NO SECONDS, PLEASE

Whenever I needed to ameliorate the gnawing boredom of long bus rides and sleepless nights below the equator, I would turn to Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear. I found it a well researched piece of science fiction. I mean seriously, what a curious encounter to imagine! A Cro-Magnon girl meets up with a small band of Neanderthals? Cool! And it was good. In fact, I liked it so much I reached for the next book in the series, The Valley of Horses.

*biting fingers*

Only the second story reads more like cheesy romance. Some things were just too far fetched for me. It was too much fantasy. I kept waiting for a unicorn to burst forth. And oh my God, Jondalar of the Zelandoni? Must the story orbit around your insatiable, throbbing manhood? I found myself exclaiming things like, "Jondalar please. Stuff it back in your loincloth. We're all getting a little tired of that."