Let me preface this review by saying that I loved Pillars of the Earth. A lot. I thought it was almost perfect, in fact, except for one minor issue that I had with the dialogue sounding too modern for the time period (an issue I had with World Without End, too). After being engrossed in that book, loving, hating, caring about the characters in it, after feeling like I was living in Kingsbridge for 900 pages, I was excited for this follow up. I wanted more, I wanted to be back in that world, experiencing life right along with the people I was reading about, the people I cared about. So I picked this audiobook up and started it.

And all was good... for a while. It didn't take me long to start feeling that something was wrong. It didn't take me long to start feeling like Follett had ripped off his own book.

Maybe if I'd had 20 years to forget the details of Pillars before reading Book World Without End, maybe I wouldn't have felt the similarities as much, and I'd have liked it more. It isn't a BAD story, but I lost patience with it really quickly and then I stuck with it far longer than I should have hoping that it would come around. I made it 80%, and by the end, I couldn't tell you what happened, because I stopped listening. It was playing in the background while I worked, and I could hear it, but it wasn't holding my attention at all.

I wanted more of Follett's Kingsbridge world, yes, but I didn't expect Pillars of the Earth: Now With New Character Names! I wanted a different story. Instead, I got a rehash of Pillars, and so I kept comparing them in my head. "Oh, There's the devious, overbearing mother-plotter..." "Here's the Lord-Who-Thinks-He's-God..." "Another brilliantly talented at a really young age master craftsman... who woulda thunk it?" and so on and so on...

Did I like the characters? Yeah. Sure. I didn't care about them nearly as much as I cared about the Pillars characters though. Did I like the story? I guess.

I did love the performance though. John Lee read this audio, and he was great. But still... I just endured this one, rather than enjoyed it, and couldn't bring myself to keep going another twelve hours to finish.

Enough is enough.

World Without End is written in the third person but isn't choppy like some third person books are. I loved that we get to see the characters grow up and mature. They all encounter hardships (war, death, disappointed hopes and dreams, the black plague) but never stop fighting and never give up hope.

I really enjoyed reading about the advances in medicine and what people believed to be cures (bloodletting, poultices made with dung, balancing the "humours" of the body). Physicians believed that diseases could be transmitted by looking at a sick person because the eyes have "feelers" that touch things in order to see them. Isn't that wild? When the black plague befalls the country, one of the nuns wants to wear a mask over her nose and mouth to prevent transmission of the disease and this is treated like heresy!

I also enjoyed reading about the politics of the church. There was definitely more corruption in World Without End than there was in The Pillars of the Earth. Of course, the fact that The Pillars of the Earth's main character was a humble and worthy prior may have something to do with that.

I am in awe of Follett's plot. He weaves the stories together in a way that they all make sense and seem cohesive.

The last thing I enjoyed reading about was the architecture. Now, the descriptions were hard to read, which they were but they were also really informative and practical to the story. I'm not a fan of architecture, but reading about how they had to build things back then was pretty fascinating to me.

When I finished the book, I was left with a feeling of hope. I think the ending is totally appropriate. It's not so perfect that it's unrealistic. I think that's the special thing about Follett's writing---he makes you feel what his characters are feeling.

Another absolute epic from Ken Follett and a stunning second book in the Kingsbridge series. Whilst the formula feels fairly similar to that of The Pillars of The Earth, it works brilliantly. An easy 5 stars.

Ken Follet sets ‘World Without End’ in the late Middle Ages, which covers the years 1250-1500. This novel begins in 1327 and ends in 1361, spanning 34 years in the lives of main characters, Caris, Merthin, Gwenda, and Ralph. As the novel opens, Gwenda is 8 years old and pickpockets Sir Gerald during a grand church service. Sir Gerald is the father of Merthin, 11 years old, and Ralph, 10 years old. Caris is 10 years old, the daughter of Alderman Edmund Wooler. Merthin, small and slight has fashioned a bow and arrow and goes into the forest to show off his skills to Caris. They are accompanied by Ralph and Gwenda. The children hide when they hear angry voices coming their way. A knight is chased into the woods and shortly a battle ensues. Ralph comes to the knight’s aid with Merthin’s bow and arrow, and soon two men lie dead. All the children run away save Merthin. The knight buries a letter in the woods and tells Merthin to dig it up after the knight (Thomas) dies. This is an intriguing plot development; the knight takes shelter in Kingsbridge priory and becomes a monk. The hidden letter will come up a couple of times during the narrative and at the end, Follet reveals it’s message. I did not find the hidden letter to be an effective plot element until the end of the book, and 1000 pages later, it's message was rather disappointing to me.

The town of Kingsbridge plays a huge role in this novel. Merthin becomes apprenticed to a carpenter, Ralph becomes squire to Earl Roland of Shiring, Caris is her father’s right hand as far as town business is concerned, and Gwenda, whose parents are landless laborers, is very poor and struggles to survive. As Follet develops his characters, we see Merthin and Caris fall in love and their on again off again romance carries us through the bulk of the novel. Caris is interested in healing but finds she cannot become a doctor because that isn’t an option for females. Instead, she learns all she can from Mattie, the village wise woman and apothecary. When the sick send for Mattie, she always says, if God wills it to be so, and will take no credit for healing. To know more than the monks and nuns during these times was dangerous. Merthin’s knowledge of building and carpentry soon exceeds his teacher, Eldric. Merthin is observant, intelligent, and wise. He and Caris are born leaders and both interested in the town’s growth and wellbeing. Merthin’s brother Ralph is an exact opposite. He’s cruel and depicted without a conscience. Ralph has no redeeming qualities.

This is an awesome novel with so much to teach about this historical time period. Follett has to be some kind of genius to weave the tapestry of this plot so intricately. He will start a plot element and forsake it, then bring it up hundreds of pages later. He also uses irony very effectively. I do think the characters are somewhat flat. Caris and Merthin are too good. Ralph is too wicked, although it must be said, sometimes reality will give us just such a wicked person; the sociopath. Gwenda, in my mind, is more multifaceted. She was my favorite character. She grew and changed over the span of the novel.

Follett depicts monks in leadership as being mostly duplicitous and manipulative. It’s not a pretty picture! According to Wikipedia, the church was a major landowner, and besides rent from its tenants, also collected tithes. With all this money coming in, perhaps it was an incentive to bad behavior. Not only that, in ‘World Without End’ the monks can’t be counted on when the bubonic plague becomes an epidemic. They high tail it out of town seeking safer refuge, leaving the nuns behind to deal with the sickness, death, and fear. Forty to sixty percent of the population would soon be dead. Monks would be unable to escape this virulent disease. Half their population will also die.

One of the main themes in ‘World Without End’ is open minded progress versus narrow minded backwardness. Caris and Merthin’s powers of observation and intelligence are presented as the high road. They both care about the economics and well being of the townsfolk. The church and nobility are self serving and do what they can to keep the economy stagnant. When Caris finds a way to create her own red dye, she enables the town to move forward. When Merthin builds a bridge with two lanes to prevent queues, he enables progress.

Another theme is the powerlessness of women. Caris battles the church and her society’s preconceived notions of what her place in life should be. Gwenda, coming from an impoverished background, has to survive by her wits. At this time in history, a married woman found to have committed adultery would be hanged. Arrogant Ralph constantly takes advantage of women. Ralph’s interactions with Gwenda show his disregard and seeming hatred of women.

The main detractor of this novel, for me, is its length. Wow! It’s a tome. If I had dropped it on my foot, no doubt there would have been a fracture. I think I have some attention deficit. It’s hard for me to focus on a book of this length. But, I’m glad I did. This is an excellent way to learn history!

A pretty darn good book - you laugh, you're horrified, the whole gamut - but what makes this a truly amazing "read" is the audio recording by John Lee, who is also the reader of Penguin Audio's recording of "Pillars of the Earth." Both recordings are well worth the time commitment to listen to 30+ (unabridged) CD's - I walked around and drove everywhere with my headphones on listening to both of these amazing books.

"World Without End" is a continuation of the Kingsbridge story begun in "Pillars of the Earth," this time ~200 years later, and while there are "we, the reader, know the background" references to past persons and events from "Pillars," I don't think reading that book is necessary to enjoying "WWE." That said, by all means read (or, better, listen) to both books - they're worth it.

Ken Follett clearly is interested in the human condition and divides the world into Good Guys and Bad (really Bad) Guys, and the constant wars and jockeying between them. "WWE" admittedly retreads themes and plot devices that Mr. Follett uses in "Pillars of the Earth," but who cares - he's really good at spinning tales. People come alive, vividly, through Mr. Lee's voice, and I'm constantly amazed at his ability to sort through so many people and have each person possess their own unique voice. Yes, the boxed audio set is pricey, but for those who love classic audio books, it's a good investment; or simply check it out from the library (what I did...).

It helps to have at least some knowledge of the Plantagenet rulers and what was going on with British royalty at the time - perusal of Encyclopedia entries should do it.

"WWE" takes place during the early and middle years of Edward III's reign. For an interesting historical novel take on events during the final year's of his long reign (1300's), I recommend "Katherine" by Anya Seton.

Follett es un misterio para mí, no sé cómo lo hace, como escribiendo libros de más de mil páginas, te mantiene interesado en todo momento y no te aburre, me agradan los libros largos, pero casi siempre me pasa que cuando estoy en una lectura extensa, de un momento a otro siento que me están metiendo relleno (muy al estilo de Naruto) y que el editor pudo haber hecho mejor su trabajo, pero me estoy yendo por las ramas, a lo nuestro.

Kingsbridge, han pasado dos siglos desde los eventos de Los Pilares de la Tierra, y si usted creía que a esta gente no les podían pasar más calamidades, ha subestimado, como yo, la inventiva (bastante realista) de un autor malévolo como Follett.

Usted es diabólico señor Follett

Hay dos formas de juzgar este libro, se lo puede hacer como un libro independiente o se lo puede comparar con Los pilares de la tierra. Es cierto que tiene muchas similitudes, aunque con cambios serios.

Hay mucha construcción, Puentes, Torres, Hospitales…, Personajes tan bien hechos, que parece que se pudieran palpar, realistas y muy humanos, una historia de amor imposible, luchas de poder, mucho drama y algo de comedia.

Ame desde el principio a n  Merthin y a Carisn, y como los shippeaba xD,  
me encanto la genialidad y la personalidad de Merthin (y lo apoye en todo momento), y que decir de Caris, también, me encanto, su inteligencia, su sentido del deber, su lucha personal en su mundo tan machista, aunque en muchos momentos no la entendía, y quería meterme en el libro, zarandearla y decirle -¿qué más quieres mujer?- Aunque por otro lado cuando ponía en su lugar a los monjes (idiotas y machistas en su mayoría) quería decirle ¡bien hecho! Definitivamente ella es una de los mejores personajes femeninos de los que he tenido oportunidad de leer, y el hecho de que, como ya dije, en varias ocasiones no podía entenderle, solo la hace más realista.

Hay también otros personajes, como n  Gwendan, astuta como ella sola, aunque quizás sea la que pase por más penurias, n  Ralphn el hermano de Merthin, que, en un mundo donde la mayoría de los personajes son grises (ni buenos, ni malos) él está más cerca al negro, n  Godwyn y Philemonn, como odie a estos desgraciados,

uno representa la codicia del poder y el otro la pura mezquindad, y lo peor ambos se refugian en la iglesia, y son del pensar que todas sus acciones son buenas,

no me molesta admitir que quería que se murieran, cuando le hacen el juicio a Caris por bruja, mi odio fue tan grande, que si les hubiera caído un rayo en ese momento, fulminándolos inmediatamente, hubiera dicho que era perfectamente lógico y compatible con la trama.

Hay muchos personajes y todos muy bien desarrollados, no los puedo detallar a todos porque la reseña sería interminable, pero mencionare a dos más, que aunque no son personas, se sienten en la trama casi todo el tiempo, la iglesia y la peste. En cuanto a la iglesia, no es un personaje nuevo para Follett, ya que en Los Pilares de la tierra ya era central en la trama, ahora sigue siendo central, pero se han pulido su bordes, ya no es tan perfecta como la conocimos antes, con todo parece más humana, seguimos teniendo juegos de poder con estrategias alucinantes, pero también vemos las relaciones personales que hay en el clero, amistad y a veces más que amistad, vemos como la bondad, inteligencia y ganas de modernizar se contraponen a los viejos hábitos, la mezquindad, y la supersticiones.

Y por último la peste, les dije que Follett era malévolo, que peor desgracia que esta, la gran muerte, la perdición.

¡Órale! Esta reseña me salió más larga de lo que pensaba, pero el libro es largo, se lo merece. Definitivamente lo recomiendo, ya sea si no conoces Los Pilares de la tierra o si eres fan, es una historia maravillosa, años pasan dentro del libro, pero a ti se te hará corto y quedaras con ganas de más.

n  "As it was in the beginning
it is now and ever shall be
World Without End
Amen..."n

n  Initial Thoughtsn

Ken Follett is back and my word does he mean business with his sensational sequel to his historical blockbuster "Pillars of the Earth."  The first was a book that took my breath away. Easily one of my top reads of 2021 and I was fired up for some more high stakes historical fiction. Would it live up to Pillars of the Earth? Probably not, but I was expecting big things.

The first installment was a sprawling epic set in twelth century England that centred around the building of a church.  If you'd have give me that synopsis before going in I probably wouldn't have read it, but I was happy to be proved wrong. It was absolutely magnificent.  A full on soap opera with twist, turns and plenty of backstabbing.

n  "I never trust anyone who proclaims his morality from the pulpit. That high-minded type can always find an excuse for breaking their own rules."n

I read World Without End (WWE) as part of a group read and it's an experience I highly recommend. If you're on the look for a bad ass group to take part in ventures like that then try "The Night Shift" on here or Facebook. We'd love to have you.

Without End isn’t strictly a sequel, though; the novel still takes place in Kingsbridge, a fictional English city,

n  The Storyn

WWE isn't strictly a sequel, although it does take place in the fictional town of Kingsbridge.  Our story begins in the year 1327, which is well over a hundred years after Pillars of the earth.  The cathedral and it's priory are still at the heart of the story, with all the intrigue and political games that revolve around them.  But we have a completely fresh set of characters.



The narrative commences with a knight being chased by two men that he kills, before burying a secret letter. The mystery is a key part of the overarching plot, but there are numerous sub plots that develop and add huge depth to this tale.  Follett really delves into the lives of the characters contained within these numerous pages, providing non-stop drama, tension and entertainment.

At the centre of the story is a romance, and where Pillars focused on the building of Kingsbridge, this one focuses on a relationship that looks far more difficult to maintain than the crumbling cathedral.  It's this kind of venture from Follett that kept the story fresh, although you will see a number of similarities with the first. This all takes place during the time of beubonic plague and the start of the Hundred Year War so there's a fascinating back drop to all this.

n  The Writingn

n  "Don't worry. We who are born poor have to use cunning to get what we want. Scrupples are for the privileged."n

Follets writing is not going to blow you away.  It isn't complicated with overly elaborate prose but it does what it has to and gives the reader a portal into an amazingly rich piece of historical fiction.  Honestly, it so immersive and his style suits the way the story is being told. The plot, historical info and drama take centre stage and you're in for a rollercoaster ride with all the twists and turns. I read this one over two weeks and it felt like I had two lives on the go and now it's gone, I really miss it.

n  The Characters
n
We get a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to characters from Follett. They are a touch on the stereotypical side and if you've read Pillars it does feel like he's recycling a few. However, he pours so much love into them and as I followed them through childhood into adulthood, I began to care so much for them. They face adversity like nothing else and I was praying they'd make it but never sure if they really would. Absolutely brilliant.

n  “The sight … made [her] marvel: each individual had a different life, every one of them rich and complex, with dramas in the past and challenges in the future, happy memories and secret sorrows, and a crowd of friends and enemies and loved ones.”n

Follett starts his book with his main characters as children and we first get introduced to Merthin, who much like his ancestor Jack Builder, takes on the role of...you guessed it...the builder. Then we have Merthin's brother, Ralph, who is one of the key villain's, and does whatever it takes to realise his ambitions.  Very William of Hamleigh-esque.  Another key figure in this tale is Caris, Merthin's main love interest and an independent woman who goes against the grain to fulfill her ambition to help others.  Finally, my favourite Gwenda, a woman who is constantly down on her luck but redefined my perception of resilience in her struggle to make ends meet and win the affection of her one true love.

Like “The Pillars of the Earth”, “World Without End” focuses on the struggles and growth of these characters and how their lives and their hard work effect the town of Kingsbridge. It’s the telling of those lives that makes World Without End as brilliant as its predecessor.

n  Final Thoughtsn

After reading and loving The Pillars of the Earth I just didn't think World Without End could be as good.  But it most certainly was! This book breathes new life into the historical novel genre and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful storyteller writing at the top of his game.

It is the perfect sequel for “The Pillars of the Earth” as it continues the legacy left behind by Prior Philip and Jack Builder. If you enjoyed the first book in the Kingsbridge series, then I recommend “World Without End” with absolutely zero hesitation.  Just be ready for an epic journey like no other.

Leído en cuanto se publicó hace ya más de una década. Venía del nivelazo de Los pilares de la Tierra y pensé “es imposible”, “Follett no va a poder aguantar las comparaciones”, “este seguro que no me gusta tanto”… y me equivoqué.

Uno de mis libros favoritos.

Ενα ακόμα "βιβλίο-τούβλο" το οποίο παρά τον όγκο του διαβάζεται απολαυστικά για τις ελεύθερες ώρες. Δίπλα στα κορυφαία βιβλία που κοσμούν τη βιβλιοθήκη μου, συνυπάρχουν και τα βιβλία του Κεν Φόλετ. (Τα έχω σχεδόν όλα..). Γιατί κι αυτά με το τρόπο τους είναι μια αναγνωστική απόλαυση.....

*** 3.75 ***

n  "...“You see, all that I ever held dear has been taken from me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And when you've lost everything-" Her facade began to crumble, and her voice broke, but she made herself carry on. "When you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose.”..."n

This is the truth about this book, similar issues I had with "The Pillars of the Earth" - Ken Follet piles up small, every day problems that were typical for all in Medieval Europe, and adds to them more and more and more problems, big and small, until he not only ruins the spirit of the characters in the book, but succeeds very well in destroying any optimism or hope the reader might have kindled for them.... I was so depressed while reading book one, I had to take a month in between, so I can get my Happy back. I feel like this book is even more devastating emotionally to me than the previous one. You might say, but of course, in the first book there was no Plague, while here it is very prominent and we all know that more than half of Europe's population was wiped out by the merciless infection, bringing devastation on a scale we can't even imagine today. But this is not the only reason this whole tome had a solid core of depression to it. It is the thick fog of misfortune and crap everyone with some measure of decency had to thread through on every page, while those with darkness in their hearts kept on prospering and rejoicing with every evil deed perpetuated on the weak and unfortunate. Follet does that with no respite for the entirety of the book. Just when you think something might happen that would make all the struggles of our characters worth it, they still have to pay a heavy price for it and the feeling of hopeless helplessness that emotes from the page infuses into the reader until you wear it as a second skin... At one point I became well trained - the author gives us struggle toward something, we have hope and even a good result, only to follow it up with something to put us back in our place, cowering in fear and despair back into the dark and dusty corner of a surfs' latrine.

n  "...“My father hated people who preached about morality. We're all good when it suits us, he used to say: that doesn't count. It's when you want so badly to do something wrong - when you're about to make a fortune from a dishonest deal, or kiss the lovely lips of your neighbor's wife, or tell a lie to get yourself out of terrible trouble - that's when you need the rules. Your integrity is like a sword, he would say: you shouldn’t wave it until you’re about to put it to the test.”..."n

I was angry throughout most of the book. Don't get me wrong. It was not anger because the writing was terrible or the storytelling inadequate. The opposite. I was riveted to the story and even did not sleep last night so I could finish it up today. The author has done his research into the time period perfectly and the story is more than realistic, it is down right depressingly so. I know that what my 21st century heart truly rebels against is the historical truth of how one people, who happened to have been born to a class of privilege and influence, exerted their power over other people, who happen to be born in a circumstance that makes them into almost a property of the other, stripping them from everything we believe to be a human right, all the way down to the smallest choices over their livelihood and personhood... My free-loving spirit wanted to spit in the faces of the "Lords" and "Nobility" and kick them in the balls, show the bullies that we will not let them bully us or anyone else, but I had to let the author lead me through his story and hope he would take us to a place where we would have some literary vengeance and a pay-off for all the hopeless emotions he put us through...

n  "...“Don’t worry. We who are born poor have to use cunning to get what we want. Scruples are for the privileged.”..."n

We have several main players in this tale of mid-1300's Kingsbridge, two centuries after the story of Tom Builder, Jack, Aliena, and Prior Phillip. Kingsbridge Priory is well established and the town is prosperous. There are many descendants of Jack and Aliena Fitzgerald, and they are representatives of all the social classes of the time. Our main protagonist Merthin and his brother, the heartless monster of the age, Ralph, are just two of those coming from the branch of the Earls, but long ago fallen into poverty and as kids, circumstances make them and their parents dependents of the Priory. Ralph, being a big boy and physically fit, is given into the care of the current Earl as a squire, while Merthin, having not been blessed with great physique, goes as an unpaid apprentice to a carpenter-builder. He falls for the daughter of a prosperous wool merchant, and the rest is history.

Caris meets Merthin, Ralph, Gwenda and her brother Philemon while playing in church as kids and their lives change for ever when they encounter a fleeing knight, wounded in the forest. From that day on their faiths are intertwined in intrigue, power-struggles, murder, secrets and a never-ending personal loves and hatreds, which shape their actions and their personalities on the long run. Although there are some redemption for some of the main characters, the overall hardships they go through are demoralizing. No wonder people thought of themselves as old at the age of 40 and ancient if they were able to reach fifty years old.

Caris was strong and independent of spirit, but she also came from a place where she had been given a sense of self-worth since she was born. Merthin and Ralph were raised to think of themselves as better than the rest, despite their impoverished state, but Gwenda and Philemon came from the lowest of the low and their parents only made them feel and be even lower than that. My heart broke for both of them when we first met them. As much as I loved and respected Caris, despite her acting ridiculously irrational at times, Gwenda was the one whose story I couldn't get enough of. I hurt for her, I loved for her, I was angry and disappointed by her, I wanted to shake her and and hug her alternatively, and I wept with her, but I was just as taken by her perseverance and strength, both in body and mind, which made her survive in this miserable time with so little going for her. She was so flawed, so real, that it hurt. And I loved reading about her, every single word.

n  "...“When you were trying to enforce law and order, it was difficult to explain that the rules did not actually apply to you personally.”..."n

So, despite this book depressing the hell out of me for most of the 1014 pages, I am still glad I was able to read and had the patience to actually finish it, because there were misfortunes and side story-lines, which I felt were there just to pile on the misery and not to add anything to the overall plot arc, which made me furious for being there and I was tempted to just lose the book somewhere before I destroy it in futile rage. I would still recommend it to those who loved the first installment in the series and those who love a realistic but slow portrayal of 14th century Europe in the mids of the Black Plague.

n  "...“You didn’t ask for a priest.” “Whether I’ve been good or bad, I don’t think God will be fooled by a last-minute change of heart.” ..."n

Now I wish you all Happy Reading and my you always find what you Need in the pages of a good book!!!

In so many ways, this book is incredibly similar to the first book. From the characters to the plot to the way the story unfolds to the resolutions of certain storylines. What that means is that my praises for Pillars of the Earth are largely going the be the same here, and my criticisms of Pillars of the Earth are virtually the same here.

I'll give Pillars of the Earth an edge, because in a few ways it does some things better, but these books are neck and neck in my opinion.

First, Pillars of the Earth has a stronger cast in my opinion, and as such some of the cast here feels like retreads. Ralph feels very similar to William (both are excellent villains though), Merthin is a lot like Tom Builder, and Caris in some ways reminds me of Aliena. I assume that over time, the Pillars cast will stick with me more, but the cast here is certainly memorable.

What this book has in its favor is its terrific solutions to problems. There were so many times where I thought "How on earth is Follett going to get them out of this situation", and some of the time I was dead on right, and some of the times I was pleasantly surprised.

The biggest boon for Follett is that his books are incredibly readable and enrapturing. Much like with book 1, I devoured this in only 3 days. It takes a lot for me to read a 1000 page book, and the fact that this resonated with me so much proves that Follett knows how to write an exciting and readable book.

The middle portion of this book was by far the best part, but in order to explain why I need to get out my biggest complaint about this book (and Follett in general).

Follett has this really wierd and obsessive focus on sex in his books. Other than Prior Phillip in the previous book and Wulfric in this book, there is not a single character in this book who follows the precepts of marriage and Christian ideals about chasity and sexuality. And Follett includes this so much in the book, particularly in the beginning and ending of the book. Surprisingly, for the middle portion (maybe pages 400-850ish), Follett practically avoids this altogether, and it was most interesting here. And it proves he has the ability to write stories without all that stuff, but he included so much in the beginning and ending that it made it nearly unreadable.

I still vehemently believe that Follett misunderstands Christianity and its precepts. One character proceeds to committ egregious sins in this book, he says "It doesn't matter, God will forgive me". It is such a frustrating and complete misreading of Biblical ideals. We don't actively sin because we know that grace abounds, but rather we make an attempt to not sin and to follow Gods laws and commands. Our hearts change in Christianity because of our relationship with God, not just because of actions we've made or confessions made to a priest. And this is only one of a number of places in this book that Follett so clearly misunderstands Christianity and paints it in such a negative light. And Godwyn is a terrible example of how the Clergy can and should behave.

Ok, off my soapbox.

To throw in a few praises, this book deals excellently with the ideas of the Plague and how it affected people. It also starts to deal with the Hundred Years War, which I found really fascinating. And the building of the bridge and the castles and the hospitals and everything else in the book was fascinating. There is a character who figured out a way to make more money by dying their wool and I was completely intrigued with the implications and seeing how that affected the market.

Overall, this is an excellently crafted book with one of the most fascinating plots and ideas I've read. And Follett just has this ability to hook the reader and keep them reading. I have my criticisms, but the enjoyability of this book is ridiculously high. I'll give the book a 9.3 out of 10.

Will probably give it a while before I read another Follett book, as Column of Fire is long and I need a break from Follett's worldview and excesses in his books.

Los pilares de la Tierra es uno de mis libros favoritos. Esta es su continuación y estaba emocionado por poder leerla. Una lectura de más de mil páginas que, sin duda, disfruté mucho. Aquí mi reseña:

En un mundo sin fin nos situamos en Inglaterra, a finales de la Edad Media; en un momento en que la peste negra afectó la forma de vida como se conocía. En ese contexto es donde se desarrolla la historia de unos personajes que conocemos desde jóvenes y acompamos a medida que crecen. Caris y Merthin son unos de los principales: cuando adolescentes son testigos de un suceso traumático y del que tendrán que guardar el secreto por el resto de sus vidas. Ellos dos se enamoran pero por diversos motivos su relación se ve amenazada. Además hay otras historias sobre guerras, campesinos que son explotados por sus señores feudales, movimientos turbios entre el clero y la nobleza, amores y desamores. Todo perfectamente entretejido como solamente Ken Follett lo sabe hacer.

Perdí la cuenta de las veces que sufrí con los personajes. Muchas veces parecía que estaban superando sus obstáculos y de repente sucedía algo que les hacía la vida imposible. En este libro hay mucha tensión, y esto hace que quieras seguir leyendo.

Le pondría las cinco estrellas si no fuera por el hecho de que Ken Follett, recurre a un mismo elemento reiteradas veces para poner a un personaje en aprietos, y para sacarlo de ellos: el sexo. Creo que el escritor buscó la vía fácil con ese recurso en algunas escenas. Aún así la historia es genial.

Posdata: algunos de los personajes son descendientes de otros que aparecieron en Los pilares de la Tierra, pero es una novela que se puede disfrutar sin necesidad de leer la primera parte, ya que esta es una historia completamente independiente, ambientada en el mismo lugar unos años después.