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books_n_cats_1973's review against another edition
5.0
I really appreciated reading this book learning more about religious wars in Europe primarily between England, Spain with some information relative to Scottland, France, Italy and the Pope. Sadly, during this time in history, Catholics and Protestants were killing each other over religious belief. Generally, what side had the upper hand had to do with what monarch was in power. For example, when King Henry VIII had the throne in England, the Catholics lost power. Monasteries were shut down, church property was given to Protestant nobility, other rulers of a town and the Protestants used this opportunity to persecute Catholics. When his daughter Mary took the throne, she being an “Ultra-Catholic, times reverted back to Catholics torturing and burning Protestants. Then when Mary’s sister Protestant Elizabeth took the throne, both sides initially were not allowed to persecute one another because Elizabeth stated the no one should die for their religious beliefs. As time went on though and the Catholic Spanish King persecuted Protestants, Elizabeth did somewhat go back on her word by putting Catholics to death under the auspices of treason because Catholics wanted to overthrow Elizabeth’s reign by replacing her with her cousin Mary who came from Spain and was imprisoned by Elizabeth in England for years until Elizabeth eventually had her cousin Mary beheaded.
My own understanding of Christianity caused me to cringe with one example over another as each side schemed to destroy their opposition. Of course one thing I had to take into consideration is that the perspective of violence, culture and psychology was completely different back in the 1500’s.
I can highly appreciate the country and culture I live in today in America as our founding fathers set up our system to include religious freedom. Christianity today and those who take part in that religion, generally speaking, have a completely different attitude towards what “doing the Lord’s work” means. Harrowingly, different examples of violence and murder were referred to as “doing the work of God or Christ’ by both sides. I do feel that we have pockets of that mentality within our nation. I am sure groups such as the Westboro Baptist Church would perpetuate violence and murder upon others if they could get away with it. For those who are unfamiliar with that group of people, they are the ones who picket military funerals holding up signs which say things such as “GOD HATES FAGS.” From my understanding, they speak out against a government which ‘supports’ gay marriage. Their logic is that if you are not against something, you are for it. It is not that America is supporting gay marriage or homosexuality, instead our American government is supporting the pursuit of happiness and the protection of minorities which was written into our laws by our founding fathers.
Interestingly I have personal experience with this asinine logic with a Bible thumping zealot uncle who measures a man’s morality by his stand on abortion and gay marriage. I told him I do not have an opinion on those topics because they do not relate to my life and it is not my job or life’s purpose to tell other free people how to live their lives. His wife actually told my wife a few years back that if we are not against gay marriage and abortion that we are for it. Driving back to Dayton Ohio from Findlay Ohio my wife and I could not wrap our heads around that logic. After reading this book, that mentality is more comprehensible. During the 1500’s in England Catholics had to attend Protestant services and Protestants had to attend Catholic Mass according to who reigned at the time because if they did not, it would be seen as being against that religion and they would be under suspicion and ultimately their lives would be under threat.
During Elizabeth’s reign, Catholic nobility was heavily fined and fell out of favor with Royalty by not attending Protestant services. Falling out of favor also caused Catholic nobility to suffer financially as the monarch awarded lands and peasant income to Protestant followers which was taken from those Catholic ‘dissidents.’ On the other hand, when the preceding monarch Mary ruled, if Protestant families did not attend Catholic Mass, they were seen as suspicious people against Catholicism and were a lot of times tortured and put to death.
An interesting thing to note is how Protestantism evolved from Catholicism and then Puritanism evolved out of Protestantism. Towards the end of the book, a Puritan getting ready to embark for America lands spoke negatively of Protestants, having the opinion that they ‘have it all wrong.’ Interestingly, the Protestants had this similar attitude about the Catholics. So, the Puritans felt they had to escape the ignorance and persecution of both the Catholics and the Protestants to come to America to then persecute the American Indians and put ‘witches’ to death. I would like to mention a book I read a few years back called THE EVOLUTION OF GOD by agnostic Robert Wright who clearly shows how established religions of today have evolved out of prior religions either dead or still adhered to current day followers.
This historical novel hits home for me on a personal level because of my upbringing in a religious home. I do not whatsoever have the belief or opinion that the religion I was raised in or what my family believes is wrong, for them. I do firmly believe that any religion which provides stability, peace of mind, cohesion amongst human kind and the betterment to a person’s life is a good thing. I do believe that when religion is used to tear other people down, cause dissension and pious hate-mongering, it is relative to the complicated notion of evil. Thank you for taking the time to read this review and reflection. It is the longest review I have ever written for Good Reads.
My own understanding of Christianity caused me to cringe with one example over another as each side schemed to destroy their opposition. Of course one thing I had to take into consideration is that the perspective of violence, culture and psychology was completely different back in the 1500’s.
I can highly appreciate the country and culture I live in today in America as our founding fathers set up our system to include religious freedom. Christianity today and those who take part in that religion, generally speaking, have a completely different attitude towards what “doing the Lord’s work” means. Harrowingly, different examples of violence and murder were referred to as “doing the work of God or Christ’ by both sides. I do feel that we have pockets of that mentality within our nation. I am sure groups such as the Westboro Baptist Church would perpetuate violence and murder upon others if they could get away with it. For those who are unfamiliar with that group of people, they are the ones who picket military funerals holding up signs which say things such as “GOD HATES FAGS.” From my understanding, they speak out against a government which ‘supports’ gay marriage. Their logic is that if you are not against something, you are for it. It is not that America is supporting gay marriage or homosexuality, instead our American government is supporting the pursuit of happiness and the protection of minorities which was written into our laws by our founding fathers.
Interestingly I have personal experience with this asinine logic with a Bible thumping zealot uncle who measures a man’s morality by his stand on abortion and gay marriage. I told him I do not have an opinion on those topics because they do not relate to my life and it is not my job or life’s purpose to tell other free people how to live their lives. His wife actually told my wife a few years back that if we are not against gay marriage and abortion that we are for it. Driving back to Dayton Ohio from Findlay Ohio my wife and I could not wrap our heads around that logic. After reading this book, that mentality is more comprehensible. During the 1500’s in England Catholics had to attend Protestant services and Protestants had to attend Catholic Mass according to who reigned at the time because if they did not, it would be seen as being against that religion and they would be under suspicion and ultimately their lives would be under threat.
During Elizabeth’s reign, Catholic nobility was heavily fined and fell out of favor with Royalty by not attending Protestant services. Falling out of favor also caused Catholic nobility to suffer financially as the monarch awarded lands and peasant income to Protestant followers which was taken from those Catholic ‘dissidents.’ On the other hand, when the preceding monarch Mary ruled, if Protestant families did not attend Catholic Mass, they were seen as suspicious people against Catholicism and were a lot of times tortured and put to death.
An interesting thing to note is how Protestantism evolved from Catholicism and then Puritanism evolved out of Protestantism. Towards the end of the book, a Puritan getting ready to embark for America lands spoke negatively of Protestants, having the opinion that they ‘have it all wrong.’ Interestingly, the Protestants had this similar attitude about the Catholics. So, the Puritans felt they had to escape the ignorance and persecution of both the Catholics and the Protestants to come to America to then persecute the American Indians and put ‘witches’ to death. I would like to mention a book I read a few years back called THE EVOLUTION OF GOD by agnostic Robert Wright who clearly shows how established religions of today have evolved out of prior religions either dead or still adhered to current day followers.
This historical novel hits home for me on a personal level because of my upbringing in a religious home. I do not whatsoever have the belief or opinion that the religion I was raised in or what my family believes is wrong, for them. I do firmly believe that any religion which provides stability, peace of mind, cohesion amongst human kind and the betterment to a person’s life is a good thing. I do believe that when religion is used to tear other people down, cause dissension and pious hate-mongering, it is relative to the complicated notion of evil. Thank you for taking the time to read this review and reflection. It is the longest review I have ever written for Good Reads.
elenab's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
organchordsandlightning's review against another edition
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Still an excellent historical fiction in its own right, though I found it far less compelling than the first two entries in the series. Barely anything takes place in Kingsbridge, and what I liked most about the series was seeing this specific town involved. Most of the plot is centered around courtly intrigue, rather than the day-to-day life in this growing village.
susanbonnieo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
d_audy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
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? It's complicated
4.25
Another really good yarn from Follett that continues with the formula that worked so well in the first two Kingsbridge novels but widens the perspective this time around to include much action set beyond the area of Kingsbridge itself, which gives a fresh twist to the concept.
It's the dawn of the Elizabethan age, and the wars of religion erupt periodically through Europe and the conflagration touches Kingsbridge as it does most towns in England. The merchant class more and more leans toward various flavours of Protestantism, while the much of the local aristocracy remains attached to Catholicism. As usual, a rich gallery of fictional characters from different walks of life and social classes helps Follett bring the era to life. The Priory is gone with the stripping of the monasteries by Henry Tudor and the iconoclasts have changed the face of even the cathedral. Through this chapter of the saga, Follett takes the readers through the many of the most defining moments of the religious wars in England and abroad, during the whole reign of Elizabeth, overflowing on one side with parts of her sister Queen Mary's last years and the first of James Stuart on the other.
The ropes are a bit visible and if one's even reasonably familiar with these decades it's fairly easy to anticipate early on the narrative purpose of each character and the historical events for which they will become a witness or actor. But this doesn't diminish the interest or the pleasure of getting immersed in the tale woven by one of the great popular storytellers of our times.
This volume of the series is clearly more political, and involves the characters much more closely with historical figures and key events, from the St. Bartholomew to the Gunpowder plot. A merchant family with scions abroad provides the opportunity to bring us to Madrid, Paris, Antwerp and more. For the first time, some non-Kingsbridge characters even play major role, one near le Comte de Guise at the Valois court in Paris, and another in the entourage of Mary Stuart. Follett twists history here and there to integrate his fictional players, but once more he succeeds brilliantly at rendering the spirit of the era in an engrossing, very well researched but widely accessible narrative.
It's the dawn of the Elizabethan age, and the wars of religion erupt periodically through Europe and the conflagration touches Kingsbridge as it does most towns in England. The merchant class more and more leans toward various flavours of Protestantism, while the much of the local aristocracy remains attached to Catholicism. As usual, a rich gallery of fictional characters from different walks of life and social classes helps Follett bring the era to life. The Priory is gone with the stripping of the monasteries by Henry Tudor and the iconoclasts have changed the face of even the cathedral. Through this chapter of the saga, Follett takes the readers through the many of the most defining moments of the religious wars in England and abroad, during the whole reign of Elizabeth, overflowing on one side with parts of her sister Queen Mary's last years and the first of James Stuart on the other.
The ropes are a bit visible and if one's even reasonably familiar with these decades it's fairly easy to anticipate early on the narrative purpose of each character and the historical events for which they will become a witness or actor. But this doesn't diminish the interest or the pleasure of getting immersed in the tale woven by one of the great popular storytellers of our times.
This volume of the series is clearly more political, and involves the characters much more closely with historical figures and key events, from the St. Bartholomew to the Gunpowder plot. A merchant family with scions abroad provides the opportunity to bring us to Madrid, Paris, Antwerp and more. For the first time, some non-Kingsbridge characters even play major role, one near le Comte de Guise at the Valois court in Paris, and another in the entourage of Mary Stuart. Follett twists history here and there to integrate his fictional players, but once more he succeeds brilliantly at rendering the spirit of the era in an engrossing, very well researched but widely accessible narrative.
karinikarini's review against another edition
4.0
This was a long read but I have to say I quite enjoyed it. There were a few times in the first part of the book that I wasn’t sure I would be able to get through it all due to the size of the book and getting to know all of the characters involved. However, over time I found the characters to be really engaging, and the heroes and villains were perfectly drawn. You loved and hated them respectively. The format of the of the book followed one character to the next, until there were several climaxes where the heroes and villains finally came together. This was highly anticipated during the reading of the book and was really satisfying when it finally happened. This is a recurring theme in Ken Follett books. I found this to be intriguing and exciting and kept me super interested in what was going to happen next. A couple of times I found myself skimming through some parts that I didn’t find particularly interesting, but it did not take away how much I liked the book. I mean in reading 900+ pages, there are bound to be a few passages that might not be of interest at any given time for some readers. There is a lot of European history in this book of which I was unfamiliar and I really liked that. I enjoyed the weaving of historical fact with fictional main characters. All in all it was an enjoyable book for me.
loulou_22's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
mark_c's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
zakrydat's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bethsponz's review against another edition
4.0
I am a big fan of Ken Follett, and that started with his first book in this series- Pillars of the Earth. This book continued with his great storytelling, many characters, and detailed plots and adventure. His writing has evolved from his first one in the series, and its tough to say whether it's better now. Overall I came away from this book wanting more! The time and setting for this book was the Elizabethan age with all its religious civil wars. There are tons of books about the Tudors and Queen Elizabeth, but this book touched on the first Secret service of its kind for the monarchs. It had a different twist on the same old story.