My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Seemingly unconnected people and events all come together over the Atlantic Ocean aboard the luxurious American airliner, nicknamed The Clipper. The year is 1939, trans-Atlantic crossing is for the wealthy and the daring, but as England has just declared war on Germany, many will flee to the United States. Some for political reasons, some for love, some for business and some from the law.
What no one knew was that one crew member would be making a desperate attempt to save his young wife or that he would risk the souls of all on board in his attempt.

NIGHT OVER WATER by Ken Follett is an intriguing and twisted drama that plays out among a group of passengers aboard and each outcome is never quite clear until the end.

Ken Follett is a master at subplots driving together to create a kaleidoscope of tension, passion and humanity at both its best and worst. Prepare to witness each thread of this tale come together as each mile is traversed and each lie and every truth is exposed.

Fasten your seatbelt and prepare for takeoff…this journey is one you’ll never forget!

Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (April 6, 2004)
Publication Date: April 6, 2004
Genre: Historical Fiction | Intrigue
Print Length: 448 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
n  n

Alternate title: Storm Over Paradise

I struggled through this book. The characters are pretty one dimensional and none of them go through any sort of arc, they're all pretty one track minded. They tend to do the exact same things over and over and the tension all but disappears. The writing is bland and uninspiring, and there's all tell and no show. It was mildly interesting to see how air travel has changed over the years, and the Nazism & fascism was pretty relevant considering the times we live in, but that's it.

It could have been 100 pages shorter if it wasn't for all the long winded descriptions of mundane things. 2 pages on how the bed was made, 4 pages on how the engines work, and none of these are relevant to the plot as a whole. The women in this book breast boobily down the stairs, and the men are all prideful and irrational "because I love you dammit!" It's so clichéd and tiring, but I literally had nothing else to read.

This was a buddy read with my dad. Despite having no previous experience with the author or narrator - I really enjoyed this. It’s an interesting series of chapters giving backgrounds of various unrelated characters who will eventually end up on a transatlantic sea plane together. Set during the declaration of WWII, this is sort of soap opera meets mystery/thriller. These individual characters and their stories were really wild and it was a fun listen. Many times I thought I knew where Follett was taking the storyline to end up being completely surprised. More than 14 hours of pure entertainment.

Tom Casaletto’s narration was really well done. There were dozens of characters of various genders, ages, and accents. One character even fakes multiple accents and Casaletto keeps them all consistent.

The book started slow and finished fast
Had a lot more primary/non-supporting characters skipping to each one every chapter than most books (15-20) and was hard to follow at first
1-2 main characters but they got just as much page time as the 15 others

To me the theme was not giving up / staying resolute in the face of adversity

This is a flying "Grand Hotel" story. A group of individuals fly from England to the U.S. in 1939, aboard a Pan-Am Clipper (B-314). There are love stories, stories of betrayal, stories of young people trying to reach out for independence, and stories of gangsters and fascists. Well done, if a bit slow at times. Recommended.

Realmente me gustó. No es una obra maestra del suspenso, pero tiene muchos componentes que hacen que la lectura se disfrute mucho y deje un muy buen sabor.

Si bien hay un conflicto principal, relacionado con este vuelo de 27 horas en que se cruza el océano Atlántico desde Inglaterra hacia Estados Unidos, la trama se nutre de las historias individuales de los pasajeros del avión, entre las que se mezclan el adulterio, la delincuencia, el nazismo, la nobleza británica, la mafia, traiciones empresariales, engaños políticos y mucho más. Todos los pasajeros abordan huyendo de algo o persiguiendo a alguien, pero durante el accidentado viaje se redefinirán las vidas de muchos de los personajes y la mayoría tendrá un papel decisivo hacia el final.

Me ha dejado sorprendida la versátil pluma de Ken Follett que, independiente de lo que esté contando, logra atrapar al lector. Con la misma intensidad e interés aborda tanto el encuentro íntimo de una pareja como los detalles técnicos que pondrán en riesgo al Boeing 314, todo bajo el marco histórico de los inicios de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y con excelentes descripciones de la sociedad del momento.

Lo recomiendo mucho para pasar un rato más que entretenido.

The story of a cross-Atlantic flight aboard the Pan Am Clipper on the eve of WW2 filled with a random cast of characters that eventually all string together for a fun filled story.

The backstory of all the characters takes up about 1/2 the book (and drags a little) with the actual flight covering 1/4 and the ending the other 1/4. Fans of Follett will find his signature themes present underdogs, romance, mystery, intrigue, etc.

This is a book more akin to his Century Trilogy Ken Follett Collection 3 Books Bundle With Gift Journalthan say his earlier works such as Eye of the Needle, in that it is a panorama of characters/stories vs. one that is more tightly focused among a core cast of three. I prefer the earlier style (to this) but I still like this too.

Whilst reading this book, I thought since it has a lot of characters it would be hard to remember who is who, but I actually got them all mesmerized pretty quickly. The story takes place in 1939, England is at war with the Nazis, and it tells the story of separate groups of people fleeing England the United States aboard the Pan American Clipper. The book focuses on all the characters points of view, and each of them are leaving England because they all have different issues with daily life.

I was very impressed with how most of the story takes place on board the plane. It is a little different from Follett's other books because it focuses more on the characters personal lives than the historical stuff, but it's still worth reading.

veri nais

2.5 - too predictable, too long, too many strands of tedious romance - didn't feel much for any of the characters.

Set in WWII just after the declaration of war between Germany and England, the plot details the 36-hour flight of the Clipper, a large luxury sea plane. On board or otherwise involved are a former Nazi nuclear scientist, gangsters, Fascists, hijackers and escaping Nazi sympathizers. Follett's plots are always fun but he is also known for his obligatory smut scenes with too much gratuitous (and often silly) detail.

3.75/5

It's an entertaining book to read, taking into account it's a romantic drama/comedy. The plot's a bit far-fetched but the characters have their charm, and it's quite interesting to learn how the PanAm Clipper worked back in the late 30s, commercial planes were rather different than they are nowadays (and had a lot more leg space too).