Discover Top Posts Tagged with #ken follet

Queen Camilla attends a dinner as part of the Braemar Literary Festival at the Fife Arms, 20.09.2024

via Thefifearms

#queen camilla #ken follet #ewan venters

I just finished up World Without End by Ken Follet. I had also recently finished book 1, The Pillars of the Earth. These books are excellent. Although they are each around 1,000 pages, they both seemed to fly by and never dragged. Highly recommend if you are looking for a historical fiction tale with expertly woven plot threads, great and terrible characters, and a story you won't easily forget.

#ken follet #the pillars of the earth #world without end #kingsbridge #books #review

"Never", de Ken Follett en la #LíneaD

Se le ocurrió pensar que los niños de la realeza gozaban de todas las cosas buenas de la vida excepto de la libertad.

Una columna de fuego (Ken Follet)

#citas literarias #libros #los pilares de la tierra #una columna de fuego #ken follet

Pillars of the Earth Review

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is a 1076 page Historical Fiction novel. The 1st in the Kingsbridge series, and it’s followed by World Without End (#2) and A Column of Fire (#3). I got this book from my mother who found it at a little library.

Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape. Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labours, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life. The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the centre of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

Trigger Warning: Rape, Graphic Violence.

I rate this book 5/5 stars.

I’m astounded by how much I love this book. I will confess my bias and tells that I’ve been raised Christian (Christian school, but not like going to church every Sunday), but I’ve never wanted to see a Cathedral be build so much in my life!

The chapters are insanely long, like chapter 1 was 83 pages! But with the 40 hour audiobook it felt like it was flying by and has an awesome narrator. This chapter follows Tom Builder and his family which was really interesting to see the conversations that they’re having. However the insta-love between him and Ellen was something I’m not a fan of. Luckily their relationship really grows inside these pages and I really wanted them to flourish. What shocked me was his fate at end of part 3. I still feel it in my soul. Chapter 2 follows Peter and I really didn’t see the switch between POVs coming. I really like how his story line picks up from when we meet him with Tom. Chapter 3 is William’s POV and I really dislike him as a person, but love him as a characters. I just love to hate him and it’s been a very long time since I loved to hate and abhor a character so much. His fate at the end is very fitting. After these three chapters I really thought that William’s was the most interest.

A lot happens within these 1000+ pages. I won’t be able to cover all of it, but here are a few highlights: My favourite character I absolutely love is Aliena, and yes, she gets her own POV. She’s a strong independent woman, who needs no man to save her. Yet it’s the silent type that captures her heart. I do like the themes within the book. The hypocrisy within the church is a very large part, especially with Prior Phillip being such a humble and honest man and even he has to give in to trickery at some moments, but he really is a ‘means justify the end’ type of man. Every single character is morally grey. They do good things and they do bad things. They do thing for their own advantage, some do care about the consequences and others don’t care at all or a little less, casting them aside after nothing more than a moments thought. It’s only those special few that actually go out of their way to help others.

I do absolutely recommend this book for anybody and everybody!

Do you have any questions? Or maybe some recommendations? Send me an ask here on Tumblr or tweet me. If you wish to support me, you can buy me a coffee! Or even buy my debut fantasy novel, The Mending Road.