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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.5 stars
This series is such a mood. And I was totally into it right now. Glad I read Pillars first, as that sets the atmosphere and society. I enjoyed this. It’s like a specific food, like a book craving. It’s just exactly what I wanted right now. I want to read more in the series. This high rating is almost purely my enjoyment of it, to be honest. The writing itself (like taking each sentence in isolation) is not fantastic. But line after line, adds up to a story that had me constantly wanting to read more.
(Yes, Pillars was technically much better but this was a great addition!)
… ok, after some more thinking and after the initial excitement of a finished book, I think I can pinpoint more what was lacking in comparison to Pillars: the depth of characters. I will always remember Pillars for the atmosphere but also, the strong desires that each character held deep within themselves. Man.. just articulating that now makes me want to pick up Pillars of the Earth all over again.
Still.. I enjoy this world that Follett has made.
This series is such a mood. And I was totally into it right now. Glad I read Pillars first, as that sets the atmosphere and society. I enjoyed this. It’s like a specific food, like a book craving. It’s just exactly what I wanted right now. I want to read more in the series. This high rating is almost purely my enjoyment of it, to be honest. The writing itself (like taking each sentence in isolation) is not fantastic. But line after line, adds up to a story that had me constantly wanting to read more.
(Yes, Pillars was technically much better but this was a great addition!)
… ok, after some more thinking and after the initial excitement of a finished book, I think I can pinpoint more what was lacking in comparison to Pillars: the depth of characters. I will always remember Pillars for the atmosphere but also, the strong desires that each character held deep within themselves. Man.. just articulating that now makes me want to pick up Pillars of the Earth all over again.
Still.. I enjoy this world that Follett has made.
Author's books are well researched, but formulaic.
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
This was actually the first Follet novel that I have ever tackled. Shortly after I started, one of the first things that caught my attention was the extent to which everything was described, even in conversations between characters. At first, it gave the book a bit of an over-explanatory kind of tone, and I quickly found myself wondering just how long it was going to take to eventually work my way through the several hundred pages.
At some point, however, a switch happened. I don't know when it occurred, but suddenly the book that I was stubbornly trying to work my way through became the book that I was reluctant to put down. I found that I had become quite fond of the three main characters as they navigated separate and shared challenges, the grand majority posed by a power-hungry archbishop and his various loathsome allies. Just when one machination was over, a new one was hatched, making for an abundance of intrigue and struggle that became harder and harder for me to tear myself away from. And as I stayed up increasingly later in the evenings to devour chapter after chapter, Follet’s style of descriptiveness had ceased to be a bother, and instead just made the characters’ world come incredibly alive through rich detail. Clearly, the author has done his research about life in this period. And while there is definitely a limit to how far Follet could go on existing scholarship before taking up some creative liberties, nevertheless at times it definitely felt like I had taken a time machine to early medieval England.
By the time it was over, it turned out to be a most enjoyable escapist journey via historical fiction. If this is Ken Follet at his usual level of work, then fans of his will definitely be justified in their anticipation of his latest book. And for first-timers like myself, I can say from experience that they have nothing holding them back from diving right in. Hopefully you newcomers found yourself as captivated as I was - because when you eventually finish, you’ll still have the rest of Kingsbridge series ahead of you (which, as one may expect, I am now quite excited to move on to).
This was actually the first Follet novel that I have ever tackled. Shortly after I started, one of the first things that caught my attention was the extent to which everything was described, even in conversations between characters. At first, it gave the book a bit of an over-explanatory kind of tone, and I quickly found myself wondering just how long it was going to take to eventually work my way through the several hundred pages.
At some point, however, a switch happened. I don't know when it occurred, but suddenly the book that I was stubbornly trying to work my way through became the book that I was reluctant to put down. I found that I had become quite fond of the three main characters as they navigated separate and shared challenges, the grand majority posed by a power-hungry archbishop and his various loathsome allies. Just when one machination was over, a new one was hatched, making for an abundance of intrigue and struggle that became harder and harder for me to tear myself away from. And as I stayed up increasingly later in the evenings to devour chapter after chapter, Follet’s style of descriptiveness had ceased to be a bother, and instead just made the characters’ world come incredibly alive through rich detail. Clearly, the author has done his research about life in this period. And while there is definitely a limit to how far Follet could go on existing scholarship before taking up some creative liberties, nevertheless at times it definitely felt like I had taken a time machine to early medieval England.
By the time it was over, it turned out to be a most enjoyable escapist journey via historical fiction. If this is Ken Follet at his usual level of work, then fans of his will definitely be justified in their anticipation of his latest book. And for first-timers like myself, I can say from experience that they have nothing holding them back from diving right in. Hopefully you newcomers found yourself as captivated as I was - because when you eventually finish, you’ll still have the rest of Kingsbridge series ahead of you (which, as one may expect, I am now quite excited to move on to).
DNF at 400 pages. Cardboard characters, atrocious kindergarten level writing. Such a shame because the historical context and the idea for the plot was awesome.
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The writing was overly simplistic and the dialogue often silly. None of the characters were really fleshed out and were mostly charicatures of good vs evil. It was as if Follett wasn't really trying.