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The shelters of stone
Auel, Jean M.
AUEL
From Publishers' Weekly:
The tiny minority of authors with the power to sell millions of novels each time out are a diverse bunch, but they share a talent for ushering readers into previously closed worlds, whether they're the top-secret inner sanctums of the American military or the ancient lands of magic. The best of them craft terrific stories that tap into universal topics, primal fears and deep-seated longings. In 1980, Auel became a member of this elite club. Her first novel, Clan of the Cave Bear, the exceptional and absorbing account of a bright Cro-Magnon girl struggling to understand the ways of the Neanderthals who adopted her, became a huge bestseller and launched the Earth's Children series, which has sold 34 million copies to date. In the next three of an intended six volumes, Ayla the Cro-Magnon girl grew up and put a pretty face on our earliest ancestors, as Auel explored the mother of all human themes: adapt or die. After the fourth bestseller, The Plains of Passage, however, 12 years elapsed, and Auel thereby added the protracted anticipation of her fans to her bestselling mix. Here at last, beautiful Ayla and her tall, gorgeous Cro-Magnon lover, Jondalar, arrive in Jondalar's Zelandonii homeland, to live with his clan in vast caves of what today is France. Travelling with a pet wolf and two horses, able to speak the strange language of the "flatheads," Ayla is once again an exotic outsider. Pregnant with Jondalar's child and as zealous in her desire to help as she is resourceful and creative as a medicine woman, Ayla soon wins the respect of the people she wishes to join. Bursting with hard information about ancient days and awash in steamy sex (though lacking the high suspense that marked Ayla's debut), Auel's latest will not only please her legions of fans but will hit the top of the list, pronto. (On sale Apr. 30) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
After 12 years, Auel continues her famed "Earth's Children" series with this fifth volume in a planned six-part series set in prehistoric Europe. Ayla, a Cro-Magnon woman raised by Neanderthals, and Jondalar, a Cro-Magnon man, have just completed a yearlong journey to arrive at Jondalar's boyhood home, where they wish to mate and live together among his people. Ayla is quickly welcomed into his family but has to struggle to be accepted by the larger community owing to her unusual upbringing and tame animal companions. With her knowledge of healing and unique interpersonal skills, Alya gains their trust and makes friends. The couple finds many opportunities to retell previous adventures, a recycling of material from the earlier novels that quickly becomes repetitive and tedious. Still, Auel's imaginative and well-researched re-creation of Cro-Magnon life holds the story together despite the lack of plot and character development. Readers who hang on until the last hundred pages will be rewarded with new and interesting plot developments, an obvious setup for the next novel in the series. Public libraries should buy multiple copies for expected demand. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/02; for an interview with Auel, see LJ 2/15/02. Ed.] Karen T. Bilton, Somerset Cty. Lib., Bridgewater, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Auel, Jean M.
AUEL
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From Publishers' Weekly:
The tiny minority of authors with the power to sell millions of novels each time out are a diverse bunch, but they share a talent for ushering readers into previously closed worlds, whether they're the top-secret inner sanctums of the American military or the ancient lands of magic. The best of them craft terrific stories that tap into universal topics, primal fears and deep-seated longings. In 1980, Auel became a member of this elite club. Her first novel, Clan of the Cave Bear, the exceptional and absorbing account of a bright Cro-Magnon girl struggling to understand the ways of the Neanderthals who adopted her, became a huge bestseller and launched the Earth's Children series, which has sold 34 million copies to date. In the next three of an intended six volumes, Ayla the Cro-Magnon girl grew up and put a pretty face on our earliest ancestors, as Auel explored the mother of all human themes: adapt or die. After the fourth bestseller, The Plains of Passage, however, 12 years elapsed, and Auel thereby added the protracted anticipation of her fans to her bestselling mix. Here at last, beautiful Ayla and her tall, gorgeous Cro-Magnon lover, Jondalar, arrive in Jondalar's Zelandonii homeland, to live with his clan in vast caves of what today is France. Travelling with a pet wolf and two horses, able to speak the strange language of the "flatheads," Ayla is once again an exotic outsider. Pregnant with Jondalar's child and as zealous in her desire to help as she is resourceful and creative as a medicine woman, Ayla soon wins the respect of the people she wishes to join. Bursting with hard information about ancient days and awash in steamy sex (though lacking the high suspense that marked Ayla's debut), Auel's latest will not only please her legions of fans but will hit the top of the list, pronto. (On sale Apr. 30) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
After 12 years, Auel continues her famed "Earth's Children" series with this fifth volume in a planned six-part series set in prehistoric Europe. Ayla, a Cro-Magnon woman raised by Neanderthals, and Jondalar, a Cro-Magnon man, have just completed a yearlong journey to arrive at Jondalar's boyhood home, where they wish to mate and live together among his people. Ayla is quickly welcomed into his family but has to struggle to be accepted by the larger community owing to her unusual upbringing and tame animal companions. With her knowledge of healing and unique interpersonal skills, Alya gains their trust and makes friends. The couple finds many opportunities to retell previous adventures, a recycling of material from the earlier novels that quickly becomes repetitive and tedious. Still, Auel's imaginative and well-researched re-creation of Cro-Magnon life holds the story together despite the lack of plot and character development. Readers who hang on until the last hundred pages will be rewarded with new and interesting plot developments, an obvious setup for the next novel in the series. Public libraries should buy multiple copies for expected demand. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/02; for an interview with Auel, see LJ 2/15/02. Ed.] Karen T. Bilton, Somerset Cty. Lib., Bridgewater, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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