Nici Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Oooooo Michelle that has made my day! Very very excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladymacbeth Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 That will be great to hear a review in advance. I don't need a reread of this series given I reread the first 4 books so many times as a teenager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 I read the first 3 books in this series a long time ago so I'd probably have to start again from the beginning if I wanted to read them all. So I had no intention of rereading these books till I read this thread & just happened to see 3 of the books in a charity shop in York & of course had to buy them (sigh!) So I totally blame you guys, the Book Forum strikes again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finty Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 Can't believe this saga is still going strong! I read the first three and then got fed up waiting for the next installment. Think I might revisit her books as I really enjoyed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Wallpaper Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 This series and Gabaldon's series are the only books I have bought in hardcover. I just love them. Luckily I didn't read COTCB until about 10 years ago, so I didn't have quite as long of a wait as some. I think that Plains of Passage was the slowest of the series, but I still enjoyed it. Auel does go into a lot of detail in many scenes, and sometimes it is drawn out, but overall I enjoy her descriptions. I am soooooooo excited for The Land of Painted Caves. Originally it was said that this would be the last book, but after reading this article it doesn't sound like it will be the last after all. Although I love the series, I kind of hoped it would be the last because I fear Auel will die and the ending will be lost forever. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101103/ap_en_ot/us_books_jean_auel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lecteur Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 hi all Honestly the whole saga is more than 4000 pages and not one minute you are bored. The author had strong historical references and the book is very well done. She (Leyla) is doing herself and in a short period all the discoveries made by certainly a lot of ancestors and in a wider range of time. But in fact some théories like Leyla having a child with a Neanderthal man, which suppose homo sapiens and Neanderthalians possibility of having mixed and given descendance, was excluded by scientists up till now but has just been recently exposed in Nature as a high possibility in 2010 after genomic studies of neanderthal remains. If you know about prehistorical times, you have a good opportunity to travel in time and imagine what life was. One of the ten best historical novel I read last 10 years. If you like prehistory, it is a must... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasei Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I don't know if I'd agree with the not one minute of boredom thing (and here I echo what others have said about Plains of Passage--a bit slow and not much happens) but I still like the series. The first two are, in my opinion, the best of the bunch. After that I just feel like I am reading a smutty romance novel set in prehistoric Europe. One day I'll go back and read them. I admit I haven't actually picked any of them up since High School, but I remember being completely swept away by Clan of the Cave Bear when I read it at 12, and then the The Valley of Horses I loved for all of its survival story aspects. I'm a sucker for a good survival story. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen was my favorite book growing up and the first half of Black Stallion is still one of my all-time favorite go-to quick reads. The next book comes out in March of this year and I hope it is the last one. Not trying to be mean or anything but she's getting older and she takes a long time to write her books, It'd be a shame for such a famous series to end unfinished. I also feel as though her writing deteriorates as the series goes on and, like someone said before, it just reads as more of the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 If you know prehistory its a must not I did read the first 3 years and years ago but since then never really bothered and probably won't with this one. I did love them but just no longer my cup of tea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 Well, The Land of Painted Caves is released worldwide tomorrow - who's going to buy it and who's going to wait for paperback? And how may of you managed to re-read the previous books? I did manage to get my early copy, but no where near as early as I first hoped! I'm about half way through, and trying desperately to get it finished so I can review it. All I can so far is it's typical 'Earth's Children', but although the descriptions remain good, it doesn't seem to be dragging as much as previous sections of the series did. It's easy to fall straight back into the world, and it is like returning to old friends. One thing I do think is well done is the way Jean Auel reminds you of past events, without going over them in detail. I'll hopefully be back soon, and I look forward to your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I will probably wait for the paperback, as I don't generally buy hardbacks (except for certain types of non fiction). I have read them all a couple of times now, and having studied paleoanthropology myself for a year via evening classes, can vouch for their authenticity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtz Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 These books are good if you want to enjoy good story, but not if you really wish to understand anthropology and pre-history. They really have no relation at all to reality. I do not wish to make people angry who enjoy the stories, but as I have always been interested in this period of time and even been involved in anthropological research involving bronze age settlements in northeastern Thailand, I wanted to tell people that are interested in factual study of pre-history to not rely on Auel books for information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladymacbeth Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Right I'm going to have to pop out tomorrow and buy this. I certainly won't be looking for a factual study of prehistoric Europe - fiction is fine by me! But I take your point Kurtz, alot of people do believe anything they read in a fictional novel - look at the Da Vinci code. My brother in law seemed fully convinced there were human remains buried in the louvre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 I will probably wait for the paperback, as I don't generally buy hardbacks (except for certain types of non fiction). I have read them all a couple of times now, and having studied paleoanthropology myself for a year via evening classes, can vouch for their authenticity. These books are good if you want to enjoy good story, but not if you really wish to understand anthropology and pre-history. They really have no relation at all to reality. I do not wish to make people angry who enjoy the stories, but as I have always been interested in this period of time and even been involved in anthropological research involving bronze age settlements in northeastern Thailand, I wanted to tell people that are interested in factual study of pre-history to not rely on Auel books for information. A difference of opinion, or are some issues/ideas more factual than others? I just like to think about how it 'may' have been.. seeing that time period through the eyes of someone who may have been there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtz Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 For example, the people in these books rode horses thousands of years before real people, according to archaeological evidence. Also, there is no fossil or archaeological record of women hunters, to my knowledge. Women stayed home and tended the home, and men went hunting. This is probably why modern women call chauvinist men neanderthals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 However, in the books, riding horses isn't the norm, nor are women hunters, so it could be argued that no one followed in Ayla's footsteps for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtz Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 For the purpose of story, this is fine. But realistically it is far-fetched to believe that there was this one woman hunter who rode horses and no one else did for thousands of years. However I am not trying to say these are bad stories, only they are not historically accurate. James Bond stories were ridiculously inaccurate but I still enjoy reading them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) The Land of the Painted Caves - I finished this a while ago, and thought that although there was nothing outstanding, it was a decent read. I've been trying to get around to my review, and have just gone to amazon.co.uk to find out what others think. I wasn't expecting a 5 star success, but I am surprised by the amount of 1 star reviews, and some of the anger. I wonder if many fans had expectations which were way too high, and this has lead to their disappointment? I'm interested to hear if anyone else on here has read it, and what your thoughts were? Edited April 16, 2011 by Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I finished this a while ago, and thought that although there was nothing outstanding, it was a decent read. I've been trying to get around to my review, and have just gone to amazon.co.uk to find out what others think. I wasn't expecting a 5 star success, but I am surprised by the amount of 1 star reviews, and some of the anger. I wonder if many fans had expectations which were way too high, and this has lead to their disappointment? I'm interested to hear if anyone else on here has read it, and what your thoughts were? I read Clan of The Cave Bear last month Michelle I put my thoughts about it on my reading thread. I can't vouch for it's historical accuracy but I did really enjoy it & gave it 5/5, sorry that you were underwhelmed by it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I'm 3/4 of the way through The Clan of the Cave Bear and am pretty much enjoying it, but not as much as I had hoped after reading reviews on here and other places, but I will definitely see it through to the end, but I'm not sure how keen I will be to read the rest of the series... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 I read Clan of The Cave Bear last month Michelle I put my thoughts about it on my reading thread. I can't vouch for it's historical accuracy but I did really enjoy it & gave it 5/5, sorry that you were underwhelmed by it Oh, sorry.. I was talking about The Land of Painted Caves, which is what I've just read. I actually love Clan of The Cave Bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Oh, sorry.. I was talking about The Land of Painted Caves, which is what I've just read. I actually love Clan of The Cave Bear. Oops my mistake!... I'm working my way gradually through the series so eventually I'll get to The Land of The Painted Cave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladymacbeth Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi Michelle, I finished The Land of painted Caves and wrote a little blurb on it on my reading blog. not sure if I can copy and paste. Will try in a mo. Here are my thoughts.... The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M Auel This was a really disappointing ending to the Earth's Children series. The book was difficult to get into as the pace was so slow but I did get used to the style. However so little happened in the book that there really wasn't much of a plot or character development at all. A large part of the middle of the book was comprised of descriptions of painted caves which Ayla visited. This did not interest me at all as I just can not imagine what they looked like from a written description. An illustrated version of the book may however improve it. There was also alot of repetition of information both within the book and from previous volumes to the point where I wondered if I was accidentally re-reading pages. The ending of the book picked up in pace slightly however the events were very predictable and there was nothing I gained from this book which I couldn't have foreseen from the last one. Sadly, this was definitely the worst book in the entire series. 2 out of 5 stars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 like Michelle, I also enjoyed the book but at the same time was dissapointed in it. Too much writing about the caves which became boring reading. I also thought it was a poor ending for a great series. unlike some though, I don't think it was unrealistic for a woman to discover how to ride a horse, why not, men aren't alone in this world, no mattter how long ago in history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 So has anyone finished the series? I took a peek at the Amazon reviews and was appalled by all the negative reviews for the book. I bought the first five of the books now (there was a sale so sue me ) and I am hoping there is some decent ending to the story instead of a rushed one. (12 years between books?! Really? Wow.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coryographies Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I've loved the series, but loved each installment a bit less than the last. So I've decided not to read The Land of Painted Caves. I've heard such terrible reviews, and raelly disliked the 5th book. I can't imagine getting anything but frustration and disapointment from this last one. I first read The Valley of Horses when I was 12. I absolutely loved it, and it might have something to do with why I became so interested in archaeology! I read The Clan of the Cave bear a few years later, and then started working my way through the series. The Clan of the Cave Bear and the Valley of Horses are the only ones I would ever recommend to people - the others I felt lacking. As others have said, Ayla was just to perfect of a character, and I never felt sympathy for boring Jondalar. I didn't understand their wierd hollow relationship and felt the sex scenes were artificially inserted and unecessary. I love the setting of Clan of the Cave Bear - I'm really interested in human evolution and especially Neanderthals, and was so sad that the author didn't continue with her characters in future books. It's really interesting to read the book and see the 'state of the art' of what researchers believed about Neanderthals, and how it is different from today's research. I'll always love reading that one! But the land of painted caves - even though I'm heading to central France next month to go on a dig, and I'll be in the area of many of the sites I'm sure she describes in the book - I'd rather read about from other sources, as I just don't think I'll enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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