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meghanrherold's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
andrew_m's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
b0hemian_graham's review against another edition
5.0
Follet did it. He managed to condense essentially 47 years of history and political turmoil into approximately 1000 pages. I enjoyed this one the best out of the entire trilogy. I especially liked how music was employed as a political tool and tied everything together. There was some sensationalism, and some rather ridiculous plot points, but at the same time, they worked within the frame of the novel as 1961-1989 (with the 2008 epilogue)were pretty sensational, and at times, utterly ridiculous in so many ways.
I'm also very surprised and slightly disappointed over the lack of Britain other than the music scence of the 1960s. You'd think there would be more on Thatcher in this novel.
I'm still trying to adjust my thoughts on this one, but it's definitely a trilogy I wouldn't mind seeing adapated into a miniseries such as his Pillars of the Earth novels were.
Edit: Also, Follett still seems to be unable to write sex scenes that don't come across as if they were written by a horny 13-year old boy who writes fanfiction in his spare time. Thankfully, they didn't seem as prominent as they are in some of his other novels, but some of them were still distracting and entertaining for the wrong reasons, as in, I was giggling like a school girl and rolling my eyes at how bad some of them were.
I'm also very surprised and slightly disappointed over the lack of Britain other than the music scence of the 1960s. You'd think there would be more on Thatcher in this novel.
I'm still trying to adjust my thoughts on this one, but it's definitely a trilogy I wouldn't mind seeing adapated into a miniseries such as his Pillars of the Earth novels were.
Edit: Also, Follett still seems to be unable to write sex scenes that don't come across as if they were written by a horny 13-year old boy who writes fanfiction in his spare time. Thankfully, they didn't seem as prominent as they are in some of his other novels, but some of them were still distracting and entertaining for the wrong reasons, as in, I was giggling like a school girl and rolling my eyes at how bad some of them were.
msavich's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
beer_matt's review against another edition
1.0
I really enjoyed this trilogy, until the second half of this, the last installment. Follett either so wants to be American or is ruthlessly chasing the American market. Even though there are lots of British characters, they've either moved to America or they've been written out of the story, just as the whole of British history in the 70's and 80's. Punk, the Falklands, Thatcher, even the miners strike for goodness sake, given that the story starts underneath the ground in a coal mine....!!!
The last 200 pages seems to have been rushed, almost like the author couldn't work out how bring this mammoth narrative to a conclusion, or he's fallen out of love with the project. Or both. I actually started skim reading the pages, something I never do.
:-(
The last 200 pages seems to have been rushed, almost like the author couldn't work out how bring this mammoth narrative to a conclusion, or he's fallen out of love with the project. Or both. I actually started skim reading the pages, something I never do.
:-(