Jean M. Auel

The Earth's Children series of books. Clan of the Cave Bear, Valley of Horses, Mammoth Hunters, Plains of Passage and Shelters of Stone, are 5 of the best researched and written Prehistoric novels I have ever read, and I read a lot. Jean Auel put in the time and effort to create an imagineable environment, realistic and emotionally alive characters, and a fabulous story line that follows through a life. I can't wait until the 6th book is released, so I can finish the story. I have read and reread this series at least 15 times and I will read it again and again. There is practical knowledge of living in the out of doors, recipes for "prehistoric" meals, references to plant life that can be researched for use today in natural healing, and descriptions of real places where real "cavemen" lived and loved and died.

Absolute favourite series ever. I can't wait for the 6th book!!

I am so in love with these books I can't wait till she comes out with the 6th, anyone who finds it boring are just not intelligent enough to appreciate it IMO

I just finished book 5 last night, and happened on this when I was trying to find out when the 6th book would be out. I loved the whole series! I grew so attached to the characters, and I know I'm going to miss the adventures I had with Ayla and Jondalar. Jean M. Auel is so descriptive in her writing, she puts you right there in the action. Some people may say that it's dragging through the book because there's so much detail. I say it adds to the impact. Can hardly wait for book 6 to come out. A fantastic series needs to keep rolling.

Writes some stultifying prose. I've read technical manuals that were more gripping.

Read "Clan Of The Cave Bear" years ago because my girlfriend loved it and begged me to. If that work is any indication, I am being kind with 2 stars.

Clan of the Cave Bear is my favorite series that I have ever read, and I've read many books! I have re-read the series so many times, but never get tired of it. Even though I know what happens next, it keeps me entranced. Auel really knows how to captivate her readers. I'm interested in the prehistoric age and how humans evolved as well as animals, and this series just sent my imagination wild and I love it. I can't wait for book 6!!!

clan of the cave bear, the valley of horses and the plains of passage are excellent books. The other two are not so good. The books are too long with nothing going on. I am still waiting expectantly for more in the series.

I've read all the Earth Children books numerous times. As a matter of fact, it's about time to re-read them again.

Tried to read Clan of the Cave Bear once. It made me self concience and silly feeling. I had to put it down.

I liked the first 2 in the series and then it became a romance style and way too many words for so little going on. I do say that Clan of the Cave Bear is in the top 100 of my favorites.

This is fiction at it's best. We can lose ourselves in these books....that's what reading should be all about.

I am a very big fan, and hope that we will get to see a fantastic end to Aaly's story!!!!

The Earth's Children series is the best of any book series I have ever read. If you find prehistoric times fascinating, as I do, these books will most certainly peak your interest. The author realistically depicts life in the Upper-Paleolithic era in great depth, from herbs and tools to the intimacy of the cave people. Maturity is required to read these books since there is a lot of sex. Being a high school student myself, I don't feel only college students and older are capable of handling these books, but rather that the reader has a mature mind. These books has influenced me in that I see much of the Earth in a new perspective and find myself wishing I lived in those times. The author has the power of describing the clan life so well you can almost smell the skinned deer roasting over the fire yourself.

A couple of things... Like many listed here I REALLY liked the books and am wondering when number 6 will publish. HOWEVER... 1. I am disturbed by the number of people mentioning that they read this series in 6th grade, or when they were 12 etc., These books are NOT appropriate for that age level. I would probably let a high school student read number one, but not allow 2-5 until college. There is a LOT of SEX in these books! 2. As another reader mentioned, I am a bit frustrated by how Ayla is PERFECT at every single little thing. It has taken a lot of the suspense out of dangerous situations in the book. It is hard to feel worried when it is so predictable that Ayla will find the perfect solution to every situation.

I love her books also, she is a great writer...compliments.

I LOVED all books... waiting for number 6

Read her books so much had to buy replacements as they wore out. Definately a must read for EVERYONE!

fantastic characters and plot. i just wish i had time to read them all again!

the second I started reading these books it made me want to live there lives

I think her series of novels are the best I have ever read. It makes you think about your life. Once you pick up "The Clan of The Cave Bear" you never want to stop reading...it is that good! The books also make you want to learn more about our past ans you question what all the scientist have told you. The books are filled with experiences and emotions we go through now. Thats what connects you to the novels. And thats what makes a good book!

This woman has perpetuated such a fraud on people. She has turned one mediocre book (Clan of the Cave Bear) and turned it into an industry. Her books are repetitive, tedious, and just plain stupid. Her hero, Ayla, is superwoman-she is the most beautiful, the best cook, the most talented medicine woman, a seer, an inventor, hunter, seamstress, basket weaver, etc. etc. etc. Her man is an infantile brat whose only talent apparently is his sexual prowess-but that is good enough for our Ayla. These books are so bad, they are almost hilarious-especially the sex scenes, I have never heard more ridiculous euphemisms in my entire life. The Earth's Children series is an insult to all intelligent people.

These are the best books I've ever read! I remember when I first got introduced to them by my father. I was really sceptic, but when I started reading, I couldn't stop! I thought Ms. Auel had written only THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR. When I found out there were more, I was ecstatic! I read and re-read these books a MILLION times. Jean Auel is my favorite author and puts the books together wonderfully! THE BEST READS EVER!!! You definitely get into the books, and I feel a real disappointment when I finish each one so soon. It only takes me a day to read one! So be warned that you simply can't put them down!

I am absolutely in love with Jean's Earth's Children series. I find myself thinking about Ayla and the characters surrounding her life all day until I can sit down and read more. So far I have only read up to and most of "The Mammoth Hunters". I will feel like I have lost a friend when I finish "Shelters of Stone". I can only hope that Jean will write more books based on the same story.

I gave Auel a "great" rating even though I feel her newest book, "Shelters of Stone," fell fall short of the mark set by her previous 4, even that of "Plains of Passage." which was my least favorite of all the books. She seemed to retell more of Ayla's past than she shared of her present, as as well as to be setting the stage for the final denouement in Book 6 rather than telling us a really good story in book 5. Disappointing, but for her previous outstanding books I still give her 5 stars. I only hope Book 6 arrives sooner and is more like her earlier works.

I just think Jean Auels books are the greatest. i love reading the stories over and over. I am looking forward to the number 6 book but will also be sad since it will be the last!! Jean knows how to make characters and everything seem so real.You become part of her book!!! Thank you Jean!!

I have been reading the Earth's Chidren series since they were first published here in Australia. I am one who usually becomes protagonist in a book that I am reading. I found Ayla very easy to relate to and when I am reading any of the series I am Ayla.

Auel has created a character who stirs all of us to believe we can be better than we are. We follow along with rapt attention as we watch Ayla learn and discover and reach out to become the mother of humanity as we know it now. These books are so well written, stemming from years of research which brings a real believable validity to the world her characters struggle through--the same world our ancestors inhabited.

An amazing author with a real feel for her subject. All her books are in their own way unique - absolutely a compulsive read!

excellent writer but where is book 5????

My parents had so many books (almost 10.000) that you can call that a private library. I have read in the past years thousand of books and I'm a fast reader. But I really think that the books of Jean Auel are the best I have ever read in my life in that genre. I really hope that the next book is coming soon, we (her fans) have waited so many years!

the most exciting adventures, making alive our ancestors. All your adrenaline is on between mamuths, wolves, Cromagnons and Neandertals. WE NEED THE FIFTH BOOK

Jean M. Auel has created a wonderfully researched and viable history of prehistoric life. While no one can possibly know what life really was like during the (gosh darn it - I can not remember the scientific term...) ice age, Ms. Auel provides us with several possibilities. Ayla, the protagonist of the series, is perhaps a bit too much, but is somehow so likeable that it does not much matter.

"the Clan of the Cave Bear" & following Earth's Children series by JMA is a wonderful story on an epic scale (ala "the Far Pavillions" or "Gone With the Wind"), definitely Not to be missed. The details in archeology, pharmacology, & human psychology really bring its pre-historic characters to life, but the most memorable thing about these books is how its plotline revolves around the main character, Ayla, & her fascinating struggle to survive in a harsh world. I can see how many universities are now assigning this book for reading in classes that focus on anthropology & archeology, etc. It's a great read, one of the best.

I was 12 when my mom suggested that I read Clan of the Cave Bear. Boy was I glad I listened to her! These books are the best books that I have ever read and I am still reading them over and over, they never get old! I read the series in a bout a month and have since reread them at least 8 times. My friends always make fun of me in highschool for reading them so often, but I read them when i want to and I do so proudly! I will keep on reading these books and awiating for the sequels until I have either died from exhaustion or gone blind, in which case I will probably get it in Braille. These books are very well researched and contain tons of information on the co-existance of neanderthals and cro-magnon man. It also contains useful informationmon many ises for plants and how to survive in the wilderness. I love these books!!

I once heard that to be a good fiction writer one has to make it as believable as possible. Jean Auel takes this to an artform! The other authors in the genre that I've read come NO WHERE CLOSE. Her character development and explanations make you feel as though this was a true story, somehow surviving like the Dead Sea Scrolls. WARNING: Once you read it, you will not stop for the rest of your life! :-) (Visit ECfans.com for more)

By far the best books I have ever read! I can't wait for the next ones!

One of my all time Favorite Authors! In the Clan of the Cave Bear, you'll follow the life of Ayla, a girl orphaned by an earthquake at the very young age of 5. She learns to survive in a culture alien to her, and learns how to survive on her own. The Valley of Horses examines her life when she can only depend on herself, strengthens her will and her determination to survive life on the cold periglacial steepes of ice age Europe. In the Mammoth Hunters, she meets people like herself, as different from those who raised her as she herself was. She immerses herself in her adopted culture. Eventually, she learns to let go of the memories of her pase. The Plains of Passage describes her great journey across ice age Europe to the home of the man she loves and what she thinks will bring her to her destiny. Book 5 will be? We all want to know. Terrific work, descriptive writing, strong characters. What is not to like?

Jean Auel's books are simply wonderful! A great escape from our modern world and gives new perspectives on life.

I read the first book about a month after it came out way back in 1980? and have been in line for all the rest since.The wait for #5 & 6 has been looonnnnng.The last year has been bareable by reading at the ECFANS site. JA ROCKS

I was first introduced to Jean Auel's work about three weeks ago. I enjoyed her work so much, I read all four books in a couple of weeks(work can sometimes interfere with a good thing). These are not the kind of books that normally grab my attention, but these were different. I am so excited that there will be another book in this series.

When I was eleven, my friend said to me, "read it, it's great," and stuffed Clan of the Cave Bear into my hand. I looked at it, felt it's weight, and stored it an a cupboard for about a year! Then when I was stuck for something to read, I came across it, frowned at it, and poked my nose in it. After about four days, I came back to my friend and asked for the next one. If this happens to you, my advice is, don't leave it a year, read it when you get the chance! Auel desreves it, it's not like anyone can say they aren't well researched, and if anyone can, I'd like to see why they think that!

The Earth's Children Series by Jean M. Auel is the best series of books that I have ever read. The range of fans seems endless. The author has put so much care and detail into the books, yet still managed to input such creative flare that the story doesn't become only boring facts. I promise you will not be able to put the books down once you start them. Cheyanne Larocque

O.K. So her writing is a little too stilted and encyclopeadic, her characterizations are a little banal, and life is represented in her novels as being sort of a big ol' happy hippy commune. I DON'T CARE! As picky as I am about the literature I poke into my head, I absolutely love Auel's works. The first in the series, Clan of the Cave Bear, is the best, but my Auel-engendered trance has not yet waned, and I have re-read each novel of the series many times. The perfect escape read! I am hoping endlessly for the 5th one!

Jean Auel is a terrific Author. Her first book alone, Clan Of The Cave Bear, had me in suspense, tears, and laughter altogether. She deserves more than a rating of five!

I used to work in the library, and thus had many opprotunities to find great books that I would have otherwise never looked at. Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear was one of these books, and to this day I swear I will never regret picking up this wonderful novel. Later, I found her other books, and she is now on my personal top 5 list of greatest authors of all time. How can one describe the sensation of being swept backwards through time, even forgetting that they are holding the pages of a book? Jean Auel's uncanny talent for capturing the world around Ayla, and eventually, Jondalar, makes one feel like they are walking in stride by them on their journeys through the vast lands of the Ice Age era. Many years of research were poured into each book, and with Auel's storytelling abilities leaving one entrhalled, one does not grow bored with the huge amount of information she packed into each book. In the end, once the book is put down, it made me, at least, wonder at my part in the... Read more

Jean Auel, is one of the best writers I have ever read. The way she wrote the Earth Children novels were so detailed you could truly get an image in your mind of what was going on. I have read and reread the 4 books over the last 12 years and I just can't put them down. They are the greatest books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Thanks Mrs. Auel.

By far the best of the prehistoric novel gendre. Jean Auel weaves science fact and theory with a wonderful storyline. The life of Ayla the once orphaned cave girl, who is greatly gifted and tested by the Mother. If the reader can get past some minor editing flaws (and the fact that it's taken Ms. Auel 10 plus years to write the next novel in the series) he or she will find a truely enjoyable series that can be enjoyed on countless readings.

Jean M. Auel has a great gift, to be able to tell the story of the Ayla as if she herself was by her side.I have read and re-read these books many times and every time I am pulled into Ayla's world.I recently have read the books some have compared to Auel and it makes me laugh.I don't believe anyone can rate higher than Jean Auel

I am a 55 year old male who reads for entertainment (unless there is a good football game o the tube!). I'll have to admit that when I ordered "Clan of the Cave Bear" through my Book Club, I thought I was getting something else entirely. The first chapter had me saying "What's this? - A little girl orphaned by an earthquake, almost killed by a cave lion, and picked up by a group of wandering neandertals looking for a home? - What have I gotten myself into?" I actually "forced" myself to continue, and I am literally thrilled that I did! If anyone is looking for a well-written, intensely researched, adventure/love story, this is it. I set down the first book and immediaely ordered the second. I was hooked! The third book rivited me, and had me swinging through every emotion in my repitoire'! - And the fourth left me hungry for more! -- I've been hounding the book store for the fifth book for five years now (not as long as some have), and I honestly am having trouble waiting! I ga... Read more