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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
So, I have decided to ditch this book 20% through.
Ayla is no longer a survivor carving out an existence by her sheer grit, gumption and wits. Jondalar is being his usual boring self. The Lion Camp has too many goddamn people which sound too damn similar to one another and I can't keep track of who is who.
I didn't mind the meticulous descriptions of knapping and carving, but as a bleeding heart vegan I have a problem with hunting and butchering descriptions. And I'm not the type to care about romantic plots, they bore me stiff.
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, if there's absolutely nothing better to read, I'll go back to reading this series. But I doubt it.
Ayla is no longer a survivor carving out an existence by her sheer grit, gumption and wits. Jondalar is being his usual boring self. The Lion Camp has too many goddamn people which sound too damn similar to one another and I can't keep track of who is who.
I didn't mind the meticulous descriptions of knapping and carving, but as a bleeding heart vegan I have a problem with hunting and butchering descriptions. And I'm not the type to care about romantic plots, they bore me stiff.
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, if there's absolutely nothing better to read, I'll go back to reading this series. But I doubt it.
My ratings of these books are largely sentimental. I remember loving the first 3 (what had been written up till then) and being very impressed with them as a teenager. I plan to read the 4th one eventually and we’ll see how it holds up against my more discerning tastes now.
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the point in the series where the whole thing started to get very tedious. I finally finished the book - with a year’s gap in the middle - and did manage to get through the next book, but that was it for me.
The first two were about enough.
The first two were about enough.
I listened to the first two books in this series on audio cd while commuting back and forth to work, and they were very entertaining and addictive. I found myself sitting in the driveway when I got home to find out what happened next. The library didn't have the 3rd book, so I borrowed it to read. SOOOO boring. What I could tune out listening, the repetitiveness and the continuous descriptions and redescriptions were just too much and I didn't finish. I just couldn't make myself. So - there's a lesson - a book that's too boring to read might just be really good to listen to on a long car ride.
Another incredible installment in this epic series! What a great - and gentle - intro to the Others for Ayla.
I loved the connection that Auel included of Mamut being the man with the broken arm that Iza's grandmother treated. That was very cool. It made Ayla's experience with the Clan seem less abstract or separate/disconnected. Because the two worlds can feel very far away from each other.
Ok, seriously - I loved this book, but I spent the whole time mad! The stupid inter-personal dysfunction between Ayla and Jondalar was so irritating. Of course, people in real life can be that stupid, so it wasn't bad writing - I just wanted to knock their heads together and make them communicate. I hate when the characters don't listen to my advice!
I don't think I saw this when I first read the book years ago, but Ranec was totally a tool masquerading as a good guy. he says he loves Ayla, but he doesn't see her as a person. He puts her up on this perfect, beautiful pedestal, and wants to have her. But he never gets to know her. His love seemed very shallow to me, and I found myself disliking him very strongly.
There are so many other things I could write, but I think I'll leave off there - I just had to vent!
I loved the connection that Auel included of Mamut being the man with the broken arm that Iza's grandmother treated. That was very cool. It made Ayla's experience with the Clan seem less abstract or separate/disconnected. Because the two worlds can feel very far away from each other.
Ok, seriously - I loved this book, but I spent the whole time mad! The stupid inter-personal dysfunction between Ayla and Jondalar was so irritating. Of course, people in real life can be that stupid, so it wasn't bad writing - I just wanted to knock their heads together and make them communicate. I hate when the characters don't listen to my advice!
I don't think I saw this when I first read the book years ago, but Ranec was totally a tool masquerading as a good guy. he says he loves Ayla, but he doesn't see her as a person. He puts her up on this perfect, beautiful pedestal, and wants to have her. But he never gets to know her. His love seemed very shallow to me, and I found myself disliking him very strongly.
There are so many other things I could write, but I think I'll leave off there - I just had to vent!
I love the Earth's Children's Series by Jean Auel. I will say that the last 2 books were disappointing and the 4th book was what started that going down point. It is my opinion that this book, the 3rd book in the series is the best book. It is my favorite story.
Everything that has been happening for the past 2 books comes together to make this amazing story. It's a wonderful 3 book arc. There is some weird love triangle stuff between Ayla, Jondalar and Ranec. I didn't enjoy that and I thought it was foolish, but young lovers are often foolish, so I forgive it.
Jondalar and Ayla have left their happy valley heading back to Jondalar's family. They meet up with another clan and they join the clan for a year or so and become part of the tribe. Jondalar has discovered the throwing stick that gives better spear throwing and killing abilities and both he and Ayla bring so much to the tribe. They are the star couple. Everyone is amazed by the wolf and the horse and how Ayla controls them.
We learn how they build their homes, how they hunt and how they party. Every summer they gather for a big party, basically, together. They find mates, spead learning and share community. My favorite moment in the book is when Baby, his cave lion she raised that is the size of a horse or more is coming toward the summer gathering and the hunters want to kill it. Ayla sees Baby, yells at him and runs to him and hugs him. Then she jumps on his back and runs off for a bit. The whole village thinks she's a witch or a goddess. They don't understand her. That is the moment that seals this book for me. I just love it.
Ayla and Jondalar leave the camp for his family at the end, but the way the rest of the book goes, I wish they would have stayed and this would be the last one. This makes for a great ending.
I also enjoy Mamut, the Shaman who teaches Ayla about being a Shaman. It's really great stuff.
I love this book and it is the best storytelling Jean has done. It's a great series, a bit slow paced and the sex is graphic and so so repetitive that it gets absolutely boring. The sex is a bit ridiculous. She explains so much of how pre-historic man lived and the plants there and there is a ton of research that goes into this and sometimes it does slow the narrative down a bit, but I find it fascinating and I love it.
I need to do a re-read of this series again someday soon. It's just so good.
Everything that has been happening for the past 2 books comes together to make this amazing story. It's a wonderful 3 book arc. There is some weird love triangle stuff between Ayla, Jondalar and Ranec. I didn't enjoy that and I thought it was foolish, but young lovers are often foolish, so I forgive it.
Jondalar and Ayla have left their happy valley heading back to Jondalar's family. They meet up with another clan and they join the clan for a year or so and become part of the tribe. Jondalar has discovered the throwing stick that gives better spear throwing and killing abilities and both he and Ayla bring so much to the tribe. They are the star couple. Everyone is amazed by the wolf and the horse and how Ayla controls them.
We learn how they build their homes, how they hunt and how they party. Every summer they gather for a big party, basically, together. They find mates, spead learning and share community. My favorite moment in the book is when Baby, his cave lion she raised that is the size of a horse or more is coming toward the summer gathering and the hunters want to kill it. Ayla sees Baby, yells at him and runs to him and hugs him. Then she jumps on his back and runs off for a bit. The whole village thinks she's a witch or a goddess. They don't understand her. That is the moment that seals this book for me. I just love it.
Ayla and Jondalar leave the camp for his family at the end, but the way the rest of the book goes, I wish they would have stayed and this would be the last one. This makes for a great ending.
I also enjoy Mamut, the Shaman who teaches Ayla about being a Shaman. It's really great stuff.
I love this book and it is the best storytelling Jean has done. It's a great series, a bit slow paced and the sex is graphic and so so repetitive that it gets absolutely boring. The sex is a bit ridiculous. She explains so much of how pre-historic man lived and the plants there and there is a ton of research that goes into this and sometimes it does slow the narrative down a bit, but I find it fascinating and I love it.
I need to do a re-read of this series again someday soon. It's just so good.
I loved this book but the cultural barriers were killers at times!
At this point I have this love - hate relationship going with the earth children series. I find that the books are unnecessarily long and ridiculously repetitive and that basically half could be taken out without any loss of the story. And then again I want to know more. I really just can't stop until I know what happens to Ayla. Maybe this ridiculous repetition has made me feel closer to the character - I'm not sure what does it, but I do want to keep on reading, even though I tell myself that I'm not really a fan of the books. I think for this one in particular ("The mammoth hunters"), I was a bit taken back by what I find as a steady degrade of character development. As a resolution of the book Jondalar did come a long way, but it really did take a LONG time for him to get there, even though it seams pretty simple. Ayla seams to be exactly the same, though a lot less scared of people. The whole "rape" incident that wasn't rape was super annoying and I was scratching my head just thinking can they for the love of God just talk to one another so that we can move on with the plot. 400 pages later they decided to talk and all is good. An entire book later we are pretty much back to exactly where we started: Ayla and Jondalar are on the way back to find his people together and they love each other. I can't give it less than three stars and still read the next book, so three stars it is for that reason mostly.