The Land of Painted Caves

Earth's Children, Book 6

By: Jean M. Auel

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 34 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Ayla, one of the most remarkable and beloved heroines in contemporary fiction, continues to explore the world and the people around her with curiosity, insight, and, above all, courage.

As the story opens, Ayla, Jondalar, and their infant daughter, Jonayla, are living with the Zelandonii in the Ninth Cave - a shelter of stone. Ayla has been chosen as an acolyte and has embarked on the arduous task of training to become a spiritual leader. The wisdom that Ayla gained from her struggles as an orphaned child, alone in a hostile environment, strengthen her as she moves closer to leadership of the Zelandonia.

Whatever the obstacles, Ayla’s inventive spirit produces new ways to lessen the difficulties of daily life: searching for wild edibles to make delicious meals, experimenting with techniques to ease the long journeys the Zelandoni must take, honing her skills as a healer and a leader. And then, there are the Sacred Caves, the caves that Ayla’s mentor - the Donier, the First of the Zelandonia - takes her to see. These caves are filled with remarkable art - paintings of mammoths, lions, aurochs, rhinoceros, reindeer, bison, bear. The powerful, mystical aura within these caves sometimes overwhelms Ayla and the rituals of initiation bring her close to death. But through those rituals, Ayla gains A Gift of Knowledge so important that it will change the world.

Spellbinding drama, meticulous research, fascinating detail, and superb narrative skill combine to make The Land of Painted Caves a captivating, utterly believable creation of a long ago civilization that serves as an astonishing end to this beloved saga.

Listen to more in the Earth's Children series.

©2011 Jean M. Auel (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A look into the past in a unique.

We were introduced to cave paintings, site considered sacred, a look into the early practices of an organized overall belief of a force greater than man himself. Awesome read...only wish there was another book on the horizon.

Great series however parts are too repetitive

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I like hearing about the plants and environment

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoy the characters. It would be good to continue the story. So much more could continue with the storyline. I wish I knew if there was a book 7 or more in process.

What does Sandra Burr bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I liked her accent with the main character more.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No too long for that.

Any additional comments?

I like the explanations of why characters do things based on their life experiences and their culture

A Good Read

I was hesitant to buy this book from the reviews I had read. However I enjoyed it, I thought it wrapped up the series in a neat bundle. It reviewed just enough that it brought the series alive again. Through the years I had forgotten some of the story.

Voice

I love the book series, how ever, her voice would not sound like that. X

Great Escape

What did you love best about The Land of Painted Caves?

This audio book was fantastic! I was able to fully escape into the story during my commute as well as have my own story time before bed.

What other book might you compare The Land of Painted Caves to and why?

Shelters of Stone was a wonderful first experience to Audible

Which character – as performed by Sandra Burr – was your favorite?

Ayla's character is my favorte, but Sandra did a fabulous job with all the characters and animal sounds!

If you could take any character from The Land of Painted Caves out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Ayla because she is my favorite character from the whole book series. She's such an amazing character, I named my daughter after her.

another wonderful book in the series

I have loved every book I have read and now listen to in the series. You cannot go wrong with this series

Favorite

This last book I the Earth’s Children we one of my favorites. Although there is often repetitions of previous series material, I found it to be less in this last book. It was a good ending to the series and I would recommend it to anyone!

Best book of the series!

The narrator was great and the final book in this long series was worth the wait. I know know that the author does a lot of research prior to each book and once again she nailed it. if you haven't listened to the whole series, OMG it's good!!! Thank you for such delightful, emotional and some times intense entertainment Mrs. Auel!!! I hope maybe more books in the series will come out......

I love this series

it's a shame only one movie was made.
I love how she wrote in the theories of early man into her stories.

End of a saga

A couple character actions broke character in order to advance the story. It's not anything we haven't seen done before and it can be excused. Thank you miss Aurl and Ms Burr for a wonderful journey.