I reread this book after first joining Library Thing. Adding books to the list, I forgot whether I had read it before, so I started reading to see if I remembered it. I did, but kept reading anyway. The series continues to be a fascinating dramatization of what is known about prehistoric people. Even the relentless female centric orientation of the fiction is not off putting; the characters bring their daily routines to life and the author is skillful enough to make us interested in what becomes of them. That one woman should have learned how to start fire, tame animals, prevent conception, invented the sling, invented the sewing needle and figured out that sex causes pregnancy may seem a little much but the context is presented convincingly enough to make it all seem possible. The book is an enjoyable read for everyone, especially those interested in how we got here. I'm rooting for the author to write another in the series but I do wonder how she will handle the recent findings of genetic research that seem to rule out Neanderthals as ancestors of living humans and therefore, one of the significant story lines. Perhaps we'll see. ( )

A great book, a great finish to the series, she doesn't disappoint! Found it believable and rather sad that humans have really not evolved culturally or emphatically very much. In fact, we are probably less tolerant and more fractured. ( )

The Shelters of Stone continues the story of Ayla who lost her family to an earthquake and was raised by the people who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. She arrives in the land of the man she loves, but his people are wary of her and think of the Clan who cared for her as animals that resemble people and who are not much smarter than beasts. Ayla has brought with her two horses and a wolf over which she has uncanny control. Ayla vows to learn from the Zelandonii and hopes, in turn, to teach them. She is particularly pleased to meet the spiritual leader of the tribe, a fellow healer with whom she is able to share medical skills and knowledge. But Ayla's greatest problem is to convince her new hosts that she is from a tribe of human beings, not the subhumans they are regarded as. And when she gives birth to her eagerly awaited child, she is forced to accept that she and her child will have to play a very significant role in the clouded destiny of the Zelandon.

Auel is particularly sharp in her characterisation of Ayla, the woman who is foreign and strange in this new land, and her heroine's clashes with her new-found people are handled skilfully. The reader is immersed in another world, one whose every detail is skilfully evoked, while the writing has all the colour and vividness of Auel's previous books

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 her 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. ( )

I loved this new book and it's continuation to this beautiful story.