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Average Customer Rating:

Another Follett masterpiece

Customer Rating:

Having read my copy of "Pillars of The Earth" at least 4 times, I just had to get the follow-up. Stainding over 1000 pages, its not a tome to pick on a whim, but its another superb travel through historical England. (Don't panick if you still haven't experienced the magnificent "Pillars", as the characters are a few generations on). Any fans of historical fiction will love this tale of love, deceit and heart-ache. Throw in some meaty action, add some pestilence and suffering, and you're left with a book that will keep you enthralled and captivated. I loved it. 5 stars once again for Follett!!

Excellent Novel	Customer Rating:
A book of this size can appear daunting at the start. However from the opening pages it gets you hooked and takes you on a fantastic journey with well crafted plot and great characterisation. It has left me with a thirst to read Ken Follet's first book "The Pillars of the Earth" and I would recommend "World Without End" to any reader.

Rather good

Customer Rating:

I saw this book in hardback and thought it sounded interesting but hardbacks are not good for the daily commute! The paperback is still hefty and I've never read a book this length before but I really enjoyed it. I hadn't read the first book - and for anyone swithering I would say you don't have to, to enjoy this one. Yes it is long but I don't feel it ever dragged. A couple of times he would reiterate points from earlier in the book which was annoying but also occasionally useful. The descriptions were great, conjuring up vivid pictures of life in that period of time and I felt the characters were well drawn. As it came to an end I was very satisfied. It's a good old yarn and I would recommend it. Am very tempted to read the first book now - once I have the strength back in my arms!

Marmite Book: you'll love it or hate it

Customer Rating:

I tried to get into this as I love historical murder mysteries and it sounded as if it was well written. I wouldn't actually criticise the writing (as Ken Follett is a very good writer) but I suspect this particular work of his is a bit like marmite: you'll either love it or hate it. Personally I couldn't get into it enough though I tried a couple of times and I know one of my friends couldn't either. It may well be very enjoyable for those who enjoy the protracted sweep down generations style story (possibly Catherine Cookson fans might appreciate this more than I did?). Or at least the bit I did read before I gave up due to lack of interest generated - sorry Follett fans, I know he's a good writer but this tome is for a distinctive market. Those who enjoy such sweeping stories may well love it though. It's a hefty size book and the only writer I enjoy, who also does such a large size novel, is C.J. Sansom (as I find his/her books tightly paced and well plotted but they doesn't generally go across time periods as wide as a generation in each book). If anyone is interested in Sansom, I would warn that his/her books are mainly based in Tudor times. From my own experience, people enjoy different time periods and those who like the medieval period (to have shown an interest in this) may well not like the tudor period. Forewarned is forearmed.

Very good read, though not as good as Pillars

Customer Rating:

A page turning saga like its predecessor, though this is not really a sequel to Pillars of the Earth and one could read it as a standalone novel. Indeed, many of the characters and situations echo those in that book, so in some ways it's like a 14th C reimagining of Pillars. It is probably too long, but Follett's writing here is almost as gripping as in Pillars. However, unlike its predecessor, I did get rather tired of the never ending soap opera of gloom and doom, a bit like a Medieval Eastenders. The level of violence and body horror seemed a bit gratuitous in places as well. Some of the characters (e.g. Merthin) have unusual Christian names and I wondered what the research evidence for this was. There were also some simple mistakes (a reference to Florence having a doge - that was Venice). All in all, a good read, though not up to the standards of its predecessor.