The Land of Painted Caves

Earth's Children, Book 6

By: Jean M. Auel

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

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.

Sorry but no...

I have been a fan for over 20yrs and I am sorry Jean, but you just left it too long. The story line was shallow to say the least and some bits were literally copy and pasted from other books. The narrator was fine so if like me you are a long time fan, do get it, you just can't not. But I think that like me you'll be somewhat deflated at the end of 36 hours.

Love the narrator, book was unoriginal

Loved the narrator, which made it more pleasant to continue listening through the 5000th repetition of the Mother's Song even as my mind wandered. Overall the story was primarily a rehash of all previous plot. Stopping at the end of book 5 will save a small amount of sanity and 30 hours of your life, unless like me, you just adore the sound of Sandra's voice.

Too repetitive

I have to agree with other reviewers that this book was too repetitive. Constantly reminiscing from earlier books and repeating the Mother’s Song. Got super tired of Ayla and Jondular’s misunderstandings. Disappointed in this book overall

The end of a long wait

I waited 31 years for this book. Was it worth the wait? I'm still undecided. I read Clan of The Cave Bear shortly after it originally came out way back in 1980 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've enjoyed each additional book in the series as they each came out. Was this book worth a 31 year wait? I'm not sure if any book is worth a 31 year wait but at least Auel has finally gotten it written and audible.com made it available right away so I'm no longer waiting for this book. I guess I would have to say that while the series was worth the wait I don't think this book was worth the wait. If I had not gotten caught up in the story started in The Clan of The Cave Bear I don't think I would have had much interest in this book, but because I am a fan of the Earth's Children series I was very interested. One thing I have to say is that the story line that Auel choose for this book came as a complete surprise to me although now that I think about it I don't know what story line she would have chosen for this book even though over the past 3 decades I have speculated on this more than once. The other thing I would say about this book is that while any one of the other 5 books in this series would easily stand alone I don't think that this book would or said another way before you read (listen to) this book you need to read (listen to) the other 5.

My favorite!

Narrator was fantastic! I've listened to all 6 many times! Some information is repeated or recounted incorrectly, but overall it is great!