The Mammoth Hunters

While author, Auel, is a talented writer, she slips into a bogged down soap opera with this 3rd book of her prehistoric saga. I didn’t mind that there was a love triangle. I minded that there was a constant rehash of the inner thoughts of Ayla and Jondalar that already had been adequately covered. This and the, often, mind numbing minutiae produced a book that should have been considerably shorter.

I am reading through the entire Earth’s Children series and found that this book is the one you might want to skip. While the other books are well written, this one is very slow in that it is the world’s longest, most drawn out love triangle. There are some people she meets and some things that happen which you probably want to know as part of the whole story, but it is hard to get through.

This book gave me a first. I have read books that made me cry because it was sad or amazingly joyous. I’ve had books that have evoked and or peals of laughter. But I have never had a book that wrenched my heart so much as to make me nauseous. It emotionally shook me to my core so much that I couldn’t pick up the book again for a week.
Again, the characters are so richly described that you can’t help but feel you know them. My only complaint is that there were certain things I wish the author would have investigated further but, really, doesn’t that just exemplify how good the author is that I want more, can’t get enough, and think I need to stop reviewing so I can start the next book.
My advice: Go ahead and buy the entire series because you will read them so save yourself the effort and a little money.

Some people did not rate this book as high as it deserved because of the time spent on the triangle between Ayla & Jondolar & Ranec but they fail to see the truth in this as it applies even to life today. Many people fall in love with someone who they feel, true or not, will not be acceptable to their family, friends or even the world at large as in inter-racial love. It can be devastating to find you love someone who people will disapprove of for any reason. They”re too old, too young, the wrong color or wrong cultural background. If you feel you are not strong enough to stand beside them even against your own family, if needed, it can cause you to give up someone you will never forget or be able to forgive yourself for losing. It can even ruin your life if you let it. If you take nothing but that lesson from this book it will be one of the most important things you will learn in your life. Love passed up can never be regained or replaced.
Ms Auel has a gift for teaching in a form so enjoyable that you don’t even know you are learning. The word pictures she paints are so real you feel like you have been transported back in time. You can hear the mammoths screaming in fear and pain and feel the joy and reverence the people feel as they realize they and their families and tribes will live another year by the Grace of the Great One, by whatever name you call Him or Her.
I believe you can learn many valuable life lessons from this series of books.
So those who think the situation between the three characters is taking away from the story need to reread this book with not only their minds open but their hearts open alko.

My sister gave me a box of books when she moved. One of them was a huge hardcover book “The Plains of Passage”. I read a few pages and liked it so I went to Amazon and discovered it was # 4 in a series. I ordered books # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I wanted “The Plains of Passage” in paperback because the original was so heavy. I just started to read it last night. I have not ordered book # 6 yet because of all the negative reviews but I will order it after all just to see for myself. Right along there has been a lot of repetition especially of terrain, plants, etc. I understand why the author felt she needed to do that. If I had just read one book in the middle of the series I would have needed background to understand the gist of the story.What if someone picks up book # 6 at Goodwill or other place that sells used books and has never read the previous 5 books? I have been known to buy books there on occasion. Readers are not being fair to the author to disparage book # 6 so much.They only need to skim the parts they already know about. Not everyone has read all 6 books. I plan to read and enjoy them all. I love the first 3 very much.