henry_wallison 's review for:

The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel

4.0

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This book as a stand-alone entity was an essentially enjoyable story, but it served as an incredibly disappointing conclusion to a very lengthy series.

Spoiler

This series was initially made so interesting because of its narratives regarding Ayla and the Clan. Despite this initial point of intrigue, the book spent very little to no time exploring the relationship between the Others and the Clan. It felt as though the whole series was going to culminate in some meaningful interaction between these two groups, but this is far from the case, as full-blood members of the Clan make no appearance in the book. Instead, the book ended up being a spiritual exploration for Ayla that held no meaningful connection to some of the most fundamental aspects of the earlier books.

Certainly, read this book if you've made it this far in the series, but prepare to be underwhelmed by the concussion this book creates.