This book is like the book before the Pillar of the Earth in that it is about the lives of three or four main characters throughout their lives of childhood through adulthood seen through their troubles and hopes every so often in the the city of Kingsbridge, two hundred years after. It starts with two family, the family of Gwenda, who is poor and steals from Merthin and Ralph, making them without broke. It is a book that is epic with their struggle between the them along with other characters, in which some stands in their ways through the hate between certain characters by making lives bad. For example, not allowing things to be build or allowed land to be owned. Then halfway throughout the book turns to the problem of the Black Death of how it spreads across Europe. Also throughout the book, the men uses their dominates to get their sexual needs fulfilled.

I would have give this book five stars, but does the book really has to end on a happy ending before the full life of the characters are seen?

This is the sequel to Pillars of the Earth, set in the same little English town of Kingsbridge, but 200 years later.

Once again, Ken Follett is ambitious in his approach, putting together another monster of a novel, filled with great, well-researched facts of medieval life. Even though the book is so long, Follett's style of writing is easy to read and so this book won't take you as long as you think.

What I loved about this book: the look into medieval life and customs, and laws. It really was fascinating to me to learn about the feudal system. I had a revelation while reading this book: we constantly read the news and despair about how corrupt our government is (especially in South Africa), how the wrong people get away with terrible things just because they are well-connected, how bad the economy is, etc. For some reason I believe that these are all new things, when in fact, this book reminded me that things have always been like this. So the conclusion is: the world order has always been shit. I don't know if that's comforting, but somehow it's nice to know that we don't necessarily have it worse than prior generations.

What I didn't like about the book: none of the characters were likeable, even the ones we were supposed to be rooting for. For example Caris "the strong female character" was insufferably annoying, and I hated her. The characters seemed like weirdly recycled versions of the characters in the first book, done in an overly clichéd way. Every action seemed so predictable, so there were no shocks or surprises in the book.

It's an enjoyable series, and still one that I would recommend to anyone with the stamina to get through these massive door stoppers.

Follett is brilliant at bringing readers into his writing. I felt for the characters. I went through their world and I could feel the pain, love, excitement, and passion of the characters.

Un titolo più appropriato sarebbe stato: Ansia senza fine. Manco i protagonisti de I Miserabili sono stati tanto seviziati, bistrattati, perseguitati... Rispetto al primo, in cui la brutalità è elegante e ben distribuita, in questo secondo capitolo è gratuita, ossessiva e pure campata per aria. Il lettore, secondo me, va ammazzato un po' alla volta a colpi di stiletto e non per tutto il tempo a botte di machete. In sunto, per essere sobrio: una minchioneria.

In all practical theory, this book should be on my 'Sucked' shelf. It's a tale of the Middle Ages, the gross injustices of the time, and it truly amounts to a thousand-page Medieval soap opera. It hasn't got much to do with its predecessor n  The Pillars of the Earthn, except that it's in the same location 200 years later, with characters that are "descendants" of the Pillars characters. There's none of the complex building and architectural aspects found in Pillars, the graphic sex and violence has been toned down, several aspects of the plot are predictable, and the dialogue seems strikingly modern for a novel set in the 14th century. So, why is this book not on my 'Sucked' shelf? ...

Because it KICKED ASS.

With all of the above-mentioned problems in the book, it takes on hell of an author to pull off this kind of novel. Kenn Follett just plain rules. The story goes at a breakneck pace, the descriptions of the feudal system are fascinating, and the characters are complex and multi-faceted. For every (small) predictable plot twist, there are a million little shockers, and at the end, there are a few questions about the truth lingering. Frickin great.

I also found Follett's descriptions of the complete powerlessness of women and the ultimate authority of the nobles described with total intensity, and they are displayed over and over again through the stories of the characters. Equally interesting were the power struggles between the church, the people, and the nobility. Conflict everywhere! Love it!

Another great aspect of this book was the concentration on Medieval ideas about health and medicine, especially during the time of the plague. Given that monks are the only physicians, the best cures are blood-letting and applying goat-shit to open wounds to form a "healthy" pus. If you sit closer to the altar in the church hospital, you'll heal faster. [Although slight scientific advances are made in the book, the lingering affects of the church's bogus medical ideas seem to have transcended the centuries to live on in modern Italy: cover your stomach to avoid catching a cold, wait 3 hours after eating before you swim or you'll drown, sunflower oil is good for the flu, humidity causes low blood pressure, and canker sores are caused by indigestion. A complete aversion to all forms of medicine are also fundamental in this society. (i.e. Yesterday my French friend Sandrine had a headache. Italians don't like to take Aspirin because it will "destroy your liver," but Sandrine is French and has no problem with taking meds, so I offered her an Aleve. "If you don't want medicine, be Italian and kiss this," I said to her, holding up my pocket-rosary.)]

Anyway, great book, totally fascinating, very different from
Pillars of the Earth, and written by a guy who truly is a master writer.

KICKED ASS.

One of my book clubs selected this as we had all read and loved Pillars of the Earth when it came out 20 years ago.

I got halfway through this tome and decided I didn't want to waste another moment of my life on a book which failed on so many counts. The characters didn't seem real and certainly didn't elicit any sympathy from this reader as they moved from one contrived crisis to the next, the writing was repetitive and juvenile (a gifted high school student could write better), the language was too modern for the time period ("shagged" didn't come into use - at least in print - until late 18th C.) and sex was vulgar and gratuitous.

If you want to read really well written and very well researched historical fiction try Dorothy Dunnett or Diane Gabaldon.

"...epic, historic novel"??!
Good Lord, I must be reading a different book than everyone else.
This seems formulaic and forced. Characters are more like caricatures; and what's the deal with everyone fornicating all the time??! Not that there's anything wrong with fornicating per se, I just don't care for books that use it as a major plot device time after time after time.
I actually checked the cover to make sure it wasn't "Clan of the Cave Bear" 2.0...
I'm going to finish this book (I think) 'cause I'm feeling a little masochistic. I may have to make my own book cover though, with Fabio as the builder replete with heaving chest and flowing locks on the cover. ;P

Update:
I've finished. Unless you are on the beach and looking to read but not think, and feel that a book cover emblazoned with 'Harlequin' is benath you-I really can't recommend this book.

"Las mujeres nos hallamos a merced de los hombres, que son nuestros amos y señores, quienes tienen el deber de decidir sabiamente nuestra suerte, por lo que sólo nos queda rogar para que la voz de nuestro corazón no sea del todo ignorada. Un tipo de petición que suele ser escuchada."

Una sobria continuación de una saga que deja huella. De la mano de uno de los mejores autores de nuestro tiempo, quien tiene la habilidad de no solo escribir más de 1000 páginas con excepcionales personajes, tramas e intrigas, datos históricos ricamente documentado, sino que logra adicionalmente que la avidez del lector nunca decaiga.
Cuando piensas que es difícil que un autor al menos se mantenga con respecto a su libro anterior, viene Ken Follett y se supera a sí mismo.

Es difícil describir en palabras una obra de este autor, con personajes tan complicados como sencillos, que amas u odias; con tramas y subtramas en donde piensas que las calamidades en Kingbridge no pueden llegar a peor... pues si! viene el autor y te lo pone peor.

Sencillamente fantástico y adictivo!

100% recomendado

Total rip off of the first (Pillars of the Earth). Not impressed. Could barely get through it.

Here’s a book that completely copies the first book in the series. Here’s a book that follows the same sense of narrative progression, character development and resolution as it predecessor. It is one who's characters bear a striking resemblance to their ancestors in terms of individual personality and their place within the story; yet, for all the repetition, Follett churns out an equally as engrossing story as that of The Pillars of the Earth.

What have I to complain about? This is one of those rare occasions when more of the same isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And the sense of familiarity also helped to solidify that this is actually the same location, Kingsbridge, just a few centuries later. Instead of focusing on building a new cathedral, after the dramatic burning down of the first one, the citizens are focusing on re-building the town bridge after the other was destroyed by a stampede of angry witch burners. And here’s one of the things Follett does better this time round: he explores more social issues regarding femininity with greater depth.

In Pillars of the Earth he looked at injustices such as women being paid less for the same work and having to stay married to violent husbands. In the fourteenth century here he looks at the fear and hysteria that surrounded women with knowledge. If a woman had an idea or if she was moderately successful, it was a logical assumption that she must be a witch. It’s unthinkable that she could have done such a thing based upon her own merits. And if this wasn’t bad enough, men were always seen as right even when they were so clearly wrong.

The response to the Black Death that sweeps across Kingsbridge shows this. The monks have some very backwards ideas to medicine such as applying dung poultices to wounds and then wondering why they become infected. The sisters of the priory recognise the folly of this and argue for a more modern approach to treatment. The practicalities of their ideas are ignored simply because they are women: they must be wrong or witches. The men in the book are either suffocating brutes or paragons of kindness and decency. There seems to be no middle ground. The women though, they have many chances to prove themselves and rise above restrictions of the church and society.

A strong romance against a backdrop of war and terror

“It was an odd relationship, but then she was an extraordinary woman: a prioress who doubted much of what the church taught; an acclaimed healer who rejected medicine as practised by physicians; and a nun who made enthusiastic love to her man whenever she could get away with it. If I wanted a normal relationship, Merthin told himself, I should have picked a normal girl.”



As well as enduring the Black Death, Kingsbridge finds herself at the centre point of a massive court intrigue. Decades ago Edward II was deposed by his own wife and her secret lover. Now his son (Edward III) has his armies marching towards Kingsbridge due to some very disturbing rumours about a wayward knight. Follett explores how such tumultuous actions affect the lives of the everyday people of the realm, of the builders and the nuns, who simply wish to live in happiness and peace.

Central to this story is a real human element of drama. Everybody is out for themselves and despite the fact that they have known poverty and hardship, when they are placed in a position of power they only help to cause more for those less fortunate. There’s a certain lack of empathy and self-involvement that only serves to destroy communities. The bridge though, and the building of it symbolises something much greater: it symbolises strength and human spirit. If the people can come together and re-build it, in the midst of death carnage and misery, then they can survive anything. Love, friendship and society will endure.

This book is over a thousand pages long, but for all that it is completely griping, entertaining and thoroughly dramatic. This is my favourite historical fiction series, I recommend it most highly.

I think this is one of those rare occasions where the "sequel" turned out better than the original. (I use the term sequel loosely, there are a few references to the first book, but most of what happens is independent of that.) Pillars of the Earth was an amazing story, but I think at times it was a little bogged down with the descriptions of medieval masonry. World Without End certainly has architectural elements, but it was usually a couple quick sentences about how Merthin could build something new, but simplistic, that no one had ever seen before. As a result, this book was much more character/plot driven.

The same general theme of good vs. evil prevails. There are times when, maddeningly, it seems the only way to get ahead in life is to stomp on all the other people around you, but ultimately, Follett gives the reader the happy ending they were looking for. I was satisfied that many more of the characters received more poetic justice.  Ralph killed by his son, Godwyn killed by the very plague he ran to escape, Prior Anthony, though he was certainly not evil, killed by the bridge he didn't want to repair, and Caris's face engraved on an angel watching over the town.  This led to a more satisfying read overall, where I remember being frustrated by the way many of the other characters' story lines ended in Pillars of the Earth.

I think Follett did an excellent job of trying to portray how people would think and operate in a world that didn't understand how communicable disease was spread (in this case the plague). The muslims believed the disease was transmitted by light beams reflected from the eyes of a sick person. I'm not sure if this is a historically accurate viewpoint, but it was an interesting thought. As was seeing how modern medicine might have found it's beginnings in 14th century Europe. What if the plague had never come? How long might it have taken people to discover why sickness could spread and how? Would we still be bleeding people and speaking of humors?

My only real complaint is that there were a few mysteries that were never quite solved. Who was Philemon's secret lover? Was it a man or woman? What happened to old King Edward? And what was the deal with the damn cat! I know he's supposed to symbolize something, and that it could be interpreted differently according to each reader, but I'm curious to know what the author intended the cat to mean. Ultimately, these minor mysteries are of little to no consequence and have no real impact on the story. Overall an excellent book and a must read for anyone who enjoyed Pillars of the Earth.

World Without End (Kingsbridge #2), Ken Follett
World Without End is a best-selling 2007 novel by Welsh author Ken Follett. It is the second book in the Kingsbridge Series, and is the sequel to 1989's The Pillars of the Earth. The novel begins in the fictional city of Kingsbridge, England in the year 1327. Four children - Merthin, Caris, Gwenda, and Merthin's brother Ralph - head into the woods on All Hallows Day. Together the children witness two men-at-arms killed in self-defence by Sir Thomas Langley, aided by Ralph. The children then flee, with the exception of Merthin, who helps the wounded Sir Thomas bury a letter with instructions to dig up and deliver it if and when Sir Thomas should die. After this Sir Thomas flees to Kingsbridge and seeks refuge in the monastery and becomes a Benedictine monk, while the four children swear never to speak of what they saw. ...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش:
عنوان: جهان بی پایان؛ نویسنده: کن فالت؛

جهان بدون پایان، رمان پرفروش سال 2007 میلادی، توسط نویسنده ولزی «کن فولت (فالت)»، و دومین کتاب از سری «کینگزبریج» است. داستان در سال 1327 میلادی، در شهر خیالی «کینگزبریج»، انگلستان آغاز میشود. چهار کودک: مارتین، کاریس، گوندا، و برادر مارتین: رالف، در جنگل به سر میبرند. این کودکان در کنار هم شاهد بودند که دو مرد مسلح توسط «سر توماس لانگلی» به یاری «رالف»، در دفاع از خود کشته شدند. «سر توماس» به «كینگزبریج» فرار میکند، و به صومعه پناه میبرد، و راهب بندیکتین میشود، در حالیکه این چهار کودک سوگند یاد میکنند که هرگز از آنچه دیدند سخنی نگویند. ...؛ سری سه گانه ی کینگزبریج تاریخ شهر «کینگزبریج» است. عنوان کتابهای این سری: «ستون‌های زمین»، «جهان بی‌پایان (بدون پایان)» و «ستون آتش» است. دو جلد اول و دوم این سه‌ گانه، فروشی نزدیک به 38 میلیون نسخه را در سراسر جهان داشته‌ است. ا. شربیانی