Foi o primeiro livro lido deste autor ,excelente descrição da época, onde os donos das minas de carvão eram também donos dos próprios empregados,empregados esses que vivam apenas para servir o seu patrão em condições miseráveis.Mais tarde tornando se escravos .
Um sonho realizado ao fim de tanto sofrimento ,perdas torturas.
Recomendo

This is the example of an awesome piece of writing, from the beginning to the very last page.

Fits perfectly between the last of the Kingsbridge series and the first of the Centuries Trilogy.

The year is 1776, 21 years old Mack McAsh knows that if he will continue working in the Scotland mine for one more day he will be working there for all his life.

He decides to revolt against the nobles that own his mine , he takes his destiny in his own hands and runs away to London.

In the same village in Scotland lives the highborn Lizzie Hallim and she finds herself sucked into a predetermined destiny that she does not feel she can cope with.


The story will take us from Scotland to London and finally to a Virginia Plantation in the about to revolt American territories.

A well researched nice book, good plot and interesting characters.

A sweeping saga of love, greed, betrayal and revolt combined with period drama is worth a read. A Ken Follett book makes it really special. This is a story of Malachi McAsh who is a Scottish slave working in the coal mines of Scotland owned by a greedy and wily man George Jamisson and his sons. McAsh yearns for freedom from slavery and circumstances arise when he is forced to go to America as a convict. He falls in love with Lizzie Hallim, an aristocrat lady who is married to the villain of the story, Jay Jamisson, the son of George Jamisson. This is the story of McAsh journey to freedom.

The characters are well developed and I loved the character of Lizzie who is portrayed as dare-devil and tom-boyish. You feel for McAsh who never gives up on his dream of breaking free from the shackles of slavery. You hate Jay for his selfishness and bigotry. There are fringe characters like Lennox, Cora and Peggy who complete the story beautifully. A nice and quick enjoyable read. However this cannot be compared to Pillars of the Earth which was a magnificent period drama.

Em mais uma obra brilhante, Ken Follett constrói uma narrativa fluida, intrigante e com uma rica abordagem histórica. Dessa vez, o leitor se depara com a Escócia do final do século XVIII , época da primeira revolução industrial, e com a cruel realidade do trabalho escravo nas minas de carvão do país. É nesse cenário que acompanhamos a história de Mack McAsh, um dos milhares de condenados ao trabalho nas minas, mas que, por um acaso, recebe a notícia que teria chances de ser libertado desse destino... Com essa semente de esperança plantada, o protagonista desafia um sistema social rígido, alimentado pelos donos das mineradoras, para conseguir a sua tão sonhada liberdade. No entanto, depois de viver um grande amor por uma jovem feminista, Mack acaba sendo deportado para a América, onde se depara com uma realidade de abuso nas lavouras coloniais, que em muito se assemelham a crueldade nas minas de carvão. Com personagens sempre à frente de seu tempo, Ken Follett desenvolve uma trama envolvente, abordando a tão relevante temática da liberdade. Não foi o meu livro favorito do autor, mas, mesmo assim, achei excelente!!!

Nota: 8,5/10

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Respirar fundo depois desta leitura!
Estória e personagens fabulosos, uma escrita sempre excelente (a que o autor já nos habituou). Mais um livro a não perder.

I read two pages and I was into the book - immediately!! But OK - I am biased, as this is my favorite author. I'm on page 36 - yes, I'm going to like it, I know.

I have always enjoyed reading Ken Follett’s books. According to my records I read “A Place Called Freedom” in 1996 but I cannot recall it, so decided to reread it. The book takes place in the 1770s in Scotland. It was customary for a father to pledge his young male child to work in the Lord’s mines for as long as he is able or until death. The protagonist of the story is Malachi (Mack) McAsh who rebels against this practice calling it illegal. In his early twenties he escapes and flees to London, where he gets a job unloading coal from ships. He tries to break the monopoly of the companies that furnish the work crews but is arrested and sentence to travel to the colonies. Mack was sent to Virginia and the government sold him as an indentured servant to the Jamison Mock jock Hall Plantation. Our other protagonist is Lassie Hallim, daughter of an improvised Lord. Lizzie is being forced to marry Jay Jamison from a wealthy aristocratic family. Jay and Lizzie move to Virginia to the Jamison family’s tobacco plantation called Mock Jock Hall. Lizzie, Mack, and Peg run away fleeing to the wilderness to seek freedom.

Follett describes the brutal working conditions of the common man of that age not only in the mines, coal heavers but on the tobacco plantations of the new world. Follett describes their lives as slaves both in Scotland, England but also Virginia. This is a story of social and political realities with a little romance tossed in. The book is well written and researched. The plot twists and turns with intrigue, brutality and some suspense. As far as I am concerned Follett could have toned down the sex a bit. This is a most interesting historical novel that reminds me that we had more than just African slaves working the plantations of the south. Simon Prebble does his usual magnificent job narrating the book. In 2010 Prebble won the coveted Audie Award and over the years he has won 23 Earphone awards for narration of audiobooks.

Ken Follett is something of a guilty pleasure. He doesn’t write great literature but his books are usually very entertaining and along the way I often learn some interesting historical facts. I knew nothing of the “slavery” of the coal miners in 18th Century Scotland (although paid a meagre wage they were regarded as the property of the colliery owners and not allowed to leave their jobs). The hero of the story is one such miner and the novel tells of his struggle to escape his life of servitude. As usual with Follett, we are routing for the underdog and the plot moves quickly (if sometimes implausibly). However the characters are pretty one dimensional and I couldn’t help but feeling that this would make a better television mini-series than a piece of narrative fiction, where actors would be able to develop the characters more fully.

Jackdaws 5 stars
Hornet Flight 5 stars
A Place Called Freedom 5 stars

What an amazing writer he is! It's one of the two best yarn spinners I've ever known.

Scotland, 18th century.

Young Mack works in a mine and he is a slave. His only goal is to get rid of this predicament and go to London to find a new life for himself and his sister. The law is on his side but during this time the most important things are money and social stratification, not the law. And nobody even wants to inform workers or slaves about their laws.

This book is about fighting for freedom and better life from point of view a person who is at the bottom of social hierarchy.

A young Lizzie is meant to marry Robert only because her family is kinda bankrupt. The merger of two families would save her family and make both families richer. The problem is that she doesn't love him and she wants to get rid of the predicament. She's a very vivid character, doing things no other woman does, and it's not only riding her horse astride.

This book is about fighting for happiness from the point of view a woman who is in the high echelons of the society.

Their paths cross in Scotland, then in London, and finally on the other side of Atlantic.

The book becomes better and better with time, excellently crafted with his amazing prose.

There's one thing about all his three books I've read; the way how he writes about sex, desire and physical attraction. I love it.

Follet The Great!

Не ми хареса особено, някак твърде наивна ми се стори, не толкова задълбочена. Героите бяха или много добри, или много лоши, никакво развитие при тях. Иначе имаше нещо приключенско, което държеше вниманието, но дотам.