SOURCE: "Speculative Fiction," in Ms., Vol. XIV, No. 9, March, 1986, pp. 64, 70.

While praising Auel's creation of a strong female protagonist in the review below, Van Gelder faults the author for creating social interactions which are too similar to "modern" society.

I began hearing about them several years ago, always from feminist friends who said things like "You absolutely have to read these books." Jean M. Auel's "Earth's Children" novels—The Clan of the Cave Bear, The Valley of Horses, and The Mammoth Hunters—have since gone from feminist word-of-mouth classics to a major mainstream phenomenon. Hunters hit the number-one spot on the best-seller list last winter even before its official publication date, and a movie version of Cave Bear (staring Daryl Hannah, with a screenplay by John Sayles) has recently been released. In the era of "Rambo," Auel has given us a resourceful, female superhero.

She is Ayla, a...