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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
My favourite Kingsbridge novel since [b:World Without End|5064|World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509545511l/5064._SY75_.jpg|2845518].
[b:The Armor of Light|81067992|The Armor of Light (Kingsbridge #4)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674163044l/81067992._SY75_.jpg|103303948] is more like the first two novels in feel and style than [b:A Column of Fire|33571713|A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge, #3)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597750114l/33571713._SY75_.jpg|50861690] and [b:The Evening and the Morning|49239093|The Evening and the Morning (Kingsbridge, #0)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585140756l/49239093._SY75_.jpg|73816656], staying mostly within the confines of Kingsbridge and following its citizens through their daily lives.
I love it when Follett uses Kingsbridge as a microcosm of English society and politics at the time. Here, the Industrial Revolution and late-Enlightenment ideas influence the lives of the Kingsbridge people, as well as ideas of revolution and human rights after the French Revolution.
Follett gives us many glimpses of history, though all of it is fed through the fictional city of Kingsbridge. We see the long miserable battle between masters and workers-- the formation of trade unions to demand workers' rights, the masters responding by bringing in cheap foreign labour, self-serving local government assisting the masters to keep the workers down through intimidation and the threat of flogging, or worse.
Follett keeps the pacing up by constant reminders of how shitty it was to be a peasant in late 18th century/early 19th century England. You had so little power, and any attempts to organise with other workers to gain a little of said power were frequently thwarted by men with the contacts and resources to make your life even more miserable.
Alongside this, people fall in love, get married, die, escape loveless marriages with passionate affairs and experience the extremes of poverty. It was the norm for seven-year-olds to be put to work, and equally common for starving child thieves to be sent to the gallows.
One of the most horrific aspects of this book were the press gangs-- an appalling and entirely legal corner of history that I had forgotten about --where men were set upon, kidnapped, and forceably enlisted in the military or navy. Horrific for the men, and often devastating for the families left behind.
The least interesting part of [b:The Armor of Light|81067992|The Armor of Light (Kingsbridge #4)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674163044l/81067992._SY75_.jpg|103303948] for me was when the book steps outside of Kingsbridge and takes us to the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars. I have exactly zero interest in warfare, so thankfully this was only a relatively small portion of the book. I much preferred reading about how the war and Bonapartist feeling influenced the lives of the little people in Kingsbridge.
I find myself wondering what can be next for this series. Victorian-era could be cool. Will Follett take us to the World Wars and beyond? I'm excited to find out.
[b:The Armor of Light|81067992|The Armor of Light (Kingsbridge #4)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674163044l/81067992._SY75_.jpg|103303948] is more like the first two novels in feel and style than [b:A Column of Fire|33571713|A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge, #3)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597750114l/33571713._SY75_.jpg|50861690] and [b:The Evening and the Morning|49239093|The Evening and the Morning (Kingsbridge, #0)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585140756l/49239093._SY75_.jpg|73816656], staying mostly within the confines of Kingsbridge and following its citizens through their daily lives.
I love it when Follett uses Kingsbridge as a microcosm of English society and politics at the time. Here, the Industrial Revolution and late-Enlightenment ideas influence the lives of the Kingsbridge people, as well as ideas of revolution and human rights after the French Revolution.
Follett gives us many glimpses of history, though all of it is fed through the fictional city of Kingsbridge. We see the long miserable battle between masters and workers-- the formation of trade unions to demand workers' rights, the masters responding by bringing in cheap foreign labour, self-serving local government assisting the masters to keep the workers down through intimidation and the threat of flogging, or worse.
Follett keeps the pacing up by constant reminders of how shitty it was to be a peasant in late 18th century/early 19th century England. You had so little power, and any attempts to organise with other workers to gain a little of said power were frequently thwarted by men with the contacts and resources to make your life even more miserable.
Alongside this, people fall in love, get married, die, escape loveless marriages with passionate affairs and experience the extremes of poverty. It was the norm for seven-year-olds to be put to work, and equally common for starving child thieves to be sent to the gallows.
One of the most horrific aspects of this book were the press gangs-- an appalling and entirely legal corner of history that I had forgotten about --where men were set upon, kidnapped, and forceably enlisted in the military or navy. Horrific for the men, and often devastating for the families left behind.
The least interesting part of [b:The Armor of Light|81067992|The Armor of Light (Kingsbridge #4)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674163044l/81067992._SY75_.jpg|103303948] for me was when the book steps outside of Kingsbridge and takes us to the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars. I have exactly zero interest in warfare, so thankfully this was only a relatively small portion of the book. I much preferred reading about how the war and Bonapartist feeling influenced the lives of the little people in Kingsbridge.
I find myself wondering what can be next for this series. Victorian-era could be cool. Will Follett take us to the World Wars and beyond? I'm excited to find out.
Better than A column of fire and not as good as Pillars of the earth. Still an addictive read.
3.5 ⭐️
It hurts me to give a Pillars book less than 5 stars.
It hurts me to give a Pillars book less than 5 stars.
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes