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  • The Shelters of Stone

  • Earth's Children, Book 5
  • Written by: Jean M. Auel
  • Narrated by: Sandra Burr
  • Length: 33 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (135 ratings)

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The Shelters of Stone cover art

The Shelters of Stone

Written by: Jean M. Auel
Narrated by: Sandra Burr
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Publisher's Summary

After their epic journey across Europe, Ayla and Jondalar have reached his home, the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the old stone-age settlement in the region known today as southwest France. Jondalar's family greet him warmly, but they are initially wary of the beautiful young woman he has brought back, with her strange accent and her tame wolf and horses.

Ayla has much to learn from the Zelandonii and much to teach them. She is intrigued by their clothes, their crafts, and their home, and wants to learn their customs and the ways that they live, so that she will fit in. She is delighted when she meets Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of the people, a fellow healer with whom she can share medicinal skills and knowledge. The Zelandonii are surprised to learn she was found and raised by the Clan, the ones that they call flatheads and think of as animals, and are skeptical when she tells them they are people.

After the rigors and dangers that have characterized her extraordinary life so far, Ayla yearns for peace and tranquility, to be Jondalar's mate, and to have children. But her unique spiritual gifts cannot be ignored, and even as she gives birth to her eagerly-awaited child, she is coming to accept that she has a greater role to play in the destiny of the Zelandonii.

©2004 Jean M. Auel (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

What the critics say

"Burr is adept at reading the detailed descriptions of Cro-Magnon artifacts without losing our interest and at creating varied portrayals of the many characters. A fine performance of a long-awaited book." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Shelters of Stone

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epic!

Ayla's wonderful adventure story continues and gets better with every book. Only thing is that l got thrown off by Ayla's new accent!! She's not been depicted to have one in the four previous books and having one now in the 5th is kinda odd..l think. Still, it makes for a great read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Incredible story.

The entire series is well written and captivating. The story telling by Sandra Barr is done so well you can imagine all the different characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Me
  • 2023-03-18

dedication to research keeps you engaged

the research and dedication to it to be as accurate and realistic as possible, while extrapolating the unknowns to be as believable as possible is excellently done. a marvelous story, told well by the reader.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

love this book!!

I know alot of people struggled with the new Ayla accent..I found it easier to understand who all was talking as she tried to have different voices for both her and Zeladonii, which was good as they talked often..
loved this book
downloading.. Land of Painted Caves next..

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellently read !

Generally greatly enjoyed the 'read' ! There were a few mispronounciations ( megaceros for one ) and the 'Zsa Zsa Gabor' voice for Ayla was a bit too humorous.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this series! But why the accent!?!

I absolutely love the Earths Children series, but the accent given to Ayla in this performance was absolutely awful. It was a constant distraction and made it difficult to listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

what happend to Aylas voice??????

I was LOVING the previous audio versions, I've read the entire series several times, and thought I had found GOLD having the series read to me, but MAN OH man WTF?? The narrator was doing JUST FINE up until THIS book. I should wait before I rate/review this book as I'm only 30 minutes in. Jondalars voice didn't change so why did she feel the need to change Aylas voice to sound like she was Russian???
I'm very disappointed and this is ultimately going to ruin the experience for me.. ugh I hope she doesn't do it for theblast book. oh God pls no.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent seies

Well put together through the entire series. Her writing takes the reader on a journey with her expiration of each scene.
Well done very well done.

Rolly

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story ruined by affected accent by performer

The affected accent that the reader started for Ayla with all the rolling ‘R’s is both annoying and distracting. It’s a shame because the previous books didn’t have it. The director should have recognized it and quashed it.....

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Never Disappoints!

Another fascinating & engaging sequel to the endearing saga of Ayla!
I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes a good story, characters and strong female lead!

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