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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
3.5/5
In [b:The Plains of Passage|74389|The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children #4)|Jean M. Auel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1324059606l/74389._SY75_.jpg|1377315], Ayla and Jondalar set off on an extremely long Journey back to Jondalar's home.
My favourite parts of their journey were the parts where they would encounter other people. There were several times when, on their way, they would pass various villages - some would regard them with fear (who are these strange spirits riding horses and commanding a wolf?), and others would hesitantly welcome them and slowly come to love and accept the animals. They also met, for the first time, people who were openly hostile and violent. Reading about how all these different people are eventually able to overcome their differences and accept each other was pretty heartwarming.
Unfortunately, the parts that I didn't like as much were the sections when it was just Ayla, Jondalar, and their animals travelling alone. I felt like these sections could have been shortened significantly as they were highly repetitive - Ayla and Jondalar would always be lost in thought, thinking about the same things over and over. Jondalar kept wondering if Ayla was right about how babies were made and kept worrying about whether or not his spirit was strong enough to impregnate Ayla. He was also constantly annoyed at Wolf (to be honest, Jondalar's constant impatience towards Wolf and his obsession with having kids annoyed me and made me like him even less). Meanwhile, Ayla kept missing Creb and Durc and kept worrying about whether or not Jondalar's people would accept her if they found out she was raised by Clan.
Overall, I have to say that [a:Jean M. Auel|861|Jean M. Auel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1300759227p2/861.jpg]'s books never cease to amaze me. The amount of research that goes into writing this book is astounding - everything from prehistoric history, environmental and geological conditions, animal behaviours, plant life, medicinal plants and edible plants, and prehistoric 'technology' were incredibly well-researched. Things like cooking, creating tools, soaps, clothes, and lodging in an era where modern equipment and metal doesn't exist, was described and explained in incredible and fascinating detail.
In addition to the research, one of the main reasons why I've loved this series so far is Ayla's journey of innovation and discovery. I'm constantly fascinated by the new discoveries that Ayla makes (cultural, psychological, or technological) and how we're able to draw parallels between Ayla's experiences and that of modern society. Her fears and struggles were also very relatable - I think everyone can relate to feeling like an outsider and working towards creating a society that is more accepting of people's differences.
In [b:The Plains of Passage|74389|The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children #4)|Jean M. Auel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1324059606l/74389._SY75_.jpg|1377315], Ayla and Jondalar set off on an extremely long Journey back to Jondalar's home.
My favourite parts of their journey were the parts where they would encounter other people. There were several times when, on their way, they would pass various villages - some would regard them with fear (who are these strange spirits riding horses and commanding a wolf?), and others would hesitantly welcome them and slowly come to love and accept the animals. They also met, for the first time, people who were openly hostile and violent. Reading about how all these different people are eventually able to overcome their differences and accept each other was pretty heartwarming.
Unfortunately, the parts that I didn't like as much were the sections when it was just Ayla, Jondalar, and their animals travelling alone. I felt like these sections could have been shortened significantly as they were highly repetitive - Ayla and Jondalar would always be lost in thought, thinking about the same things over and over. Jondalar kept wondering if Ayla was right about how babies were made and kept worrying about whether or not his spirit was strong enough to impregnate Ayla. He was also constantly annoyed at Wolf (to be honest, Jondalar's constant impatience towards Wolf and his obsession with having kids annoyed me and made me like him even less). Meanwhile, Ayla kept missing Creb and Durc and kept worrying about whether or not Jondalar's people would accept her if they found out she was raised by Clan.
Overall, I have to say that [a:Jean M. Auel|861|Jean M. Auel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1300759227p2/861.jpg]'s books never cease to amaze me. The amount of research that goes into writing this book is astounding - everything from prehistoric history, environmental and geological conditions, animal behaviours, plant life, medicinal plants and edible plants, and prehistoric 'technology' were incredibly well-researched. Things like cooking, creating tools, soaps, clothes, and lodging in an era where modern equipment and metal doesn't exist, was described and explained in incredible and fascinating detail.
In addition to the research, one of the main reasons why I've loved this series so far is Ayla's journey of innovation and discovery. I'm constantly fascinated by the new discoveries that Ayla makes (cultural, psychological, or technological) and how we're able to draw parallels between Ayla's experiences and that of modern society. Her fears and struggles were also very relatable - I think everyone can relate to feeling like an outsider and working towards creating a society that is more accepting of people's differences.
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Least favorite of this series so far. Clan of the Cave Bear (book 1) is amazing and one of my favorites and to see it go from amazing to this is so disappointing. The repetitive description of the landscape from every tree and shrub, rivers, animals, etc everywhere they went, over and over again... snore! Love scenes were even repetitive and, let's face it, not at all realistic. Had to force myself to finish this one....
25% cool survivalist tech discovery and development, 25% caveman porn, and half geology
More like a 3 and a half stars book for me. I love Auel's Earth's Children series although I think my favourite books are still books 1 and 2. I still enjoy reading about Ayla and Jondalar and I especially appreciated the descriptive writing, setting the scene and introducing the animals of that time.
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the slowest of the series so far. The descriptions of the travelling gets really repetitive after awhile, but I loved the parts where they met different groups of people. (Just a reminder -- this series is NOT for children like I usually read.)
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The only reason I am not giving this book 5 stars (it's truly an amazing story) is because Jean M. Auel overly enjoys writing unnecessary sex scenes, especially when you consider that at least one of said scenes were about mammoths having sex, and our two travelers (Ayla and Jondalar) being intensely turned on by this. Wtf.
HOWEVER, if you skip past the sex scenes this book is beautifully written, incredibly descriptive and educational at points, and the heroine of the novel is absolutely stunning.
HOWEVER, if you skip past the sex scenes this book is beautifully written, incredibly descriptive and educational at points, and the heroine of the novel is absolutely stunning.
I haven’t revisited this series for a while and it is always such a fun journey. The part to do with Ataroa is my absolute favourite part of this book. However, to this instalment made me aware of the copious repetition in this book. I have been listening to this series on audiobook this time so it wasn’t that irritating as I just fast-forwarded through those parts. All in all it was a very enjoyable experience.
4 stars - This time through I noticed a bit of repetition but a very fun experience rereading never the less. Try the audiobooks, they are fantastic.
4 stars - This time through I noticed a bit of repetition but a very fun experience rereading never the less. Try the audiobooks, they are fantastic.
An interesting look into prehistoric life. The protagonist does appear to be almost single handedly responsible for all prehistoric innovations - keeping horses and dogs/wolves for pets, sowing, etc. I wonder whether she will also invent the wheel before the series comes to an end. The frequent sex scenes sometimes make it feel like a Harlequin novel ("boeketreeks"). Or at least, I would imagine... I do believe this is the first book in the series that shows that not everyone is well intentioned in pre history. Either way, still interesting enough to want to read the entire series.