The only good thing about the book were the descriptions of the clipper. It's a shame none of these planes survived.

Did not like this book at all. Felt so much time was spent describing sexual indiscretions that the characters weren't fully developed. Also found female characters in this time period unrealistically feeble, written more like men would want them to be, but probably not how they are. Plot was thorough, but a little far fetched. Felt like this was a fantasy rather than a real story. However, he obviously did his research and was very thorough with descriptions of the plane, etc. so I had to give him one star. Sorry Mr. Follett, but I recommend our readers try something else.

Enjoyed this book, fairly fast read, with lots of different characters and their own agendas. Mr. Follett certainly did his research on the "Clipper" and worked it very well into the story line.

A few twists and turns and a red herring to boot! What got my attention to read this book is that it has a New Brunswick flare to it - later in the book, the events take place in Shediac (of all places) and then the Bay of Fundy, around Grand Manan!

Who are the bad guys - the gangster, the wealthy fascist Englishman, the thief, the crew - so many suspects! A bit of caution - some very hot scenes in this book.

Would have given this 5 stars, but I feel that the book left some unfinished business - not going to say what that is though - read the book!

4.5 stars and 2 thumbs up

Akhirnya keinget juga~ ini dia buku yang dulu ta' beli di diskonan, yang dibeli gara-gara ketarik sama sinopsisnya dan iklan di kover belakangnya yang nyama-nyamain buku ini sama Orient Express-nya Ms. Agatha Christie.

Aku merasa dibohongi...
Berani-beraninya!! (╯°益°)╯彡┻━┻
Berani sekali nyama-nyamain sama Orient Express yang semua tokoh-2nya punya watak dan peran tertentu, misterinya cerdas, dan ending-nya mengagumkan!
Semua tokoh di novel "Malam di Atas Lautan" ini ga ada yang layak untuk menyemir sepatu Hercule Poirot!!

...maap, emosi {{ (>_<) }}

Untuk tingkat keseruan, penokohan yang kaya karakter, dan plot misteri...semua tak ada 'seujung-kukunya' kisah Orient Express!

Entah gimana, kayaknya semua tokohnya Night Over Water ini kayak para idiot yang cuma ngutamain kegiatan mesum, yang ga ada kaitannya sama aksi yang berlangsung di pesawat.., atau cuma tokoh 'ga-jelas-permisi-mas-numpang-lewat', yang karakternya cuman diceritain doang dan berasa kayak tempelan belaka.

Dan inti misterinya...*tepokjidatpakebantalsofa*...demi apa kok bisa segaring dan se-gak-seru-banget kayak gitu, yang ending-nya pun cuma mak-gledhak-ee-ngono-thok-tha? (＃￣ω￣)

This was the second book I've read by Follett. The first one was an utterly disaster, giving up when I was around the middle of the story. Years have past since I again considered another Follett book. I must say this was one of the best reads I had ever. A smart plot, a lot of historical data, and a good set of details from the 20th Century has made this a must read.
After this one, I will certainly give another shot at Follett's books and I'm eager to start the next one. A fantastic read where you can learn so much about how it was like to fly 100 years or so ago.

Not bad, a soap opera over the water.

Mother threw her a suspicious look. "Why do I think you're not being quite sincere?"

"Because tyrants can never trust anyone," Margaret said.

----------------------------------------------

Maybe it's because Follett's style has grown slightly stale after poring through so much of his catalog, or maybe it's that my tastes have simply changed, but this one struggled to hold my interest. The "just-so" plot devices and the all-too-convenient scenarios that seem to occur right on cue began to wear thin. I'd have to go back and read some of his other novels to be sure, but it seemed like those annoyances crept into Night over Water more frequently than I remember.

And of course, the romance scenes are as titillating as usual, but I always wonder how they come across to his more feminine readers. Most of them read like boyish teenage fantasies. Are women reading these passages while rolling their eyes? I did a bit.

Anyway, for my money I have rather fond memories of Eye of the Needle and n  The Man from St. Petersburgn, both of which came across as far more compelling and plausible than the story here. I'd say the one redeeming quality of the book is the many historical and technical details about the fleet of prewar flying boats known as Clippers—if you're into that sort of thing.

Night Over Water by Ken Follett.

Just when I was convinced that I will be giving a negative review about a Ken Follett novel for the first time, he delivers such a block buster ending and an interesting bit of trivia in the afterword(refer pic), that I can't help but love this novel too.
Okay, let me give the bad parts first. This novel is drastically over stretched. It could easily have been at least 150-200 pages shorter. Now, when I read his century trilogy with each novel hovering around the 1000 page mark, I never felt that there was anything he could have omitted. But this one has too many repetitive paragraphs which abruptly break the rhythm of an otherwise we'll researched and well plotted 'Romantic Thriller'. Yes, the initial background stories about the various characters were definitely justified but the constant and repetitive 'whining' by some of the characters (in their minds) in almost every chapter excruciatingly slows the Novel. And another sore point, there were too many sexual encounters on a single flight on one night which makes you laugh at their credibility. I mean come on, one of them involved a young girl whose parents were sleeping in the same compartment

Anyone that knows me in our group especially, knows this and is surely tired of hearing it, but I have to say it again. Ken Follett is one of those writers that’s kind of an easy target; he’s popular in the mainstream, and has been for forty years, his prose is plain, and he writes thrillers (and historical fiction, but even those read more like thrillers IMO). He’s often thought of as a “guilty pleasure” writer by many, but I’m going to admit that I’m a huge fan of this guy, and I don’t consider him a “guilty pleasure”. We all have those writers; for me it’s Clive Cussler…there’s nothing wrong with it.

But I put Ken in a different category, because his storytelling is just so damned good. He’s the master of the page turner; an absolute master. And while his books always have the romantic subplot and lurid sex scenes (I honestly wish all authors would do with a little less of this lol), he’s very creative, does a mountain of research before he writes, and most of all, you can feel the guy’s passion for what he does in his books. His love of history absolutely oozes from these pages. While his writing may be average, his storytelling is not. His characters are fine, even if he does reuse some things. Bottom line, Follett has a rare ability to completely grip me up, usually immediately, and not let go until the book is over.

Okay enough about that. Night Over Water is a book that takes place largely on a Pan Am Clipper crossing the Atlantic from England to the US on the eve of WWII. Follett brings together a fantastic mix of characters and intertwines their stories and their lives—it’s tough to say much more about the plot than that without giving things away, and Follett does a superb job at unrolling everything for the reader. If you’ve never read him before, this would be a great one to start with. I found myself completely invested in every storyline here, even the romantic ones.

As the plane heads further and further away from Europe, and more and more is revealed about our characters, the tension builds to a point where things are so taut, I couldn’t have put the book down if my hair was on fire. This truly is one of his tensest novels, and I just can’t see how anyone couldn’t find be thrilled by a story like this; even if you’re a literary snob.

So bring on more Ken Follett; every time I read him I remember why I love picking up his books. Even the weakest of his novels I have read, probably n  Whiteoutn, still had me glued to the pages. If you’ve never read him, this is as good of a place as any to jump in. His WWII books are an exception era of his work, as he often picks unusual or not often discussed or written about aspects of the war to write about, and this is no exception.

4.5, but I’m rounding down to balance it out a bit

I re-read this book after a very long time. I remember I had liked it, but I didn't think it was this good.
The story is rich and the characters are superb. We see multiple stories coming in together, with high drama on a luxurious sea-plane. The details of the plane was fascinating. The political climate in the beginning of WW2 and the sentiments among common people and upper class was well captured.
There are some 'steamy' scenes, which could have been avoided, but they don’t hamper the flow. This is unlike some 'historical' fiction which I read recently, that turned out to be 800 pages + of erotica in disguise, with no story to talk about.

Ken Follett is a master story teller. He weaves an intricate plot without wasting pages. I now want to read 'Pillars of the Earth'.

What an exciting novel starring the last flying passenger ship across the Atlantic before the start of WWII. It was full of intrigue, danger, and even a bit of romance. I did not know much about the history of this short-lived type of travel. It was a thrilling ride for sure.

E terminei este livro, que era o e-reader dos anos de 1990. Quatro livros num só, imaginem! :D

Li alguns destes livros condensados e foi através deles que conheci as histórias de um dos meus autores de enredos legais preferido, John Grisham, por isso tenho um certo carinho por eles, apesar de hoje saber que são uma espécie de resumo dos livros originais, condensados às vezes de forma muito mal amanhada, como reparei ao ler este. Não penso que isso tenha influenciado a minha classificação, pois as histórias não são nada por aí além. Entretêm e nem fazem pensar muito. Foram leituras memoráveis? Não, mas nem todas o podem ser.

Recapitulando:

Noite sobre a água - 3*

Sara Dane - 3*

Condição negra - 2*

A torre de marfim - 3*