Has anyone read these books? I really enjoyed the first 2 books and I am currently reading the 4th. There is a lot of repetition in the 3rd and 4th books have been harder to get through. I really want to finish the series but I also have hugh stack of other books to read.

Sorry, Maria - I've not even heard of them. You do recommend the first 2, though?

I have!!! LOVE them, it's so worth it to get through. Although, we're still waiting for the next one to come out (sounds familiar, no?). Shelters of Stone is very very good. In fact, they're all on my list to re-read soon. There's a fan site here - http://www.ecfans.com/. There's still no word on when book 6 will be out though

Oh, I love these books, Im fan #1 haha I recommend all the books, the whole series is awesome. The detail is immeense, and hardened readers know which bits to skip! I had to wait 12 years for book 5, hope the wait for book 6 isnt quite as long....

^Do you post on ecfans, teton87? Ive totally forgotten username on there!

No actually, I just try to keep an eye on it for updates about book 6

I've had Clan of the Cave Bear on my book shelf for ages, just never got round to reading it

^Go on, read it... I'd recommend reading the series in order - some people don't, which is insane! You have to read this book to understand the main character, Ayla.
The 2nd book, Valley of Horses is the best IMO.

Those peeps who enjoy hearing about medicinal herbs in OL might get something from the EC series, and Auel manages to bring palaeolithic europe to life, no mean feat.

This is absolutely true! In fact I made fun of DH when he first suggest I read it because he's a range specialist, and plant expert, so I kept telling him the only reason he liked it was because there was such an in depth discussion of plants

Wow! 12 years between book 4 and 5.
I love reading about the use of herbs, it makes me really want to try it at home. I do like that these books make you think about what life might have been like in kthe begining.

Just got this in an email -

The Land of Painted Caves, Jean M. Auel’s Sixth and Final Book in theEarth’s Children® Series, to Be Published Worldwide on March 29, 2011— Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc., and Crown PublishersAnnounce Major International Laydown (May 27, 2010—New York, NY) Jean M. Auel, whose novels about prehistoric life have won acclaim for their inspired storytelling, meticulous attention to detail, and historic accuracy, has written the highly anticipated sixth and final book in the mega-bestselling Earth’s Children® series. Titled The Land of Painted Caves, the book will be published in the United States on March 29, 2011, in both hardcover and eBook formats by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. The book will be simultaneously published worldwide, including in the U.K., Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Japan. A worldwide announcement was made today. Bantam Books, which holds the rights to all of Auel’s paperback backlist, will publish eBook versions of each of the previous five classic books in the Earth’s Children® series in advance of the international release of The Land of Painted Caves. Bantam will also publish a paperback edition of the new book in 2012. Auel’s Earth’s Children® is one of the most popular and celebrated book series of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 45 million copies, including nearly 22 million copies in the United States alone. The series has consistently made publishing history, beginning with the groundbreaking first novel, The Clan of the Cave Bear (1980), and continuing with The Valley of Horses (1982); The Mammoth Hunters (1985), which was the first hardcover novel to achieve a first printing of more than a million copies; The Plains of Passage (1990); and The Shelters of Stone (2002), which debuted at #1 on sixteen international bestseller lists. The Land of Painted Caves continues the story of Ayla, her mate Jondalar, and their little daughter, Jonayla, taking readers on a journey of discovery and adventure as Ayla struggles to find a balance between her duties as a new mother and her training to become a Zelandoni—one of the Ninth Cave community’s spiritual leaders and healers. Once again, Jean Auel combines her brilliant narrative skills and appealing characters with a remarkable re-creation of the way life was lived thousands of years ago, rendering the terrain, dwelling places, longings, beliefs, creativity, and daily lives of Ice Age Europeans as real to the reader as today’s news. Auel’s editor for the book is her longtime editor Betty Prashker. Said Maya Mavjee, president and publisher of the Crown Publishing Group, “The Land of Painted Caves is a brilliant achievement by one of the world’s most beloved authors. Jean M. Auel’s millions of fans, who have been eagerly awaiting the next installment of the epic story of Ayla and Jondalar, will not be disappointed by this stirring and satisfying finale.”Auel’s longtime agent Jean Naggar says: “Once again, the launch of this latest book in Jean Auel’s unique series promises to be an international extravaganza. Working with this extraordinary author and series from its beginnings has been a great personal and professional pleasure. The Land of Painted Caves is a triumph and a wonderful read.” All foreign and subsidiary rights are negotiated by Jennifer Weltz, Vice President of the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc., New York, NY (212-794-1082). U.S. audio rights to The Land of Painted Caves have been sold to Brilliance Audio. The parent company of Random House, Inc., is Bertelsmann AG.

I read The Clan of the Cave Bear way back when I was in primary school and loved it, I read it several times! for some reason I never read the second one... though now that I've read it I imagine my mum probably read it and steered me away from it due to all the steamy moments. haha.
I read half of the third one at the start of this year but got distracted by Game of Thrones as I wanted to read that before the TV series came out. then I read the second game of thrones and discovered Outlander and so I don't know when I'll pick Mammoth Hunters back up. hopefully it won't take me too long to get to!

I am reading this series again--one of my favorites! This is the only series that I've had to wait long, agonizing years between books; that is, until I fell in love with the Outlander series and the Ice and Fire series. I bought book six, The Land of Painted Caves and had to start with book one since I had not read it since I was pregnant with my son (he will be 27 next month). It's as good the second time around as I'd remembered it to be.

I read the earlier books quite a while ago, but I found that she gave enough background that I remembered most stuff I needed to recall. In fact, that was my big complaint about Land of Painted Caves - it was very repetitious, much of which was reminding us multiple times in this book of what happened with some characters in previous books (as well as the repetitious cave descriptions). I think I liked books 1, 3 and 5 more than books 2, 4 and 6, but overall I enjoyed the series and I'm glad I finished it, but I think the last book could have used at least one more good editing pass.

The author may have been trying to remind herself what happened in previous books. I wonder if she had been working on it all this time or if she had considered the story finished with book five and her rabid fans reminded her that she had promised a six book story? I haven't got to Painted Caves yet...I'll comment when I've read it!

At the time I read the fifth, I was pretty sure that there was going to be a sixth. And, I know I read that she did a lot of touring of painted caves (maybe in the acknowledgements/preface/something in that book?). So, I think she was working on it. And, reminders weren't bad, but at times it seemed like she was repeating the reminders. And, when I finished, it felt like no one - author or editor - had read the whole book straight through or they would have realized that some things could have been trimmed. IMO, of course.