AUTHOR: Jean M. Auel
STARTED: September 16, 2014
FINISHED: November 2, 2014
PAGES: 544
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: She was dead.
SUMMARY: [From BN] Cruelly cast out by the new
leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves
those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land
filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others,
tall and fair like herself. The short summer gives her little time to
look, and when she finds a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe
horses, she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter
ahead. Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many skills but not real
hunting. She finally knows she can survive when she traps a horse, which
gives her meat and a warm pelt for the winter, but fate has bestowed a
greater gift, an orphaned foal with whom she develops a unique kinship. One winter extends to more; she
discovers a way to make fire more quickly and a wounded cave lion cub
joins her unusual family, but her beloved animals don’t fulfill her
restless need for human companionship. Then she hears the sound of a man
screaming in pain. She saves tall, handsome Jondalar, who brings her a
language to speak and an awakening of love and desire, but Ayla is torn
between her fear of leaving her valley and her hope of living with her
own kind.
THOUGHTS: I continue to love this series. If you were to ask my why, I could only say that it is one hell of a story. The writing is just fine, and sometimes I find the text a bit repetitive, but I love the ride Auel puts you on. This is a fascinating setting with inherent drama, and Auel just lets her characters be.
With this book, Auel had two parallel story-lines. One followed Ayla and the other followed Jondalar. Their stories did not converge until the end of the book. That decision let the anticipation of their meeting build and build with each chapter. Gotta love a good bit of fun "LET THEM MEET ALREADY" stress.
This book is not OMG BEST EVER, but it is strangely addicting... which is why I started the third in the series immediately after finishing this one.
RATING:7/10 [Very Good]
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