Maybe he should never have written nr 2....
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I have been waiting for this book for years.... and now when I have read it, I hope it was never written. IT does not at all live up the the Pillars of earth. Neither does it compare to some of the other good books Ken Follet has written. 150 pages less and it might have been ok. I try to end all the books I start, but this was heavy. The story line was light, some of the "histories" within the story are totally out of scope (like nuns in french war). I read 6 books in my vacation. This was the worst.
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Loved it!
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I read Pillars of the Earth and thoroughly enjoyed it (apart from the lame plot line at the beginning with the builder meeting the exotic woman of the woods!). This one had a lot to live up to and I have to say, I prefer it to the first one. There is a little less 'technical' material about the building work that is going on and more about the characters and the goings on in their personal lives. There were so many sub-plots, I almost lost count, but this adds to the intrigue. I find this era in history fascinating and I think that's what I found so appealing about the story. I feel bereft now I have finished it and am desperately trying to find another book to replace the void.
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Brilliant Sequel to Pillars of the Earth
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Pillars of the Earth is my all time favorite novel, so although I usually wait for the paperback, when I saw the reduced price of the hardback at Amazon, I immediately ordered it. It was well worth it. However "Sequels are not equal". So I only give it four stars, although I admit, my expectations after Pillars of the Earth were extremely high. While brilliant, after Pillars of the Earth, I felt it lacked somewhat in originality. Also, I am not a prude, but I found the graphic sex as depicted not believable, considering the historical period and the morals of the time. Otherwise it appears to be well researched and historical accurate. In any case, a good read!
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Ken Follet at his best
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I wanted to wait for the paperback to come out, but I did not have the patience. Now I am glad I did not. If you liked The Pillars of the Earth you will love this one. It is very similar, but maybe even easier to read. All the characters are brand new, and even if there are some allusions to those that appeared in his celebrated novel, it is not necessary at all to have read it to enjoy this one.Even though it is a very long book, once you start you cannot stop.
It is a best-seller, yes;but a most enjoyable one.
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Fabulous but formulaic
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Pillars of the Earth remains one of the best loved books from my late teens, but Follett's more recent books have been increasingly weak, so I had mixed feelings about reading this one.
I'm very pleased to report that World Without End represents something of a return to form.
It contains most of the elements that made Pillars such a success - strong central characters, historical detail, suspense, injustice, outrage, romance and a central building project. In fact, it shares so many elements that had it been written by any other author then it would be condemned as a cheap knock-off. Fortunately, it's pretty well done.
There is a good feel for the historical period, some tremendous characters and a storyline that continues to evolve at a fast enough pace to justify the size of the tome!
Some parts do grate. The end feels slightly rushed (amazingly for such a long novel) and some parts are utterly contrived (Crècy) and I was frankly sick of Follett's habit of recapping the earlier sections of the book when explaining his characters' thought processes. He also tended to explain how his characters were trying to manipulate each other too clearly - it sometimes felt like the novel was aimed only at schoolkids.
Good but not great, at least in comparison to the original.
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