The Valley of Horses

Earth's Children, Book 2

By: Jean M. Auel

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

A timeless epic of the dawn of civilization.

In The Valley of Horses, Ayla, the unforgettable heroine of The Clan of the Cave Bear, sets out on her own odyssey of discovery away from the nurturing adoptive family and friends of the Clan. She is in search of others like herself and in search of love.

Sharing a hidden valley with a herd of steppe horses, Ayla finds a unique friendship with animals as vulnerable as herself and ingeniously discovers the complex skills needed to survive - skills no Clan member was ever able to master.

But none of her experiences prepares her for the emotional turmoil she feels when she rescues a young man - the first of the Others she has seen - from almost certain death.

Torn between her desire for human companionship and her fear of the unknown Others, she struggles against her deep attraction to the handsome Jondalar. It is Jondalar who teaches her the meaning of true friendship and love.

Listen to more in the Earth's Children series.©2004 Jean M. Auel (P)2004 Brilliance Audio

A Stunning Continuation of Clan of the Cave Bear

First reading The Clan of the Cave Bear is not required in order to start The Valley of the Horses. Jean M. Auel introduces all the information necessary to bring you up to date on Ayla’s past history and starts the parallel story of two men starting their journey from the other side of the continent. You will be introduced into the landscape of the geography, animal life and cultures of other peoples existing in this period. Ms. Auel once again, shares her detailed research into all these aspects as well as the strong character development she created in Clan of the Cave Bear. Sandra Burr continues her excellent narration of the story with her rich voice ranging the scope of all the characters.

Plot Tension Built Through Cultural Differences

What did you love best about The Valley of Horses?

Ayla and Jondalar's problem solving skills, especially Ayla's.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Ayla befriended the mixed-spirits boy at the Mammoth camp -- it demonstrated her compassion.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, there's too much to take in, in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I agree with Rowena (Kista Sweden), on the Kindle, the narration is too fast, I slowed my Kindle down to half-speed and the speed improved greatly. To test the narration on another device, I used the Audible App on my Samsung cell phone to listen to the book and the speed is perfect. Thus, it isn't the narrator who's fast but the electronics.

excellent

Very intense and detailed story. Narration is excellent for a single person covering different characters.

Heart beating history

The parallel stories are fascinating and just when you think you can predict how they will merge, the writer always manages to surprise. The story warmed my heart and played with it like a lion cub would. Still have a hard time with the reader’s childish voice but other than those moments, she does a good job of not being too performing. So fascinating to being projected into that time period.

awesome series

love this story, loved it since I saw the movie Clan of the cave bear.

A joy.

This book took me back to the time, many years ago, when I first read these books greedily. Then I had to wait anxiously for the next volume. Now I only have to tap Download and the next volume will appear, magically. The reading is effortless too. No balancing a heavy volume on my lap or chest. No fumbling for a tissue to mark my place. I am once again reminded of why I love audible.

Reading speed

I saw quite a few reviews saying that the speed of the reader was too fast. I felt the same way so I just went into my settings and reduced the speed at that point it sounded just like clan of the Cave bear.

Amazing story I’ve been reading this series for over 30 years

love ayla

I fast forward only listening to the ayla part I have read the whole series.
didn't like it just ayla's story hate jondalar and his people.
would have been better with just ayla and maybe just her finding jondalar and him leaving her with a child.

Addicted!

Book 2 down, on to 3! I read this series when I was in my 20's! I am so glad I found it on Audible!

Slow down!

This was the first audiobook in more than a dozen years that I had to alter the narration speed. Not even just one setting down but two settings lower than the normal setting, heard at 0.8, the narrator sounds normal. They also did something to memory quotes by other people that was annoying to me, just read the quote, don’t do that strange mechanized thing! Hopefully the next book in the series has a different narrator.