The Clan of the Cave Bear
by Jean M. AuelEdition: Paperback
Price: $10.17
Availability: In Stock
46 used & new from $2.75
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Great Work And I Understand Why She Did It, However....., April 1, 2007
One more thing- I think it's pretty ridiculous that Aule is taking flack because some people think her characters are prehistoric superheroes. Granted, I only read the first one, but the neanderthals at least seemed pretty wimpish compared to what they actually were in real life. An average neanderthal could stand on the 10 yard line of a football field and hurl an NFL linebacker through the goal posts with little effort, and they also had much larger brains than us and possessed a much higher threshold for pain. And cro-magnons were several times stronger than modern humans as well, with denser bone mass and considerably larger brains. Both races were infinitely more instinctual and able more able to survive harsh conditions without technology than we are.
Most historic fiction fans like to learn little tidbits about our ancestor's habits and technologies within the course of a read, and I understand that. However, though I enjoyed reading this book I would have read more in the series if this first weren't so pre-occupied with the crafting and survival techniques of neanderthals and cro-magnons. I'm already interested in prehistory, and I read text books and watch the Discovery Channel for those things. What I want from a piece of historic fiction is fiction and adventure. In my opinion a prehistoric fiction novel should dwell no more on minutiae of era existence than a good ol' western or medieval yarn. it should be taken for granted, and only that which is needed for the story should be included. Also, I was hoping for more discussion of the brutality and difficulty and barbarism of the age, and was looking for more of a plot than the course of Ayla's step mother's quaint emotions and Ayla's journey of coming of age and her development of a sort of revolutionary prehistoric feminism. I did like the fact that the author is allowed to discuss hominid telepathy without being kicked out of her genre and into the realm of fantasy, however, and Auel is a skilled writer at least as far as an eye for detail goes. I guess I was just looking for a different book, and having said these things I must add that I did appreciate the work because learning some of the neanderthal facts was more fun than the research by which I usually get those facts. But I have to judge the as a work of lit and not as a learning aid, because that is what it claims to be. Therefore, three stars. (That's three and a half rounded down by the way). One more thing- I think it's pretty ridiculous that Aule is taking flack because some people think her characters are prehistoric superheroes. Granted, I only read the first one, but the neanderthals at least seemed pretty wimpish compared to what they actually were in real life. An average neanderthal could stand on the 10 yard line of a football field and hurl an NFL linebacker through the goal posts with little effort, and they also had much larger brains than us and possessed a much higher threshold for pain. And cro-magnons were several times stronger than modern humans as well, with denser bone mass and considerably larger brains. Both races were infinitely more instinctual and able more able to survive harsh conditions without technology than we are.
by Jean M. AuelEdition: Paperback
Price: $10.17
Availability: In Stock
46 used & new from $2.75
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Great Work And I Understand Why She Did It, However....., April 1, 2007
One more thing- I think it's pretty ridiculous that Aule is taking flack because some people think her characters are prehistoric superheroes. Granted, I only read the first one, but the neanderthals at least seemed pretty wimpish compared to what they actually were in real life. An average neanderthal could stand on the 10 yard line of a football field and hurl an NFL linebacker through the goal posts with little effort, and they also had much larger brains than us and possessed a much higher threshold for pain. And cro-magnons were several times stronger than modern humans as well, with denser bone mass and considerably larger brains. Both races were infinitely more instinctual and able more able to survive harsh conditions without technology than we are.
Most historic fiction fans like to learn little tidbits about our ancestor's habits and technologies within the course of a read, and I understand that. However, though I enjoyed reading this book I would have read more in the series if this first weren't so pre-occupied with the crafting and survival techniques of neanderthals and cro-magnons. I'm already interested in prehistory, and I read text books and watch the Discovery Channel for those things. What I want from a piece of historic fiction is fiction and adventure. In my opinion a prehistoric fiction novel should dwell no more on minutiae of era existence than a good ol' western or medieval yarn. it should be taken for granted, and only that which is needed for the story should be included. Also, I was hoping for more discussion of the brutality and difficulty and barbarism of the age, and was looking for more of a plot than the course of Ayla's step mother's quaint emotions and Ayla's journey of coming of age and her development of a sort of revolutionary prehistoric feminism. I did like the fact that the author is allowed to discuss hominid telepathy without being kicked out of her genre and into the realm of fantasy, however, and Auel is a skilled writer at least as far as an eye for detail goes. I guess I was just looking for a different book, and having said these things I must add that I did appreciate the work because learning some of the neanderthal facts was more fun than the research by which I usually get those facts. But I have to judge the as a work of lit and not as a learning aid, because that is what it claims to be. Therefore, three stars. (That's three and a half rounded down by the way). One more thing- I think it's pretty ridiculous that Aule is taking flack because some people think her characters are prehistoric superheroes. Granted, I only read the first one, but the neanderthals at least seemed pretty wimpish compared to what they actually were in real life. An average neanderthal could stand on the 10 yard line of a football field and hurl an NFL linebacker through the goal posts with little effort, and they also had much larger brains than us and possessed a much higher threshold for pain. And cro-magnons were several times stronger than modern humans as well, with denser bone mass and considerably larger brains. Both races were infinitely more instinctual and able more able to survive harsh conditions without technology than we are.
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