Scan barcode
icelore's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh. I had previously read books 1-5 of this series before, and decided to reread them again in preparation for finally reading final installment. While overall I did enjoy reading the rest of the series again, this book was a huge let down. :( "Land of Painted Caves" isn't about the land and practices of people who hold painted caves sacred. It's about...painted caves. Various painted caves. Described in detail, cavern by cavern, wall by wall, picture by picture.
Though this is a substantial book, little to no character development was seen, no over-arching stories were resolved, and really, there wasn't even a plot for this book itself! I do not give low ratings for books lightly (just like I don't easily score high), but this book earns it's two stars. I reserve one star rating for books that are just abysmal, with horrid writing and characters, and thankfully this book rises above that, but doesn't go beyond at all. At least you can skim or completely skip every single repetitive description of another painted cave and get to the end just to say you've finished.
Definitely not what I was looking for in the ending of this series at all.
Though this is a substantial book, little to no character development was seen, no over-arching stories were resolved, and really, there wasn't even a plot for this book itself! I do not give low ratings for books lightly (just like I don't easily score high), but this book earns it's two stars. I reserve one star rating for books that are just abysmal, with horrid writing and characters, and thankfully this book rises above that, but doesn't go beyond at all. At least you can skim or completely skip every single repetitive description of another painted cave and get to the end just to say you've finished.
Definitely not what I was looking for in the ending of this series at all.
mastersal's review against another edition
2.0
Lord this book was dull. I struggled through it since I liked the other books but this one just went on and on. Go SuperAyla! You’ve achieved super hero status and lost my interest.
historianvik's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm so glad to be finished with this book and the series. It's kinda an open ended ending which I'm fine with. Idr where but i thought Ayla would meet her first child, Durc, again but that does not happen
noemilysclub's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely the worst of the six. Jondalar sucks. Jonayla is a terrible name for a child! The big reveal is stupid and not surprising, and millions of plots aren't wrapped up. I wonder if Jean M Auel realises that probably these palaeolithic humans would ~probably not~ have had the same words for 'far' and 'mother' so making the word 'fa-ther' up to mean far mother doesn't make sense? WHO CARES, IT'S A GREAT TIME. The third part of the book really is a totally recycled plot and it pisses me off that Ayla blames herself for Jondalar being unfaithful. that being said I don't know what I'm going to do with my life now that I've finally read all these ridiculous books! prob go post on some fan message boards, hmu
fernandoyataco1991's review against another edition
5.0
La historia de Ayla me conmovio desde el primer libro, no solo por el hecho de conocerla sino tambien, por conocer su mundo, su entorno, ese periodo de la historia que marcó el inicio de la vida como la conocemos. Yendo a otro lado, el desarrollo de la historia puede parecer pesado para algunos lectores. Efectivamente, debido a la gran cantidad de datos que la autora nos brinda ya sea de costumbres o de elementos materiales, uno puede perder el hilo de la historia. Sin embargo, son estos datos los que nos permiten ubicarnos. Son estos los que ayudan al lector a ver el mundo como Ayla lo ve, como Jondalar lo ve. Exceptuando, si se desea, estos datos tanto historicos como cientificos encontramos una historia llena de aventura, drama, alegria y misterio. Personajes que se vuelven inolvidables y que asi como marcaron a Ayla, te marcan a ti y una vez cumplido su rol, te dejan un vacío que el lector poco a poco supera. Una gran historia para aquellos que gustan de animales prehistoricos, clanes y tribus de hombres y mujeres, y una tierra que en algún momento fue de todos ellos.
brighroosh's review against another edition
2.0
Sigh, I did not keep returning to this book to read as I should have. It took me six months to finish it. Auel described the caves in a lot of detail, and I tried to get my excitement up for what must be incredible to look at, but since she wrote it, there have been documentaries and movies that were more awe inspiring. The book did start me on a personal journey though this year, that included other books and movies where caves were either the theme or part of the story. (The Lost: story of the Thai Cave Rescue, Tracing Time, Seasons of Rock Art on the Colorado Plateau, etc.)
About 500 pages in (of this 800+ page book), the story got interesting and kept me reading.
Things I liked:
I learned that when a sound or song echoes back in a cave, paintings or pictographs will be nearby (corroborated by Craig Childs).
The Giornadonii were most certainly from Italy by the description of a peninsula to the south - my maiden name is Giordano, and my ancestors are from Italy!
When the Mother's breast is suckled, the spray of her milk went up to the sky (forming the "milky way" or galactica, the Greek word for milky - where our word for galaxy comes from .
I had recently re-read Clan of the Cave Bear and loved it (again), and then skipped the other books to read this one. I appreciated that Auel explained many of the prior events (maybe to a fault though) to help me remember them.
About 500 pages in (of this 800+ page book), the story got interesting and kept me reading.
Things I liked:
I learned that when a sound or song echoes back in a cave, paintings or pictographs will be nearby (corroborated by Craig Childs).
The Giornadonii were most certainly from Italy by the description of a peninsula to the south - my maiden name is Giordano, and my ancestors are from Italy!
When the Mother's breast is suckled, the spray of her milk went up to the sky (forming the "milky way" or galactica, the Greek word for milky - where our word for galaxy comes from .
I had recently re-read Clan of the Cave Bear and loved it (again), and then skipped the other books to read this one. I appreciated that Auel explained many of the prior events (maybe to a fault though) to help me remember them.
danaisreading's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately, I have to agree with all the disappointment and dismal reviews of this saga-ending series. This was not what I expected at all, and wish someone had talked Jean Auel out of publishing this book, or delaying it while she reworked it to become an actual ending.
The book is divided into three parts. The first two parts could be subtitled "Ayla Goes to the Zelandonii Museum", because it was 400 pages of Ayla travelling to caves, and looking at caves and cave paintings. I like museums, but I'd much rather see the artwork myself than have it described to me in a book. I think Jean Auel even got bored with this, because while she spends 400 pages moving Ayla, Jondalar and others around the region in great and repetitive detail, it takes exactly 3 non-descriptive paragraphs to get them back to the Ninth Cave.
The third part is the only interesting part, probably because there is a plot of sorts. Six years skip from the first part to the final part of the book, and Ayla becomes a fully fledged Zelandoni. However, for a series ending book, I don't feel satisfied with what happens to everyone, because there is no ending to speak of. I was kind of mad that she chose to "end" the series the way she did.
I understand 30 years is a long time to spend researching and writing a series, and Auel may have wanted to finally end this and move on to something else. But many of us also have spent a long period of time with these books and characters, and have just as much invested in them as she did. I just feel cheated out of a proper ending for them.
The book is divided into three parts. The first two parts could be subtitled "Ayla Goes to the Zelandonii Museum", because it was 400 pages of Ayla travelling to caves, and looking at caves and cave paintings. I like museums, but I'd much rather see the artwork myself than have it described to me in a book. I think Jean Auel even got bored with this, because while she spends 400 pages moving Ayla, Jondalar and others around the region in great and repetitive detail, it takes exactly 3 non-descriptive paragraphs to get them back to the Ninth Cave.
The third part is the only interesting part, probably because there is a plot of sorts. Six years skip from the first part to the final part of the book, and Ayla becomes a fully fledged Zelandoni. However, for a series ending book, I don't feel satisfied with what happens to everyone, because there is no ending to speak of. I was kind of mad that she chose to "end" the series the way she did.
I understand 30 years is a long time to spend researching and writing a series, and Auel may have wanted to finally end this and move on to something else. But many of us also have spent a long period of time with these books and characters, and have just as much invested in them as she did. I just feel cheated out of a proper ending for them.
branomir's review against another edition
3.0
Read from March 15 to 31, 2012
I was surprised to find a 6th book coming out. She seemed to have wrapped up the story quite nicely in book 5, so I wondered what in the world this next book would be about exactly, especially seeing as it was nearly 800 pages. I went into this with a little dread as most reviews called it boring and horribly repetitive. Having gone through it, I half agree. I wasn’t bored, I still like the story of Ayla, but I sympathise with the critiques given.
When I came to the first recollection of past events I figured: ‘well I don’t know what people’s problem is, this was very useful to me.’. But when she repeated that same recollection again two chapters later I got it. And it didn’t stop at that. I was astounded that her editor(s) didn’t pick this off. A lot of acts in the book itself kept getting repeated again and again, as noted by other reviewers. I just don’t get why she had to explain Ayla has a strange accent every single time they meet new people and they do this a lot.
Apart from that however, the story was enjoyable. Slow and a little obsolete but fun enough to read if you’re a fan of the series. In this light, I don’t quite understand some of the massive negative, one star reviews here. She hasn’t drastically changed at all, so if you don’t like her style and story, why did you read book 6? If you did, then you’re overreacting because, despite being flawed, it wasn’t THAT bad compared to the rest of her work.
The cave descriptions were long but I found them fascinating for the most part. I then looked up the actual paintings online and compared them to what I had imagined, it was fun. Of course, I do have always had an interest in (pre)history, it is one of the reasons I liked this series and I can understand that to other people, it dragged on a bit long. After the cave paintings the story suddenly rushes ahead with sometimes several years passing in between chapters. Making it almost feel like a short story added after the main one. It was good, but unoriginal, she basically took a storyline from book three and changed it around a little, I was disappointed at that.
I would say this is a book for the true fans of the series. Most of the critiques here are true, but they didn’t carry that much weight for me, I still managed to enjoy it, mostly because I have grown to care for these characters through 5 previous novels. If you really like this series like I do, go ahead and read it, you won’t be sorry. If you only sort of liked it, or not at all after the original (or not at all full stop) then this one isn’t for you.
2016 Reread: This one didn't hold up that well. Took me the better part of a year to get through it. Already knowing the plot made the slow going even slower. Definitely one of the weaker ones of the series and only for the true fans. If I didn't love the characters and world so much from the previous books, I'd never have gotten through this one, I think.
I was surprised to find a 6th book coming out. She seemed to have wrapped up the story quite nicely in book 5, so I wondered what in the world this next book would be about exactly, especially seeing as it was nearly 800 pages. I went into this with a little dread as most reviews called it boring and horribly repetitive. Having gone through it, I half agree. I wasn’t bored, I still like the story of Ayla, but I sympathise with the critiques given.
When I came to the first recollection of past events I figured: ‘well I don’t know what people’s problem is, this was very useful to me.’. But when she repeated that same recollection again two chapters later I got it. And it didn’t stop at that. I was astounded that her editor(s) didn’t pick this off. A lot of acts in the book itself kept getting repeated again and again, as noted by other reviewers. I just don’t get why she had to explain Ayla has a strange accent every single time they meet new people and they do this a lot.
Apart from that however, the story was enjoyable. Slow and a little obsolete but fun enough to read if you’re a fan of the series. In this light, I don’t quite understand some of the massive negative, one star reviews here. She hasn’t drastically changed at all, so if you don’t like her style and story, why did you read book 6? If you did, then you’re overreacting because, despite being flawed, it wasn’t THAT bad compared to the rest of her work.
The cave descriptions were long but I found them fascinating for the most part. I then looked up the actual paintings online and compared them to what I had imagined, it was fun. Of course, I do have always had an interest in (pre)history, it is one of the reasons I liked this series and I can understand that to other people, it dragged on a bit long. After the cave paintings the story suddenly rushes ahead with sometimes several years passing in between chapters. Making it almost feel like a short story added after the main one. It was good, but unoriginal, she basically took a storyline from book three and changed it around a little, I was disappointed at that.
I would say this is a book for the true fans of the series. Most of the critiques here are true, but they didn’t carry that much weight for me, I still managed to enjoy it, mostly because I have grown to care for these characters through 5 previous novels. If you really like this series like I do, go ahead and read it, you won’t be sorry. If you only sort of liked it, or not at all after the original (or not at all full stop) then this one isn’t for you.
2016 Reread: This one didn't hold up that well. Took me the better part of a year to get through it. Already knowing the plot made the slow going even slower. Definitely one of the weaker ones of the series and only for the true fans. If I didn't love the characters and world so much from the previous books, I'd never have gotten through this one, I think.
miss_anthrope's review
1.0
An extremely repetitive rehash of everything that happened in all of the earlier books, interspersed with descriptions of cave paintings and the barest hint of an attempt at a plot. Don't waste your time. If you want to know the details for the sake of completing the series (the reason I read it) I've saved you 650+ pages by writing it all down below.
Some forced 'drama' is added by Jondalar having sex with Marona and the Mammoth Hunters plot getting a solid rerun, with added face-punching. Including the resolution being the Clan root dropping Ayla into a drug haze Jondalar has to call her back from because 'love'. It's not even pretending to be a new plot. And in case you're wondering, no, Jondalar beating Laramar to a pulp for sticking his dick in Ayla (she was trying to make Jondalar jealous after catching him with his dick in Marona) does not result in any measurable punishment, despite all the repetition of how frowned upon jealousy and violent behaviour supposedly is. Everything is 'love' and 'happily ever after' with an abrupt, unsatisfying cut-off at the end (and one last reference to the whole 'essence makes babies' thing).
Overall, an atrocious read and I will gladly be removing the series from my bookshelf. The potential of the first book was absolutely squandered.
Spoiler
The plot is: Ayla has trained to be Zelandonia, which includes wandering around looking at cave paintings and noting down the movements of celestial bodies; a drug-induced hallucination that counts as a Calling and causes a miscarriage; and she is inducted into the Zelandonia (along with most of the Zelandoni learning that sex causes babies *eye-roll*).Some forced 'drama' is added by Jondalar having sex with Marona and the Mammoth Hunters plot getting a solid rerun, with added face-punching. Including the resolution being the Clan root dropping Ayla into a drug haze Jondalar has to call her back from because 'love'. It's not even pretending to be a new plot. And in case you're wondering, no, Jondalar beating Laramar to a pulp for sticking his dick in Ayla (she was trying to make Jondalar jealous after catching him with his dick in Marona) does not result in any measurable punishment, despite all the repetition of how frowned upon jealousy and violent behaviour supposedly is. Everything is 'love' and 'happily ever after' with an abrupt, unsatisfying cut-off at the end (and one last reference to the whole 'essence makes babies' thing).
Overall, an atrocious read and I will gladly be removing the series from my bookshelf. The potential of the first book was absolutely squandered.
emmabjones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have enjoyed the entirety of this series but the first three books held much of the best parts. The last three are continued looks and time with characters I have grown to love however they were not as captivating as prior books. Auel has always excelled with her description and this book is further proof of that. If you’ve made it this far into the series, you might as well finish her off.