Review by mariana_mm - O Amanhecer de uma Nova Era

mariana_mm 's review for:

O Amanhecer de uma Nova Era by Ken Follett

4.0

adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’m a Ken Follet fan. I’m not an avid reader - I’m trying to read more this year - but, ever since I read The Pillars of the Earth, I’ve been reading more of Ken Follet’s books - the Century Trilogy, the Kingsbridge series - and loving them all.

I have to say, I really liked The Evening and the Morning but, so far, it is the Ken Follet book I loved the least - still 4 stars though! The only reason: too many similarities to the original source.

The Pillars of the Earth was the first book of Ken Follet’s “Kingsbridge Series”, and the book The Evening and the Morning serves as its prequel, taking place in the same place, but a couple of centuries earlier.

The evil greedy Bishop; the ambitious scholarly Priest; the smart hardworking Builder; the independent cultured Noblewoman. This could be a brief description of the main characters from either The Pillars of the Earth or The Evening and the Morning.

The characters from both books - although different people from different centuries - seemed the same. And for that reason alone: I liked the book but didn’t love it.

What I enjoyed most about the book was reading about life in the turn of the 10th to 11th centuries. It’s not a particularly common age authors tend to write about, I believe mainly because there isn’t as much information about it as other ages, making it harder to research. I enjoyed learning more about this particular time. To realize how life and quality of life changed so much after the Romans left the British Isles, and other people like the Saxons and the Vikings started to invade. To the point where a lot of knowledge seemed lost in the Middle Ages - for example in ways of construction. It was a difficult time: war, constant invasions, famine. Surviving was the priority. But by the turn of the millennia, that will start to change, and it's interesting to see that in the book.

I also enjoyed learning how the places we first knew from The Pillars of the Earth, came to exist in this book. The background of it all.

Ken Follet’s writing is impeccable. The detailed yet familiar way he describes the surroundings, the characters, their development, is amazing to read. We feel like we are in the story. I love history and historical fiction, especially European History, so it’s always interesting to read books like these, and Ken Follet makes it easy and enjoyable even for someone like me - who does not read a lot - to binge-read a 500-1000 tome!

Content Warnings