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A review by hmgelo02
The Shelters of Stone: Earth's Children, Book Five by Jean M. Auel
5.0
This is the fifth - and the last published - novel by [a:Jean M Auel|861|Jean M. Auel|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1206470150p2/861.jpg] in her Earth's Children series. I had waited about ten years between having finished the 4th book in the series, [b:The Plains of Passage|74389|The Plains of Passage|Jean M. Auel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170852386s/74389.jpg|1377315] and when this novel was published to read what I'd hoped would be the next exciting chapter in the life of Ayla, the series' heroine.
What I got, however, was a book that seemed like more of a repetition of her previous four books than something that was entirely new. It is repetitive at times, enough that even on my first reading I found myself skimming through to scenes that held my interest more. However, as repetitive as this book was, I liked it far better than the one immediately preceding it. I wish that Auel had chosen to devote equal amounts of time to the timeline, which spanned about a year; rather, she chose to spend the first several hundred pages on the first 48 hours, and the next hundred on the first month. The remainder of the year is given the remaining 200 pages; it's not even, and had I not been so very curious as to how Auel would end this novel, I may not have plowed through so enthusiastically.
I've been trying to find out when her next installation will be published; if history tells us anything, it will be several more years before I'm able to find out what happens next in Ayla's life. I read rumors that what she had originally planned to be a six-book series may end up being a seven-book series. I can only hope that her next two novels finish the series on as high a note as she began it.
Note: although I began reading this series at what now seems to be a very young age, this book, as well as those that came before it, contains very graphic details of sexual acts. I would recommend this to any adult who wants to learn more about the emerging world of humans in the ice age, and who wants to read a really well-written story.
A further note: although each of these novels can be read on their own, the experience is far greater when reading them sequentially. Each novel builds upon the details on its predecessors; in this case, the sum is far greater than its parts.
What I got, however, was a book that seemed like more of a repetition of her previous four books than something that was entirely new. It is repetitive at times, enough that even on my first reading I found myself skimming through to scenes that held my interest more. However, as repetitive as this book was, I liked it far better than the one immediately preceding it. I wish that Auel had chosen to devote equal amounts of time to the timeline, which spanned about a year; rather, she chose to spend the first several hundred pages on the first 48 hours, and the next hundred on the first month. The remainder of the year is given the remaining 200 pages; it's not even, and had I not been so very curious as to how Auel would end this novel, I may not have plowed through so enthusiastically.
I've been trying to find out when her next installation will be published; if history tells us anything, it will be several more years before I'm able to find out what happens next in Ayla's life. I read rumors that what she had originally planned to be a six-book series may end up being a seven-book series. I can only hope that her next two novels finish the series on as high a note as she began it.
Note: although I began reading this series at what now seems to be a very young age, this book, as well as those that came before it, contains very graphic details of sexual acts. I would recommend this to any adult who wants to learn more about the emerging world of humans in the ice age, and who wants to read a really well-written story.
A further note: although each of these novels can be read on their own, the experience is far greater when reading them sequentially. Each novel builds upon the details on its predecessors; in this case, the sum is far greater than its parts.