Reviews

Never by Ken Follett

aumackenzie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

libraleelibros's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.0

ahinks's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

cconant265's review against another edition

5.0

Epic tale of an end of the world scenario. I loved the inclusion of all the different storylines and eagerly awaited their culmination.

jeffreywbush's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jw101's review against another edition

sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

laurenhlindsey's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

elliansu's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

historicalfiction's review against another edition

emotional informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

picklepig245's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

I thought the first half was absolutely amazing, particularly the sections on Chad, and thought it would be an easy 5-stars. But as the book went on, more and more attention was given to the Chinese and American viewpoints

and particularly the situation in North Korea

, which I didn't find as engaging personally, especially since the ending was inevitable. 

It felt like the author fully wrapped up the situation in Chad too early, when I had expected it to really link in with the other sections more

(e.g. there was kind of a throwaway line about the extent of NK involvement in Chad being discovered - what does that look like on the ground in Chad with NK going to hell? What information were they able to get out of the ISGS leader? It felt like the plot basically just went 'okay, everything in Chad is great now because of Abdul', which was a bit frustrating, particularly given how long the book went on for after Chad seemed to be resolved

.

I also thought the first half felt very real and I could see that sort of escalation happening in real life, but by the end it felt a little bit comical

how quickly it descended into nuclear war - it felt a bit like no-one seemed to think at all about the reality of what nuclear war would do

. Obviously there are some elements of truth in there, but in my opinion the

hawks felt a little too aggressive in calling for nuclear war to be realistic (at least I hope it's not for the sake of the world)

.

Overall it was a good book, definitely had its faults, but I'd like to see Ken Follett try this style of modern political fiction again because he has a lot of potential in this area