The Shelters of Stone

When Ayla and Jondalar arrive to the Zelandonii, Jondalar's people, after their valiant trek across Europe with their animal companions, Wolf, Whinney, and Racer, The Shelters of Stone opens. Ayla is fascinated by the inhabitants in the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. She is in awe of their attire, traditions, artifacts, and even their dwellings, which are carved out of massive limestone cliffs. She also encounters another healer with whom to share her knowledge and abilities in Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of the Ninth Cave and the one who inducted Jondalar into the Gift of Pleasure.

However, challenges arise as Ayla and Jondalar get ready for the official mating at the Summer Meeting. Not every Zelandonii is hospitable. Some dislike Ayla's association with people they refer to as flatheads and whom she refers to as Clan, and they are afraid of her strange ways. Some even express their disapproval and oppose her marrying with Jondalar. To make her place in this complex culture, to be ready for the birth of her kid, and to determine whether or not she will take on new tasks and significantly influence the fate of the Zelandonii, Ayla will need to rely on all of her abilities, intellect, knowledge, and intuition.

This exquisitely detailed portrayal of an ancient culture features Jean Auel at the height of her abilities. The expansive tale of love and peril found in The Shelters of Stone has all the exquisite detail—derived from painstaking research—that sets her works apart. It is a victorious sequel to The Clan of the Cave Bear, the first book in the Earth's Children® epic. It also has a wonderful rhyming poem that tells the story of Earth's Children's birth and has a special place in The Shelters of Stone.