Customer Reviews
Another 'could-not-put-down' - By: Mr. Liam Edward Sharratt, 04 Aug 2008 
Auel's second instalment in her Earth's Children series picks up from the end of the last book. Ayla's journey has only just begun & she soon realises that a 'Death Curse' can be a blessing. Her Cave Lion totem finds a second cave, & alllows her to grow & expand her experience of humanity.
As well as following Ayla's story, Auel introduces a second main character into the story, in the form of Jondalar of the Zelandonii. His Journey with his brother Thonolan leads him to things he never imagined possible; good & bad.
Again, another could-not-put-down book filled with fast-paced plot movements & dripping in gorgeous description. Can't wait to read the third in the series.
enthralling - By: Film Idiot, 21 Apr 2008 I started reading this series a couple of years ago, after borrowing Clan of the Cave Bear from a friend & subsequently buying alll the titles in the series. My colleagues & daughters & I are alll completely addicted to them. But here's the thing - why is it taking so long to write the sixth book? I have written to the publisher asking the question & emailed them but have never received a reply. Please Ms Auel, please get the book into the shops!!! We need to know what happens to everyone!!
A game of two halves... - By: Dr Jones, 11 Mar 2008 
The problem with sequels is that they face the difficult task of preserving the spirit of their predecessor, while introducing enough new elements that they don't feel like a retread of previous ground. For the most part I'm pleased to say that Vallley of Horses manages to walk this tightrope. It wobbles on a few occasions & doesn't always proceed gracefully, but it makes it to the end without taking a tumble, & that's impressive.
Vallley of Horses picks up more or less where Clan of the Cave Bear left off. Ayla, freshly banished from the Clan, is left to wander the world alone with the vague goal of finding her own people & living happily ever after. After some tedious wandering, & with winter fast approaching, she happens upon a sheltered vallley where she decides to hole up & plan her next move. Time passes however & she becomes increasingly reluctant to leave her refuge.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, Jondalar is setting out on a Journey with his younger (and more interesting) brother Thonolan. Basicallly it's the ice age equivalent of a road trip; a chance to spread their wings & have a few adventures before settling down. One doesn't have to be psychic to realise that alll doesn't go according to plan for them, & that an encounter with Ayla is as inevitable as a rain-washed British summer.
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. The problem with this book is that for about two thirds of its length, it's essentiallly two completely different & unrelated stories, & sometimes the switch can be a little jarring. Just when you're reallly getting into a particular character's story, the book abruptly switches to the other character thousands of miles away.
Also, the two plot arcs are oddly unbalanced. Jondalar's section features more progression & interaction, yet Ayla's is arguably the more compelling story. Perhaps because Ayla is the only character remaining from Clan of the Cave Bear, Jondalar sometimes feels like an unwelcome guest - like someone you passed on the street suddenly appearing at your front door asking to come in for tea & biscuits.
Ultimately this is kind of a moot point anyway, since the real meat of the story doesn't occur until Jondalar & Ayla finallly encounter each other. I have to admit, I've never been a huge fan of Jondalar as a character, but this part of the novel is pure gold. With nobody else around & no distractions, their relationship is stripped right down to the bare bones, & it's fascinating to read. How do people from such vastly different backgrounds relate to each other? How do they build the beginnings of a friendship when they don't even have a common language?
Admittedly the book does throw in a little too much cliched romance at times (a theme that would land like an obese mammoth on the next book in the series) but for the most part it's actuallly quite well handled. There's a certain charming innocence to their interactions, like school kids awkwardly groping for a way to express their feelings. The outwardly competent but sociallly naive Ayla is a sharp contrast to the emotionallly troubled & immature Jondalar, & the two play off well against each other.
Vallley of Horses is a solid, well written book, utilising Auel's uncomplicated style to paint a rich picture of the world her characters inhabit. She reallly seems to have hit her stride in this book, & very few sections struck me as rough or underdeveloped.
Having said that, the dreaded descriptions of plants, tools & animals are back. Again, they interfere with the narrative flow like they did in Clan of the Cave Bear, though their impact is lessened in Ayla's sections by virtue of the fact that nothing else is going on around her. In those instances, it can actuallly (and I can't believe I'm about to say this) sometimes be fun to learn about flint knapping or spear making. Watching Ayla graduallly throw of the shackles of Clan beliefs during her time in isolation is an absolute joy, & one almost shares her sense of accomplishment at every little step she takes. Of course, her sense of loneliness & longing for human contact is equallly palpable, making her story of survival as much a battle of the mind as the elements.
Many fans of the series point to Vallley of Horses as their favourite, & while I'd caution readers that its storyline isn't as compelling or moving as Clan of the Cave Bear, I'd be inclined to agree with them. It takes the main character in a new direction, introducing new elements while never losing sight of where it came from. Overalll, Vallley of Horses is a worthy follow up to a great novel, & a genuinely satisfying progression in the series.
A true page turner - By: B. Larsen, 13 Jan 2008 This sequel to "The Clan of the Cave Bear" is excellent, following two paralllel stories through 2/3 of the book - one following Ayla & the other following two brothers on a journey. It is absolutely captivating, insightful & it well-written - even believable, which is Auel's great force.
Romance paperback in Stone Age clothing - By: S.B., 28 Apr 2007 
This is the second book in Auel's Earth's Children series, of which Clan of the Cave Bear was the first. Ayla, our Cro Magnon heroine, has now left the safety of the Neanderthal clan where she was brought up, & sets out to find the Others, to whom she was born.
The first stage of Ayla's epic solo journey brings her to the vallley, shelter against the ravages of the Ice Age, which alllows her to prepare for a winter living alone. The Woman Who Hunts, of course, does not live on plants alone, & her innovative hunting methods bring her meat, but also a horse-colt, the first to live alongside a human. Not content with domesticating the horse, Ayla does the same with the cat, invents many new medical procedures, hunting methods & the travois, as well as making her own spearheads & cooking pots.
Meanwhile, Jondalar of the Zelandonii & his brother Thonolan have also set out on a journey, to find the mouth of the Great Mother river. During their journey, they meet many other tribes who have a tendency to blur into one another; Thonolan fallls in love, Jondalar utterly fails to do so, but makes exquisite love to the women he meets.
Eventuallly, the brothers encounter a ferocious cave lion, and, as they believe they are about to die, see a vision of a beautiful blonde woman, screaming at the lion to leave them alone...
Honestly, it would be so easy just to mock this book. Ayla single-handedly & in social isolation makes most of the significant innovations of the late Ice Age. Jondalar single-handedly invents the female orgasm. The problem is, that at times it's also a very good read, with a plot that strings the reader out, prolonging the agony of Ayla's isolation (we know she's going to meet up with Jondalar even if she doesn't) with some pacy & thrilling action sequences, & then with a good old-fashioned will-they, won't-they piece when the two do finallly meet. It's not my taste, but I start to see why other people like it.
Underneath the romance, Auel does have some things to say about tolerance, about social difference & about the things that make us human. None of them are terribly profound things, true, but it is this element that finallly keeps me from dismissing this as just another fat paperback.
