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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
Honesty, was a bit disappointed with this. Follett can't get out of his bread and butter - almost every character maps 1:1 with a character from his other series, and not in the good "there's continuity in this series and this book fits with the rest" way but in the bad "that book sold well, if I reskin the characters with new names and a slightly different setting, maybe I can do it again." I think what gets at me is that I wanted a little more realism - a bit more of a sense that I learned something about this point in history - but didn't get that from this book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Ken Follett is a master storyteller. He drags you right into his fictional worlds and holds you there. Also for some reason I found this book so incredibly funny. Especially every scene with the Bishop Wynstan. I laughed for 30 minutes straight when he got what was coming to him. The final church scene. I absolutely loved Ragna. She was the strong female character without overdoing it for the sake of "strong female character" trope. And I love how Follett includes gay and bi characters without making it their entire personality. Great story, fun, 10/10. And the ending. Oh man.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I devoured the rest of the series, especially the Pillars of the Earth. But I did like having it set in a different time - the dark ages, Viking invasions, etc - that I’ve ever read books set in before!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-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
dark
emotional
informative
sad
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:
Yes
Incredible, possibly the best book I’ve read so far this year. Ken Follett has a wonderful talent for historical fiction and this particular narrative structure that spans over a period of years.
While this drew a lot of parallels with three other “Kings Bridge” novels of his I’ve read, it was no less exciting for it. It isn’t every day that a book that’s more than 800 pages long can be truly engaging all throughout it but Follett is an author who really can do it. 10/10
While this drew a lot of parallels with three other “Kings Bridge” novels of his I’ve read, it was no less exciting for it. It isn’t every day that a book that’s more than 800 pages long can be truly engaging all throughout it but Follett is an author who really can do it. 10/10
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
emotional
slow-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:
Complicated
Great historical fiction about life in the Dark Ages. Ken Follett definitely does his research and his characters are so well written. I learned a lot about that time period just through his writing about day to day life. Great book just to fall into and live vicariously through some very interesting and unique characters in a dangerous fascinating part of history.