#178 in Historical fiction
The Land of Painted Caves
- 800
- Pages
- about 15 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 5 weeks on the list, peaked at #1
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Our view
“The Land of Painted Caves” gives long-time followers of “Earth’s Children” the ending they waited nine years for. In eight hundred pages, Jean M. Auel follows Ayla as she trains to become a spiritual leader of the Zelandonii. Some readers find it repetitive; others think the heroine too flawless and feel the saga declined after the early volumes. For those who have been with her from the start, it rounds off her story.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Land of Painted Caves is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel published in March 2011. It is the sequel to The Shelters of Stone – published 9 years earlier – and is the sixth and final book in the Earth's Children series. It describes Ayla's life among the Zelandonii, and her training to become one of their spiritual leaders.
Reading order · Earth's Children hexalogy
Full order & progress →- The Clan of the Cave BearStart here
7.97.9 / 10 - The Valley of Horses
7.97.9 / 10 - The Mammoth Hunters
7.67.6 / 10 - The Plains of Passage
7.67.6 / 10 - The Shelters of Stone
7.77.7 / 10 - The Land of Painted CavesThis book
7.47.4 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 5.8 across 54 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 27% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Historical fiction average of 8.0. That is how 7.4 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.1 | 9 | 17% |
| Hardcover | 5.5 | 45 | 83% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Land of Painted Caves?
It has 800 pages — longer than 85% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Historical fiction — with scores between 7.1 and 7.8, closest to this book.
