The Shelters of Stone

Earth's Children, Book 5

By: Jean M. Auel

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 33 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

After their epic journey across Europe, Ayla and Jondalar have reached his home, the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the old stone-age settlement in the region known today as southwest France. Jondalar's family greet him warmly, but they are initially wary of the beautiful young woman he has brought back, with her strange accent and her tame wolf and horses.

Ayla has much to learn from the Zelandonii and much to teach them. She is intrigued by their clothes, their crafts, and their home, and wants to learn their customs and the ways that they live, so that she will fit in. She is delighted when she meets Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of the people, a fellow healer with whom she can share medicinal skills and knowledge. The Zelandonii are surprised to learn she was found and raised by the Clan, the ones that they call flatheads and think of as animals, and are skeptical when she tells them they are people.

After the rigors and dangers that have characterized her extraordinary life so far, Ayla yearns for peace and tranquility, to be Jondalar's mate, and to have children. But her unique spiritual gifts cannot be ignored, and even as she gives birth to her eagerly-awaited child, she is coming to accept that she has a greater role to play in the destiny of the Zelandonii.

Listen to more in the Earth's Children series.

©2004 Jean M. Auel (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Critic reviews

"Burr is adept at reading the detailed descriptions of Cro-Magnon artifacts without losing our interest and at creating varied portrayals of the many characters. A fine performance of a long-awaited book." ( AudioFile)

Ayla now sounds Russian???

These are my favorite books and I have read them many times through. Having trouble with my vision lately and having trouble holding onto a book for long periods so I thought I’d give the Audible version a try. I have enjoyed it very much but I find Ayla’s new accent to be very off-putting. It is completely different, which has affected the continuity of the story greatly for me. I must admit it’s a big negative for me…

The main character accent change

Ayla the main character had the same accent until the 5th book. Now she sounds Russian. Kind of disappointing to change what I have been listening for 4 other books at 33 hours each.

Please give us more!

Please give us more! I love this series and want to know what happens to Dirk and Jonayla.

A bit dissappointed!

I was disappointed in the first half of this book.
Love the first 4 books...I read them and then listened to them.
The last half was great.
Looking forward to book six.

Too much repetition

The saga continues ...but too much repetition of information from previous books...Ayla and Jondalar retelling many of the events from previous books. We have heard over and over in all the books of Ayla’s unusual accent, now in book 5, the narrator uses a Russian? accent for Ayla’s character. Took a little getting used to.

Great except...

I love the books but wonder why Ayla suddenly has a definite accent that she didn't have previously.

Best series ever!

I love these books and have read the entire series at least three times. I recommend these books to everyone.

love this epic!

I love the continuing story of Ayla and Jondolar! I found the change in readers and the change in Ayla's accent unusual and a bit to get used to from previous audio books in the series. However, it does add a bit more credence to her character and more accurate placement of their location. Would love to see a generalized map of their trek.

Another excellent read!

I am really enjoying this series! I am so looking forward to the final book!

Jean did it again! What a great story!

Gets you to thinking about how it could have happened. We will never truly know, but this story is a wonderful theory!