Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I still really love Cornwell's writing style, although it was the slow pace that made me go down some stars. The plot took place over such a long period of time, and the characters didn't really come together until the last third of the book. I did enjoy it towards the end, for a bit, but it all could have been pushed harder, so we really felt Camaban's madness and the awe of the temple.
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ein Buch mit einigen Längen, das auch einige Motive aus den Arthur-Büchern wieder aufgreift. Insgesamt aber ein faszinierender Versuch, das Leben und die Glaubenswelt der Bronzezeit lebendig werden zu lassen.
adventurous
informative
sad
slow-paced
Loved it! Cornwell is the master of historical fiction, for sure. He really knows how to make you feel like you're there, in that time and place, with his attention to minute detail, realistic dialogue and historical background that you can walk right into. He created a plausible story about the building of Stonehenge, full of mystery, magic, love, life and death. It has prompted me to learn more about this incredible temple on my own. Highly recommend this excellent novel.
I have loved other Cornwell books, both the Sharpe series and the Saxon stories, but this one was a bit of a slog, despite my interest in Stonehenge. Characters are almost universally unpleasant, and there's lots of murdering and betrayal and unhappy endings. Plus, more details about how Stonehenge might have been built than I really want to know. 2.5
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book and Agincourt really shows how versatile of an author Cornwell is. Stonehenge is actually a pretty good book. It reads like a Ken Follett novel (which is a compliment, to them both!). I love the historical and research part, I love the characters and the setting.
Spoilers ahead:
The reason this only gets 3 stars is that the plot is boring. There is too much detail. We don't really need to know the whole process of building it. To try and fit the whole thing into the story is too much. The book would have been better off if Cornwell just wrote a snippet of the story and maybe described the rest of it as oral history or something.
At some point I just didn't care anymore about the building of the temple because there was too much of it. I was going to dnf the book, then just decided to finish it just to finish it. Apart from that, a great look into neolithic Britain.
Spoilers ahead:
The reason this only gets 3 stars is that the plot is boring. There is too much detail. We don't really need to know the whole process of building it. To try and fit the whole thing into the story is too much. The book would have been better off if Cornwell just wrote a snippet of the story and maybe described the rest of it as oral history or something.
At some point I just didn't care anymore about the building of the temple because there was too much of it. I was going to dnf the book, then just decided to finish it just to finish it. Apart from that, a great look into neolithic Britain.