Earth's Children Series By Jean Auel
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Earth's Children Series By Jean Auel
Jean Auel Sixth Book "Land Of the Painted Caves" is now out.
Jean started this series over 30 years ago. I started reading these books in high school. And the wait in between books grew larger with each book, but in my opinion the wait was always worth it.
Here's a list of All The Books in the Earth's Children Series By Jean Auel
The Clan Of The Cave Bear
The Valley of the Horses
The Mammoth Hunters
The Plains of Passage
The Shelters Of Stone
The Land of The Painted Caves
Jean Auel Discusses The Land of Painted Caves
Earth's Children
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The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel - Excerpt
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, Book One)
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The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, Book One)
Book Description
Series: Earth's Children | Publication Date: June 25, 2002 This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Through Jean M. Auel’s magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age world they shared with the ones who called themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear.
A natural disaster leaves the young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly--she is one of the Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Iza’s way of healing, most come to accept her. But the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader sees her differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge.
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The Valley of Horses (Earth's Children, Book Two)
Cruelly cast out by the new leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others, tall and fair like herself. The short summer gives her little time to look, and when she finds a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe horses, she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter ahead. Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many skills but not real hunting. She finally knows she can survive when she traps a horse, which gives her meat and a warm pelt for the winter, but fate has bestowed a greater gift, an orphaned foal with whom she develops a unique kinship. One winter extends to more; she discovers a way to make fire more quickly and a wounded cave lion cub joins her unusual family, but her beloved animals don’t fulfill her restless need for human companionship. Then she hears the sound of a man screaming in pain. She saves tall, handsome Jondalar, who brings her a language to speak and an awakening of love and desire, but Ayla is torn between her fear of leaving her valley and her hope of living with her own kind.
 | Amazon Price: $6.15 List Price: $16.00 |
The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children, Book Three)
Riding Whinney with Jondalar, the man she loves, and followed by the mare’s colt, Ayla ventures into the land of the Mamutoi--the Mammoth Hunters. She has finally found the Others she has been seeking. Though Ayla must learn their different customs and language, she is adopted because of her remarkable hunting ability, singular healing skills, and uncanny fire-making technique. Bringing back the single pup of a lone wolf she has killed, Ayla shows the way she tames animals. She finds women friends and painful memories of the Clan she left behind, and meets Ranec, the dark-skinned, magnetic master carver of ivory, whom she cannot refuse--inciting Jondalar to a fierce jealousy that he tries to control by avoiding her. Unfamiliar with the ways of the Others, Ayla misunderstands, and thinking Jondalar no longer loves her, she turns more to Ranec. Throughout the icy winter the tension mounts, but warming weather will bring the great mammoth hunt and the mating rituals of the Summer Meeting, when Ayla must choose to remain with Ranec and the Mamutoi, or to follow Jondalar on a long journey into an unknown future.
 | Amazon Price: $5.89 List Price: $16.00 |
The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children, Book Four)
With her companion, Jondalar, Ayla sets out on her most dangerous and daring journey--away from the welcoming hearths of the Mammoth Hunters and into the unknown.Their odyssey spans a beautiful but sparsely populated and treacherous continent, the windswept grasslands of Ice Age Europe, casting the pair among strangers. Some will be intrigued by Ayla and Jondalar, with their many innovative skills, including the taming of wild horses and a wolf; others will avoid them, threatened by what they cannot understand; and some will threaten them. But Ayla, with no memory of her own people, and Jondalar, with a hunger to return to his, are impelled by their own deep drives to continue their trek across the spectacular heart of an unmapped world to find that place they can both call home.
 | Amazon Price: $6.98 List Price: $16.00 |
The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children, Book Five)
The Shelters of Stone opens as Ayla and Jondalar, along with their animal friends, Wolf, Whinney, and Racer, complete their epic journey across Europe and are greeted by Jondalar’s people: the Zelandonii. The people of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii fascinate Ayla. Their clothes, customs, artifacts, even their homes—formed in great cliffs of vertical limestone—are a source of wonder to her. And in the woman Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of the Ninth Cave (and the one who initiated Jondalar into the Gift of Pleasure), she meets a fellow healer with whom to share her knowledge and skills.
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The Land of Painted Caves(6th Book Earth's Children Series)
From Publishers Weekly
Thirty thousand years in the making and 31 years in the writing, Auel's overlong and underplotted sixth and final volume in the Earth's Children series (The Clan of the Cave Bear; etc.) finds Cro-Magnon Ayla; her mate, Jondalar; and their infant daughter, Jonayla, settling in with the clan of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonaii. Animal whisperer and medicine woman Ayla is an acolyte in training to become a full-fledged Zelandoni (shaman) of the clan, but all is not rosy in this Ice Age setting; there are wild animals to face and earthquakes to survive, as well as a hunter named Balderan, who has targeted Ayla for death, and a potential cave-wrecker named Marona.
Jean Auel, author of The Earth's Children series, talks to Chris Stringer | Natural History Museum
Interview With Jean Auel June 2009
Written by N. Gallego / J. Oliva
Wednesday, 24th of June, 2009
American writer and author of 'Earth's Children' series Jean Marie Auel visited the La Cabilla archaeological site yesterday, in the neighbourhood of Benzú. Auel is making her researching study to start writing the 7th book of the series, which will be the last. 'El Faro' [newspaper] talked with her to know more about her visit and what impressions she has got from Ceuta.
- You have been visiting several sites in Spain and now Benzú's. What have you found in them?
- In Bezú's site, the fist thing we have done is watching the panoramic view of the sea, where we have been able to gaze the beauty of the [Gibraltar] Strait. Besides, the materials are very ancient there and you can see pieces of tools and devices embedded in rock. So all of this can give us an idea of how the human beings used to live there so long ago and how they were. It's something unique.
- Something of all the things that you have seen in Bezú has inspired you enough to use it for your next book?
- I don't know yet. Perhaps I count on it in some way but not for the book that I'm writing now. I'll have to think about it and evaluate it and maybe I could use something for the next book. I've found here a very interesting material to work on
- It's well known that you are really interested in the Gibraltar Strait. Why?
- I'm interested because I think that it's possible that the Neanderthals had crossed through there in their way towards Africa or in the other way round. Maybe. Even though these extremes are not archaelogically proved I'm just a fiction-writer, which means that I don't write about anything official or technical. Sometimes archaeologists don't agree with some of the things that I write, but I must insist that it's only fiction despite I use some historic elements and facts. Personally, I like to add some magical elements in my stories. I use some actual facts and then I give them a special touch. About the Strait, I think that it's a fascinating place because the north of Africa and the south of Europe are really closed. The Mediterranean Sea is all around, and also because of the weather, and also because it has a very important historical remark.
- Will you ever finish the 'Earth's Children' saga?
- Actually there will be seven books. I'm finishing the 6th now and it'll be soon in my agent's hands. It'll be available probably through next year. For the final book, I have to start writing it when I come back home. It's for it why I am making all this current researching study.
- You are an expert on Ancient societies, in fact you are an anthropologist. Do you really think that we have changed so much as we have been told?
- [Laughs] I think that we are still very similar, actually. For instance, if you take the example of the Neanderthal man who died over a stone, who lived all his life blind of an eye and who had serious injuries on his bones, you'll see that he was a man who was driven by love. Actually he didn't hunt for himself, but for the people he took after. For that reason, I really think that even in the Ancient societies people love and take care of each other. We are more similar than we are used to think, probably they loved one each other too.
- Your books are quite educational because they summarise some of the most important moments in the human evolution. Do you think that they should be used to teach Prehistory at schools?
- I write for adult people. I speak about the overall experience of the human being, about the inner feelings and sexuality. Apart from this, yes, I think that my books are very useful because, especially in some educational systems, like the Scandinavian, some parts of my books are used for this purpose and brought to the schools and included in their textbooks.
- Did you ever think about becoming rich and famous as a book writer?
- I haven't earned so much money writing books, but for me it's more important the proud of being read in so many countries rather than money. My books have been translated into 35 languages, more or less, like Hebrew, Spanish or Catalan.
- Have you tried reading your own books in another language?
- I can't read in other languages. Anyway, some of my readers have sent letters to me explaining if the translations were good or bad. In the cases where the translations were bad, I had to change of publisher in order to not distort the literary work.
CommentsLoading...
Art is not life, but should be more satisfying. Auel should certainly reunite Ayla with Durc in the last volume of the series and tie up loose ends. It would be extremely interesting if she were to see the surviving members of her former clan again, as well as Durc. Since travel over great distances is so easy for her and Jondalar, they should certainly travel back to her old home.
Book 7 was an incredible disappointment after waiting so long for it to be finished and published. I thought it was going to tie up loose ends and finally tell us what happened to Durc. But no--instead we get lengthy and boring sociology discussions and find out that Jondalar is as shallow as a mud puddle when we all thought he was a sea of loyalty and love for his woman. And then Ayla defiles herself with a Cretan to get even----argggh! Miss Auel has torn down her image as a wonderful writer with this drivel. I gave my expensive hard copy to my grandchildren to take to the second hand book store to trade in for stuff to read. It does not belong on the shelf with the rest of the Earth's Children series and it is certainly not on mine! For the first time I regret spending money for one of her books.
I have read the first 5 books 3 times while waiting for the 6th and I regret to say that I am very disappointed in the "Land of Painted Caves". I did not read any reviews before I read the book because I don't trust other peoples opinions regarding book or movies and I still don't agree with some of the reviews. I agree that parts were boring, there was a lot of repetition, but that can be skipped if you have recently read the previous books, and descriptions of her knowledge of flora and fauna gets boring. I feel she left out some of the most important things, such as more contact with the Clan which was part of her visions in the previous books.
Personally, I was expecting her to have a son who was to meet with Durc and I did not feel her explanation of that vision was satisfactory. Maybe I was expecting too much from this series!
Mac, have you not thought that maybe the betrayel of Jondalar sleeping with Ayla was an important aspect of the story to show how strong their love actually is? Although i suppose you may not know this as you didn't bother to read on. i suggest you do
Folks, Do you have libraries where you? I waited a few weeks and check ed it. Yes, the 6th book is repetitive, but just for a moment think that the early humans found comfort in repetition and chants in their daily struggle for survival, when they aren't sure where their next meal is coming from. The hope that Ayla sees her son is just too tidy. A & J have made journies that killed most of their peers. It is simplistic to wish Ayla sees Durc again. How many times did A & J avoid death? The 6th book is not her best but it continues a most enjoyable journey that we can all hope the Jean will continue and gift us a 7th book....and who could blame her for not writing a 7th book with all the whinny and trash talk that has been thrown her way. If she chooses not to write a 7th book and you wonder why re-read all the comments above. Jean, thank you for writing 6 books and we would be grateful if you once again found the strength and courage to write a 7th book. Thank you for A & J. Good night
Re: Sandra Andersen
There is just the six that are on the Hub.. I am almost jealous that you get to read some that you haven't read yet. Enjoy!!!!
No, have a missed a book with all of my medical transplants etc. I have not heard of the "Shelters of the Stone" nor "The land of Painted Caves". Help. Is that all I have missed? I would have to look but I think my last book was "Valley of The Horses".
Don't give up hope ,, In one of her interviews last year she said there a chance for a 7th book..... keeping our fingers crossed
hey im 12 i started reading these books last year and i cannot stop im up tothe last one and im devostated she isn't writing anymore :(
My mum got me into these books and I'm only 17! I read them in a heart beat, they were just so amazing! I just love how much information there is about the ice age world. Man oh man am I excited for number 7! Pleeeease come quickly! Thanks for these breath taking books Jean!
My mum got me into these books and I'm only 17! I read them in a heart beat, they were just so amazing! I just love how much information there is about the ice age world. Man oh man am I excited for number 7! Pleeeease come quickly! Thanks for these breath taking books Jean!
Will the books 5 and 6 be translated to portuguese language.? I asked the EuropAmerica editors several times about book 5 and they say that there is no date for that, so should i have no hope for that to happen?!
All you people that think that Durc is coming back in Jean Auel's 7th book are all nuts in the fu$^#@king head. She explains about Durc on pages 718 and 719 in The Land Of Painted Caves, besides I am not yet convinced that there will even be a 7th book.
I am lucky to have read the first book only in 2008. So, it didn't take so long for me to wait for the final book. But I wonder, would I still be alive when the books are filmed?
i just finished this book 6. i had been so looking forward to it.
The way it ended left me upset, disappointed and frustrated. I could handle the storylines and understood why they were there. but if this is truly the end of the series (and there isn't a 7th book), as was my understanding before i read some of these articles, then as a fan i will be truly disappointed.
If there is a book 7 (as is the current implication) then i hope it includes more character/storyline completion and the finishing of the tale. As interesting as her inclusions of the archaeological sites and artifacts are, if their future insertion causes the story to veer away from the true story of Ayla without an apparent purpose, then they should be excluded.
As an anthropologist, i absolutely love what she includes. in fact, it helped me enjoy learning about the physical and archaeological aspects of my degree.
But, as a writer, a reader and a fan, I felt very let down at the completion of this book. It felt too cutoff, as if it was chopped off at the end and not repolished; it was like a flint blade that had been used extensively and chipped through use and needed to be resharpened, but was left unfinished and rough.
What it did was leave me frustrated and hoping that there is at least one more book to her series. I hope that there is at least a book 7. Ms. Auel is one my favorite authors and a role model as both an anthropologist and as a fiction writer. I hope that she will fix things in a subsequent book or books.
from what i have read there is exposed to be a 7th. i really hope so. i am 19 and read all 6 books in 4 days. and the way it ended i new there would be another. it is a great series. and i hope to see more.
Mac - Maybe you should finish the book before you tell her how to end it??
I think this book was not her strongest book in the series. It dragged a lot in the first 2 parts. The lengthy descriptions are found in all of her previous books, so that part didn't really bother me because I was expecting that. I think she wanted Ayla to feel jealousy because she had never felt anything like that before, never learned to as a Clan woman, and that was the purpose of the storyline with J sleeping with Marona.
This website/interview leaves me encouraged that there will most likely, if not definitely, be a seventh book. There have been rumours for quite some time of seven books, but since it was supposed to be six, I didn't hold my breath. I am hoping that it doesn't take as long to write, but I would rather have a better storyline, and better plot in book seven than what happened in book six. Seems to me like book six was just a platform or a setup FOR another book. We know that Ayla didn't spend much of Jonayla's younger years together, issues with relationship, what she had to do to become Zelandoni, etc. There is a lot of story left to tell, Ayla is only 26. Can't wait for the next one.
I read the book and it was total disappointment,i have read all the books in the series and enjoy every book especially The Mammoth Hunters this was the most beautiful book i have ever read.
and the writer was my admired writer in the world and with that in mind.
i began to read the last book of the saga and the book was boring but i can live with that and when i continue to read i was blow away how jean M.Auel destroy the man we all love for so long Jondalar with the story of the unfaithfulness of him and when Ayla find out she goes and sleep with somebody new.
in that point i could'nt continue reading and i put the book down and check if i can return the book to amazon.
in that thought i want to finish and ask why jean M.Auel was determent to destoy the book for all of you that love the story between Jondalar Ayla and the great love they share for one and the other.
SO don't buy this book and don't let jean M.Auel destroy for all of us readers the saga.
it would be great if jean would make another book and say that Ayla was dreaming the all ending and that would prove to us the fans that she realy care aboutt what you are thinking.
so i think or hope that Jean will surprise everyone and correct the characters especially jondlar, maybe a dream that gone wrong so please jean rewrite the end so all of your fans can live with the end of this wonderfull series and enjoy the the end like you suppose to give us before
I believe that I owe Ms. Auel an apology for my last comment about her new book Land of Painted Caves. I can see now where she was going with it, now that I am finished the book that is. Ms Auel has written an amazing book, just like the other five that she wrote before. As for GinaZ, if that was all the cash you had at the time when you bought this book you should have waited until you had more, or you could have waited for the paperback copy. I guess that there is some people who will complain about everything anyway.
kaye 8 weeks ago
I just finishwd Land of Painted Caves and I enjoyed it.The personal problems and reactions of Alya and Jondalar are no diferent then the way we react.I to was betrayed by one I loved deeply and under stand their pain.I so hope there will be another book as I hate loosing my friends and I would love to see a movie or TV series done if they follow the books faithfully.Thank you Jean Auel for many hours of enjoyment and for sytimulating the old gray matter.