attention being not to miss when she finally moved on to something else.
I remember being stoked for Land of Painted Caves. I even purchased it new in hardback upon release which I rarely do because I’m a cheap bastard. I recall getting through maybe 30 or 40 pages before flinging it across the room. Trash. I can’t even comment on how the story played out because it was unreadable. The rest of the books were terrific but I had to make two attempts to finish Shelters of Stone. I found the sex in this series to be rather disgusting.
I'm sorry you spent money on the hardback version!! It's so disappointing to dislike the last book in the series. The story was not great you didn't miss anything!!
Sorry. The fact is that the idea that a man (one his journey from the Russian steppes down to the north of Africa, and then on his way back with his wife and newborn, the boat they were in capsized and the mother of the little 1/2 black child dies. The story of HOW he went from what is now Spain--so not too far from where Jondalar and his brother set out from for their Great Journey--to the Russian Steppes was just too unbelievable because the book just before it Valley of Horses spent so long telling us of the dangers Jondalar and his brother faced, the difficulty of the two grown men having to hunt and fend off things like wooly rhinos. To try and make me believe that a father managed to get an infant through all those danger just made no sense. How did he hunt--since we knew from the Valley of Horses that Jondalar had to follow deer until they were run down. A man on his own with an infant could not do it. Then when the 1/2 black guy (infant grown up) was in the Harlequin Romance style love triangle was just stupid. It appeared to me that after two wildly successful novels, she had tried to bring in black audience even it if meant hurting the story to do so. So, the worst for me was Mammoth Hunters. Oh, also, in the other books (all about the same thickness as this book) YEARS pass, in Mammoth Hunters only one year passed. BOO. My fave though, like you is Valley of Horses (close second is Cave Bear). I just loved being swept up in Ayla's story and in the journey Thonolan and Jondalar were on.
I don't think it was about bringing in a black audience. You make it sound like tokenism. I think it was about inclusiveness, exploring all the different and wonderful ways there are to be human. After exploring in depth the difference between neanderthals and modern humans, Auel creating a biracial character is too much?
@@hellopaulie NO. It was not that the guy was bi-racial it was that based on the trials that befell Johdalar and his brother--two grown men--on their way to the Russian steppes (where Ayla lived in the Valley of Horses) it was just IMPOSSIBLE to suspend my disbelief that a father with an INFANT could make that journey. Remember when Jonhalar's brother was injured he had to be left behind--to fend for himself--while Jondalar hunted, and he was threatened several times. A baby could not have joined his father while the father was hunting and worse, he could not be left alone. You see what I mean? Crossing raging rivers (IF you want to see what that might have looked like watch the movie from the 1970s called Buffalo Rider, wherein a single STRONG man had to figure out how to get across a raging river while taking a baby.)
why would they travel through spain and most of europe? i have always assumed hey came from egypt,and that is not that bad a journe to east-or southeast of europe.
@@hannehanskov7560 The problem I pointed out still exists IF they came from Egypt since the baby would still have been left alone while the father hunted. However, IF you re-read the part where his mother DIED you will see that she drown crossing into Spain. That is why I said that.
I don't think jean auel wrote the last book. She lost interest in the commitment and the story. Just look how long it took for her to finish the series. Agree, the last book was a huge disappointment!
That’s true, it did take ages to publish the last book! It saddens me that she lost interest in the story. Couldn’t she have kept going and then just published another non fiction about her research for the series? 😬
Hi Gertie, it depends on where you are located and what services are available for you. There are lots of second hand copies of this book for sale online. If you have access to a library or an online loan system they might have them as well. Good luck finding them!
The wonderful and sometimes frustrating part of reading is that every reader interprets things differently. Some will have the same understanding as the author, and others won’t. Each response is valid. I’m guessing from your comment that you enjoyed the entire series and I’m glad, but I’m also asking you to respect my thoughts on the series even though they were less favourable 😊
I totally agree! I reread this series nearly every year...Painted Caves is usually only every other read. I have probably read the series 15 - 18 times. My favourite is #2 for sure...Jondalar is a bit of a whiney b#tch in the Mammoth Hunters! I love Whinney and Baby!
Wow that’s a lot! Despite its flaws you must love it! Mammoth Hunters was so frustrating! I wish they would have just talked to each other! 😡 Whinney and Baby are wonderful and I love Wolf too! 🤩
I was also very disappointed with the lack of communication and stuff in the 6th book. I actually stopped reading and didn't finish. I feel like I should though, eventually.
As much as I like Jondalar, my favorite sections are all when Ayla is alone. I think I mostly prefer the drama of VS nature rather than VS society.
That’s such a good way of thinking about it. That’s probably why I enjoyed Valley of the Horses to most because it was the epic natural survival story.
Well, I agree with your rankings completely. I have reread most of the books multiple times. I am drawn to The Valley of Horses time after time. Watching Ayla living by herself in her valley is something I appreciate and find so inviting. I love the character of Ayla and she is my favorite literary character of all time.
Absolutely love these books, I first read the first four back in the early nineties when I was a college. The Clan of the Cave Bear is a master piece. I just love the characters and how the story evolves, it’s brutal but full of love also and was desperately sad at the end. I read the last two over twenty years later and must say I found them hard going. Maybe it is because I was a lot older but they did not have the charm of the fist books. The last one just really annoyed me it just felt so wrong and out of character, even for the author. I’ve just stared reliving these wonderful books as audio versions and enjoying them massively in a different way. For me however I think book four finish’s the story perfectly as I read them originally. But I will try the last two again and see if I feel differently about them listening to them as audio books.
As someone whose read them relatively close together, I think the style did change. I’m not sure why, whether Auel ran out of steam or got more into the research than the story. Ending the series at book four does sound good. The couple has achieved their goal of reaching Jondalar’s people.
@@JoLovesToRead There was 30 years between the first and last book. I read the first three books at the same time back in the 80s. The rest as they came out. I agree that Valley of the Horses was the best. I think the last book was just written because of fan pressure, there was little left to give. There is a fan fiction 7th book called the Sacred Mountain. I think that is better than the Land of Painted Caves.
Thank you! I’ll have to check that out 😊
1 of my top 5 re-read series. One I coin inspirational in life. " Valley of Horses", I also rank #1 of the series. Other parts we may disagree on lol. I wander with these books often. Re-read many times over. Many lessons on several subjects buried within.
Thank you to, the RUclips algorithm and the creator @JoLovesToRead
I needed a reminder to dig out the 6 on paper physical books for my next journey.
Kudoos to Jean M. Auel... Nice representation of well researched historical fiction
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! 😊 I hope to do a re-read one day soon and maybe I'll appreciate better the books I didn't enjoy as much.
My Ranking
1 - Valley of Horses
2 - Clan of the Cave Bear
3 - The Plains of Passage
4 - The mammoth Hunters
5 - The Shelters of stone
6 - The land of painted Caves.
I read this series about 30 years ago my father suggested it. I’m just now reading it again and I’m in the middle of Plains of Passage. I had to laugh when you said “it’s a traveling book” because you are sooo right lol. I also agree with your ranking of each book in the series, you did a wonderful job. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who kinda skips ahead of the boring parts lol
I love enjoying recommendations from family, it's a wonderful thing to bond over. I'd like to create a guide when I re-read Plains of Passage that tell me where I should start and stop to get through the boring parts! Thank you, I'm glad you think so 🥰
I found the first book in this series as a 10 year old in a charity shop in a country house and absolutely fell in love. Jondalar is my least favourite character in the series for reasons im sure many people agree with. Unfortunately I adore the other Zelandonii characters so much that the fifth book is my favourite and if I'm going to pick one to reread it will be shelters of stone
Great review. Thanks. I really enjoyed the first few books...the last couple were not as good in my opinion. They got kinda crazy.
Thank you so much! ☺️ I definitely felt the characters changed in the last books which was very disappointing. It’s sad when the first books in a series are the best.
Clan of the Cave Bear is my favourite but might start from the start again
I've been thinking about re-reading them as well. I'd love to experience them again, knowing how it ends 💝
Thank you for the review!!
there is very limited fan discussions of the Earths Children series and I reread this series 2x a year I love it so much
Thank you for watching 🥰 I’m looking forward to a reread as well, I think it’ll be great knowing what’s going to happen, which characters are which ☺️
I also did a video discussing Ayla’s romantic options if you’re interested 😊 ruclips.net/video/plFd6RpDlhk/видео.html
I really appreciate the kindve person you are. And I hope I can meet someone like you to be friends with soon
Good luck! Hope you find a kind friend soon! 🙂
I've read them all and my favorites were Valley of the Horses and Plains of Passage.
I'm glad you enjoyed them both! Valley of the Horses will always have a place in my heart ❤️
I loved Books 1,2,3 then 5. Ive read the first 3 many times over the past 25 years. I really enjoyed your video
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed many of the books!
Valley of Horses for the win. THE book of the whole series hands down.
I've read the books several times. Love them. In 2005 I moved to the High Pyrennees in France, which is not very far from the Painted Caves that Jean Auel's book, "The land of Painted Caves' is based on. It made our visits rather special.
Wow that must have been interesting. Did you visit any caves?
@@JoLovesToRead Yes. We've been there several times. It's huge and very well preserved. It's only 50 kilometres from where we live. It's called the Grottes de Gargas. The caves are located near the town of Aventignan in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France close to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (also worth a visit). I only knew that Jean Auel had visited the caves after our first visit, which made the later visits almost unreal, bringing to life her books.
I can definitely imagine seeing them in real life would make everything appear more real
@@JoLovesToRead, Believe me, it did.
I totally agree with your ranking, mostly for the same reasons. Solid review, thank you.
Thank you Dani ☺️ I’m glad you liked the video!! 🥰
My order (favorite to least favorite) is 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6 (sorry, I can't do a countdown). Though sometimes this changes depending on my mood. I have books 1-4 on tape and I used to listen to them on repeat while working a desk job. I love the first four books, thought the fifth one was decent, but really loathed the last book. For me, it didn't even see like it was written by Auel...Ayla and Jondalar felt sooo OoC. That book made me so angry that I threw it across the room...it slid under my bed and remained there for at least a year before I picked it up again and forced myself to finish. I disagree with you about the cheating thing though. I felt like, given the society that they were in where no one was monogamous and most didn't care, the issue (to me) was that he slept with Marona. I think it could have been ANYONE, but her and Ayla would have been okay with it...but he picked HER...his ex-GF...the woman who was so mean to Ayla when they first arrived. That, to me, was unforgivable. And then the whole part about what she did to get back at Jondalar. Totally disgraceful. It was as if they hadn't learned a damned thing from book three! Mostly, I pretend that tLotPC doesn't exist! Lol. Unlike you, I LOVED the traveling of book four...so much fun! The only thing I didn't like was Jondalar's weird upset over Wolf and wanting to abandon him. Book three was great, but the miscommunications drove me nuts. I'm not sure who you're talking about when you talked about your favorite character in that book...I didn't recognize the name you used...maybe it's just your accent. The second book...LOVED all the stuff in Ayla's valley! ♥ And the only reason I put book one last is...as a mother, I could NEVER leave my child behind. I get why she did, but I couldn't do it.
Hi Jo, have read the series several times ( 4 now) and fully agree with your rankings. I agree the obsessions with plants and animals and Jean M Auel's tendency to repeat and go over descriptions time and time again makes you want to skip pages. The final book "land of the Painted Caves" was a huge disappointment to me. I had to force myself to read it the first time and the second I read just in case i missed something but alas was equally disappointed.
Well done with your review. 10 out of 10!
(Spoiler at the bottom of my comment for any others reading)
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your comment especially since it’s the first time I’ve tried this type of video 😅 I hope to begin a slow re-read next year and I’m looking forward to the first 3 books. Then with the 4th I want to catalogue where I should stop and start for future re-reads so I don’t have to go through the entire thing again. And I will never re-read 6 because it was horrible in my opinion 😭 I even started to write a fan fiction that had different events at the summer meeting that didn’t include -spoiler- Marona & Jondalar 😡
I agree with your ranking, but perhaps with book 4 and 5 switched. It's been so long since I've read the latter half of the series that I don't even remember everything, so it might be time to reread it. Book 2 is definitely my favourite, with book 1 being my 2nd.
Since the books are fairly different plotwise, it was surprisingly easy to do summaries, but I really want to re-read too, especially the first book. We spend such fleeting time with the clan, I want to soak it up again, but I definitely loved the 2nd the most with Ayla being free of rules and then finding acceptance and love with Jondalar.
Joey i have finally watched your video, cant believe it took me so long. I loved the way you did the whole book review. It was very interesting and quite insightful. I am glad you loved them as much as i do. I was first introduced to these by a friend of Darren's when I was living in Sydney back in 1987 and bought the first two copies in a second hand book shop in paperback. As the years went on as soon as she would finish the next book I would race into town to buy it. I would have to buy them in hardcover as that is how they would originally come out. I to loved the first few books better. I loved meeting the clan and was sad when she left them. I liked how she brought them back into it throughout the series by meetings with other clan. I wished that one day she would get to meet her son. It was great though that she eventually met her own kind and found Jondalar, so I to dont understand the last book when Jondalar had the affair. Just didnt make sense, Ayla was meant to be the one. The only thing I can think of it that in the book sometimes when they have the festivals its ok to spend the night with someone else if you wish, maybe thats how she meant to perceive. I to think she got to lost in the spiritual side of things and didnt really like that, i would often skip those parts.
I still think its the best series of all time for me and would highly recommend the read thanks
I love the earth children’s series and you made my day because I came searching for some earth children’s series reaction. I’ve read the whole series. I’ve read the first three books many times. I agree with your ranking! I was very sad how the last couple books went and agree that perhaps she just got too caught up in the research as it is her passion. Thanks for sharing!
Now you've made my day by writing this comment haha 🥰 When I do a re-read I think I'll read books 1-3 in their entirety and then maybe just skip to the part in book 4 where they are held in the women camp.
@@JoLovesToRead The first few are well worth re-reading in my opinion or at least the first 2😎😅Have you read the southern vampire mysteries series by Charlaine Harris? I’m starting that reread now.
I’m partway through my first time reading it, the next book I’m up to is #9. I love the series! Super easy to read and the romances are great 😍 I’d definitely reread one day, especially since I don’t remember much of when Eric lost his memory and lived with Sookie, but that’s a fan favourite so I’m interested to reread. Quinn has been my favourite love interest so far but she just broke up with him 😢 Although I’m eager to see who is next!
@@JoLovesToRead yay! Love it! I feel like I was reminded of the book series because I feel like Harris copped out the last couple books. The series finale in particular was an epic let down in my opinion… not because of how it ended or anything like that it just felt like a copout after reading the whole series. I’m interested to hear what you think! … ain’t gonna lie Eric and Sookie one of my all-time favorite ships 🤷🏼♀️😍😅 I have reread several of the books because I just love the world… That’s what it’s all about for me, I want to fall into a world…and both of these authors created amazing worlds I fell I love with
There's so much pressure on a finale, and quite common for it to not be done well! Guess I'll find out how I feel in a few books time haha I definitely think I'd re-read the series. They're so fun and easy to get through!
I've read books 1-5 of this series and I'm desperate to share and discuss!!! I haven't read the 6th book and I actually fast forwarded that part of your video because I HAVE to finish this series. I love these books and I agree with alot of your takes! Thanks for making this video and sharing your opinion. HMU if you wanna have a book club discussion session. I have many opinions haha
I would love too!! It’s a wonderful series but there is a lot to discuss!! Do you know when you’ll pick up the 6th book?
@@JoLovesToRead probably pretty soon. It just takes me like 2 months to read them usually
@@8KelseeWoods8 totally understand! They’re so long! Haha
I’m also happy to talk books 1-5 now if you need to discuss straight away! I promise not spoil book 6 😅
@@JoLovesToRead yes please!! Could we like, video chat? Do you have whats app? Or Instagram?
thats exactly how i would rate them. I hated the last book. But overall im really grateful for her wsriting the series.its one of my favourite bookseries.
I’m grateful too, they’re good books despite the last one. The romance and character relationships were wonderful and the historical details interesting 😊
I haven't read these, but it's still interesting to see how you rank them! I'm glad that you point out the faults too though!
Thanks Moose! ☺️ I’m really glad you liked it, it was a really easy series to rank because each book stands out clearly to me.
@@JoLovesToRead That makes it even better!
I love these books so much! I started reading them in middle school and read the first 5 books over and over, before 6 came out.
Yeah... Land of Painted Caves is my least favorite
5th: Plains of Passage
4th: Shelters of Stone
3rd: Clan of the Cave Bear
2nd: The Mammoth Hunters
1st: The Valley of Horses
I love series that remind me of another time in my life 🥰 I’m glad you enjoyed them so much!
Agree completely, thank you for posting. Lets not forget how erotic book two is too!
I have the audiobooks and have listened to them a few times a year. I wish she didn't rush through the last one and cut it off. I would like to see it get picked up as a series on HBO or something. BTW what historical area does the series take place in? Good job. 👍
Ooo that would be great to see it as a series and maybe change some things for the better 🤔 I think the Zelandoni are in the south of France.
There was going to be a series back in 2015 with Fox and Lifetime, but it got cancelled before the pilot even aired! 😭 I think there was a dispute about how many episodes they were going to make, Fox wanted it to be GoT-esque (which I am so up for!) But Lifetime wouldn't commit to that many or something. The Critical Drinker did a video about it if you wanted to have a look! I have re-read the series every couple of years for the last 12 years or so, even pre-ordered Land of the Painted Caves when it was published, but have never finished it (despite re-reading the rest several times since then!)
I totally agree with your rankings! I loved and disliked all the same things you did. One thing you didn't mention about the sixth book was how Jonayla had absolutely no personality and oftentimes it seemed as though she didn't even exist. I had been very excited to see how Ayla and Jondalar would raise a daughter, after Ayla's detailed journey in the first book with Durc. In the end we learned a lot more about how Ayla mothered a horse, a cave lion, and a wolf than her human daughter. A huge opportunity missed, in my opinion.
That’s such a good point! She does seem very flat after all the build up of them having their own child. It really seemed like to me that Auel lost her steam in the final book. Or cared more about the research than the story.
Brilliant books, the 4th is my favourite.
I am now reading the books for the second time and have caught myself skipping pages of descriptions of nature. I also quickly skip the fragments where events from previous books are explained again, as if you didn't already know that.
If I do a re-read, I would love to flag where to start and stop reading especially for The Plains of Passage so I can skip the nature parts and go straight to the story 😊
Haven't read yet the last book 😥😥😥
If you're someone who doesn't have to read the entire series, I would seriously consider skipping this book! It was not good! A lot was boring and went no where and the other parts deviated from who I believe the characters are.
I put them in this order
1. Shelters of Stone
2. Clan of the Cavebear
3. Valley of Horses
4. Plains of Passage
5. Land of the Painted Caves
6. Mammoth Hunters
I really like the story in the 5th one, the 1st one as well, the dual plot line in the 2nd one is really good, the fourth is mostly boring but it's interesting enough with the different tribes, and then the sixth, it's really stupid, because it might be interesting, but knowing that the infedility part is coming up, so you can't focus on the actual story, and the third one is really good, but it's at the bottom, because the love triangle is so mfing stupid, I can't handle it, if that wasn't in the story, this book could be the best or second best, but the love triangle is so bad, it puts it to the worst place
Unputdownable, i love that 😄
It’s a great word 😁
я впервые начала читать этот цикл ещё в свои 12 лет. это была моя первая любовь)))). эх, ностальгия... я прочла 4 книги, на 5 не хватило времени, да и не смогла найти, а 6 у нас не переведена, к сожалению. но! это мой второй самый любимый цикл, буду любить его вечно
Wow you are a long time lover of the series! I'm sorry the last wasn't translated, but glad you could enjoy so many of them and that they've stayed with you for all these years.
@@JoLovesToRead Thank you so much) I was also glad to find a review of these books, thank you so much! and good luck to you)
Totally agree with your assessment of valley of the horses as number one and painted caves is number six. I'm 70 and have been listening to Jane Auel all my life. ( I'm not a reader, I prefer audio.). Unlike you, for me it's the fleshing out of archeology that's enjoyable about this series.
Wow, I'm glad you've loved Jean Auel for so many years! My mum started the series when she was a teenager and now she's in her 50's and still re-reads them. I love that people with different reading tastes can get different things out of them.
That is so funny! My mom encouraged me to read the series and I love it! Except that last useless one ..
Good on Mums!! I got rid of the last book! If I re-read I certainly won't pick that one up, it'll finish at book 5!
Great video! I enjoyed the first few books, but they lost me later on.
Thank you for watching! 🥰 I agree! I could quite happily reread books 1-3 and then the last part of book 4 from the S’Armani camp and end the series feeling satisfied with Ayla meeting Jondalar’s family.
I didn't like the painted caves either. I was expecting more interactions with the Clan, e.g. for trading, where Ayla's language and signing skills could be put to even more use.
I read the 1st book at age 16 (Shelters of Stone is my favorite) and I am now 50 and I Love all all of them except for the last book (Jondalar would never cheat on Ayla)
Totally agree - he never would!! Silly decision by the author and there’s not even a good resolution because Jondalar never admits he did the wrong thing.
I agree mostly with your choice of favourites. The first four books in the EC series were great and I have a memories of reading them. However the series really went downhill after book 5 TSOS and book 6 LOPC I have decided not to read. It is a shame because there was so much that could have been done in the series. Such as the reaction and social affects of men making women pregnant. It took me 14 years to finish book 5 that is how bad it got for me
I 100% agree, so much potential wasted! I kept wanting to see more interaction between Ayla & the clan, and to talk more about how much the clan was hated.
Thank goodness for this video and don’t worry about the blotchiness I am the same way when I get shy or embarrassed. I guess on fair skin it’s understandable. I have the first book in this series and I am kind of so so on the series on whether to buy the rest of the books as for the last one I haven’t heard great things about it either. Many think the author got lost in her own thoughts and rushed everything. Thanks again for the video.
Thank you so much 🥰 I highly recommend the second and the third is good if you enjoy relationship drama. As for the last I personally I think Auel enjoyed the research too much and rushed the plot. Apparently she received criticism about Jondalar and Ayla being Mary Sue’s so she degraded their characters but it just felt out of place to me 🤦♀️
I've read them all... After two I started getting low on the story...
I agree! Jean M Auel was good at peppering in the historic facts in the first two, but they became much more about the facts than the story.
I feel some type of way about this... This is my opinion, if yours differs, that's fine. I just have a lot of feelings about this because I've been stewing over it for a decade.
I was with you all the way up until the end. I've read all the books and whenever I recommend the series I tell them to read the first one and suffer the cliff hanger. Reading the rest isn't worth it the unsatisfying conclusions. Waste of time.
Jondalar is a big jealous baby and I cannot stand him. He should have married that horrible lady at the 9th cave and saved us all the trouble. Having a big dick and pretty blue eyes really isn't a personality. He's got no redeeming qualities. Spare me the same monotonous sex scenes and the ungracious judgement.
It would have been best if she'd married Ranec... He really loved and appreciated her. He also had a personality that was complex and mature. The Mamutoi should have been her home. They grew so much with her and it was downhill after leaving them. Because we just experienced the same conflicts. It meant that it was boring and repetitive because we'd already done it all. By the forth book I started resenting Ayla too- she's lost any kind of meaningful internal conflict because she was left to be this weird anime hyper innocent but able to tell if anybody is lying and had 5 million skills and can speak every language. Mary Sue. Yuck. She earned a good life... But reading about her perfecting got on my last damn nerve.
Failing that, plains of passage would have ONLY been saved by visiting Durc- what a wildly disappointing/anticlimactic series.
The first book was SO rich in internal conflict and did such a phenomenal job of teaching us about the world without doing TOO many text walls. It's truly magnetic. Clan of the Cave Bear is my favourite book. I have read it many times. I have long since thrown out the rest of the series. Not worth my time.
I love reading other people's opinions! Thank you for sharing yours ❤️ I definitely agree that the series is repetitive after book 3 especially with character development. It frustrated me to no end that Jondalar thought Ayla would be okay if he was intimate with another woman because they'd learnt they wanted to be monogamous in book 3.
I made this video years ago, so I would be interested to see how I feel about Jondalar and Ranec these days. I remember thinking that Ranec only loved Ayla for her beauty, but it's interesting that you interpreted it as he loved her in a healthier way than Jondalar. I love that readers interpret things differently and that our views change over the years.
I think I was okay with Jondalar and Ayla being together because I saw them both as Mary Sues, but I do think it was heartbreaking that Ayla left the Mamutoi for Jondalar when she'd finally found people who treated her like family. I will forever be heartbroken that she wasn't reunited with Durc and that relationships with the Neanderthals were never explored in the final books. I thought it was setting up for that with some of the interactions and with Brukeval - who I also thought could have been a potential love interest with some character development. I did a video about all of Ayla's love interests and potentials if you're interested, but it is a few years old as well ruclips.net/video/plFd6RpDlhk/видео.html
Thank you for sharing you opinion ❤️❤️
@@JoLovesToRead hi! I'm the one who aired their self righteous opinions in your comment section. Thank you for responding graciously lol.
I just wanted to reply regarding the Jondalar/Ranec thing: Jondalar "loves" Ayla because she's beautiful, talented, and can fit his thingy in her/she's a good lay. Her history and where she comes from is a black mark to him... Even when he gets over it, he doesn't really get over it. He's ashamed of her. He's constantly fighting his shame of her.
Ranec, views her as a work of art. He's more fascinated by her past than disgusted with it. It seems to me that his take on her beauty is more mature and refined. He is able to handle her rejection. He is able to handle different parts of her that Jondalar cannot. I don't think they had a particularly deep relationship, I would grant that. But the deepest thing she has with Jondalar is that he was her first (in multiple different ways) and the plot said he can bring her back from the void-but I don't think there's a reasonable explanation for that. Other than because he's the main love interest.
I think... Idk. The impression I get is that Jondalar is more interested in Ayla for status (skills she brings) and eye candy reasons (which makes more sense when you realise he is still attracted to that horrible woman in the ninth cave in spite of everything she did to Ayla)...
The vibe with her and Ranec is that they could grow into a partnership that is mature and full... Her and Jondalar are so... Surface level. Maybe it's just the vibe I get. Maybe just I think Jondalar is trash (true anyway). It would have been better had Jondalar died to the cave lion, and his brother had fallen in love with her instead. At least then there would be some interesting internal conflict... Especially with his mate passing... Loss of his brother too... Then he would have a reason to hold back... rather than the self enforced thing because he makes up her history as a mother acolyte, but because he is grieving the woman he loves.
Then he could have stayed with the Mamutoi and whatever....
Just... Anything but Jondalar lol.
I totally agree, Land of the Painted Caves is the worst-written of the series. To me, every page screamed "I'm tired of this and just want it to be over", especially when dealing with an unpleasant character. Brukeval? He just kind of disappears. Marona? Does a slow fade to nowhere. Laramar? Moves away. No real resolve or closure anywhere.
I love this series, and I agree with you 6th book was the worst, and first three were the best by far.
I loved it as a teen came back after turning 25 and realized what a terrible love interest jondalar is 😅
I'm definitely curious to see what I think as an even older adult! Especially the earlier books. I just remember being super frustrated by the last book because I thought they learnt to communicate with each other in book 3! 😅😂
@@JoLovesToRead when I read them now I stop after book 3, her time with the mammoth hunters would have been so much better if he hadn't been such a stick in the mud
My ranking is 1, 3, 5, 4, 2 and 6.
I agree with your review and order. Couple of things about the series, a little too much graphic sex for my taste and I wish Ayla would learn to say no or communicate better, the riffs between her and Jondalar in the mammoth hunters make me scream sometimes especially after the had talked about things they seem to pop up over and over. Favorite parts are the animals and when wolf saves the day. I listen to the series or audiobooks and the last 2 books Ayla has a east block accent that drives me NUTS!
100% agree on Ayla needing to communicate. The drama in The Mammoth Hunters was interesting to begin with, but then it got too long and drawn out! I also hated how they supposedly learnt their lesson in communicating in The Mammoth Hunters, but not communicating is then the downfall again of The Painted Caves. It was so frustrating for them to have apparently grown as a couple, but then take steps back in the last book.
I loved the second book for those reasons too. It was fascinating to see Ayla survive with the help of the animals only. They were the real stars of the series!
Audiobook narrators can make or break things! That sucks!
I 100% agree with your rankings, from worst to best. The completely ridiculous storyline in book six made me so mad also; I’ve already sold my copy ;)
Thank you so much, you’ve made my day ☺️ It really disappointed me because there are so many other ways to bring conflict into a relationship and I thought it wasn’t in character either. I’m glad you sold your copy and made some money back!! 😏
I only read the first four books. My favourite was the first book. They werde getting worse, so i die not read the last two.
You’ve definitely read the best of the series! 😊
Auel's incessant descriptions and repetitions reminded me of another, more famous, book, which caused me to skip entire chapters full of lists of creatures the narrator merely viewed: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Auel's habit of describing sexual intercourse in the same exhaustive detail actually made THAT boring, too, and I would skim through those, the only reason I gave them even that much attention being not to miss when she finally moved on to something else.
I remember being stoked for Land of Painted Caves. I even purchased it new in hardback upon release which I rarely do because I’m a cheap bastard. I recall getting through maybe 30 or 40 pages before flinging it across the room. Trash. I can’t even comment on how the story played out because it was unreadable.
The rest of the books were terrific but I had to make two attempts to finish Shelters of Stone. I found the sex in this series to be rather disgusting.
I'm sorry you spent money on the hardback version!! It's so disappointing to dislike the last book in the series. The story was not great you didn't miss anything!!
Sorry. The fact is that the idea that a man (one his journey from the Russian steppes down to the north of Africa, and then on his way back with his wife and newborn, the boat they were in capsized and the mother of the little 1/2 black child dies. The story of HOW he went from what is now Spain--so not too far from where Jondalar and his brother set out from for their Great Journey--to the Russian Steppes was just too unbelievable because the book just before it Valley of Horses spent so long telling us of the dangers Jondalar and his brother faced, the difficulty of the two grown men having to hunt and fend off things like wooly rhinos. To try and make me believe that a father managed to get an infant through all those danger just made no sense. How did he hunt--since we knew from the Valley of Horses that Jondalar had to follow deer until they were run down. A man on his own with an infant could not do it. Then when the 1/2 black guy (infant grown up) was in the Harlequin Romance style love triangle was just stupid. It appeared to me that after two wildly successful novels, she had tried to bring in black audience even it if meant hurting the story to do so. So, the worst for me was Mammoth Hunters. Oh, also, in the other books (all about the same thickness as this book) YEARS pass, in Mammoth Hunters only one year passed. BOO. My fave though, like you is Valley of Horses (close second is Cave Bear). I just loved being swept up in Ayla's story and in the journey Thonolan and Jondalar were on.
I don't think it was about bringing in a black audience. You make it sound like tokenism. I think it was about inclusiveness, exploring all the different and wonderful ways there are to be human. After exploring in depth the difference between neanderthals and modern humans, Auel creating a biracial character is too much?
@@hellopaulie NO. It was not that the guy was bi-racial it was that based on the trials that befell Johdalar and his brother--two grown men--on their way to the Russian steppes (where Ayla lived in the Valley of Horses) it was just IMPOSSIBLE to suspend my disbelief that a father with an INFANT could make that journey. Remember when Jonhalar's brother was injured he had to be left behind--to fend for himself--while Jondalar hunted, and he was threatened several times. A baby could not have joined his father while the father was hunting and worse, he could not be left alone. You see what I mean? Crossing raging rivers (IF you want to see what that might have looked like watch the movie from the 1970s called Buffalo Rider, wherein a single STRONG man had to figure out how to get across a raging river while taking a baby.)
why would they travel through spain and most of europe? i have always assumed hey came from egypt,and that is not that bad a journe to east-or southeast of europe.
@@hannehanskov7560 The problem I pointed out still exists IF they came from Egypt since the baby would still have been left alone while the father hunted. However, IF you re-read the part where his mother DIED you will see that she drown crossing into Spain. That is why I said that.
I don't think jean auel wrote the last book. She lost interest in the commitment and the story. Just look how long it took for her to finish the series. Agree, the last book was a huge disappointment!
That’s true, it did take ages to publish the last book! It saddens me that she lost interest in the story. Couldn’t she have kept going and then just published another non fiction about her research for the series? 😬
How can I avail copies of the complete series?
Hi Gertie, it depends on where you are located and what services are available for you. There are lots of second hand copies of this book for sale online. If you have access to a library or an online loan system they might have them as well. Good luck finding them!
Wow.. I was enjoying this video until you used the term "feminazi" 👎
You’re absolutely right, I shouldn’t have used that term. I won’t ever again. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
So in other words you have no attention span?
If that's what you took from the video then sure 😂
But you do also realise people have different tastes?
sadly you do not understand the series.
The wonderful and sometimes frustrating part of reading is that every reader interprets things differently. Some will have the same understanding as the author, and others won’t. Each response is valid. I’m guessing from your comment that you enjoyed the entire series and I’m glad, but I’m also asking you to respect my thoughts on the series even though they were less favourable 😊
@@JoLovesToRead Join one of the four face books groups on the series, ask questions.
Thank you for the suggestion but no thanks. I’m happy with my understanding of the series 😊