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.

clan of the cave bear to land of painted caves

I read the mammoth hunters and plains of passage 26 years ago. Jondalar and Ayla have been traveling home since then in my heart! I had tears in my eyes a few times with this one but all six books have been wonderfully amazing

Just like being there

Where does The Land of Painted Caves rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book ranks righ up at the top of all audiobooks I have listened to.

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

This is a great example of Jean Auel at her best. The audiobook brings her characters and surrounding areas to life. All her stories are the best.

Which scene was your favorite?

Didn't have one favorite scene, but they all are wonderful.

Great Listen

Great historical references. This story gave me the desire to research about the first humans and to see the caves in Europe.

love love love

I love this series!!! I wish it didn't have to end, was well worth the wait.

Wonderful Conclusion to an Epic series!

Where does The Land of Painted Caves rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The land of Painted Caves ranks among the top of all the books we have listened to over the years. Jean M. Auel held my husband and I spell bound in Aayla and Jondular's story from book one,but we were thrilled with how she tied that world together in her final novel. We feel that she highlighted her research so well on Aayla's Donier tour. We appreciated her desire to take us along with her!

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

I could compare this book to any of Diana Gabeldon's Outlander series of books. Both authors have a wonderfully unique way of writing their extensive research into the story line so well. We are in awe of Jean M. Auel's commitment to create an imagined yet believable world and lifestyle of early man. We recognize the research in her books through the indepth descriptions.

Which scene was your favorite?

This is a very hard question to ask. Each scene in the book blended so well with the next that without any one of them, they would lose their potency. I will admit to it being difficult to "catch" up when years passed and we missed some of the developing stages of Jonaayla.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did laugh, and I did cry, in several places in this book. I may not have done so if I read the book as a stand alone. Having the first five in the series precede it made it easier to be more involved in the final installation.

Any additional comments?

My husband and I were thrilled to be so absorbed in Jondular and Aayla's world that we were sorry it was over. We wish there were more installments of Earth's Children to look forward too. We are grateful to Jean M. Auel for her willingness to share this story with the world.

not what it could have been

This is one of my favorite series but I was disappointed in the last two books in the audio versions.
It bothered me when the narrator changed accents for the main character for the final two books, I understand that she was living in a whole new place but she came across many different cultures and people's before her accent changed. perhaps if she had done different accents for different peoples from the beginning.
It also bothered me when she pronounced names and locations differently then in the first few books, at some points the same name differently in the same book! it was very annoying.
I had a hard time getting used to this narrator to begin with and I definitely won't be buying books suggested because they are narrated by her, she has a nice voice but attention to detail is very important.

its was captivating from start to finish.

i love it, i wish there was more about her son dirk his life story

as always a great read.

Start at the beginning of the series you will enjoy it much more.
The narrator did an amazing job
Looking forward to more of The Earth Children

I enjoyed the series of Earth Children Books

I enjoyed the series, assuming that here in 2022 there will be no more, the book gives an education along with the entertainment, Auel, go to great lengths to educate herself and it is appreciated here in this book series.
There is much repeating done throughout the series to remind the readers of situations of Alays past, occasionally it would get monotonous but when read years ago as the books where released it was necessary as years would go by before the next book would come out! When read one after the other now so much reminding is not so necessary, however so glad I listened to these series after reading most of them 40 years ago!

This series is a treasure!

Sad that it's the last book. :-(

Loved all the books. Didn't like the voice for Ayla. I liked the one I imagined when I read the books. Sad that it's the last book.