by Ken FollettI had read Pillars of the Earth several years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Ken Follett usually writes Nazi spy thrillers, so I wasn't sure about a novel from him about cathedral building in the middle ages. The audio book was just as good, being well read by John Lee. Though it's funny how things like violence and sex stand out more when the book is read aloud to you. Every plot point in an audio book is given the same weight and reading. When I read I can invest or skim at my leisure. Which I must've done when reading this book originally as I became much more invested in the characters this time. I was really rooting for Phillip to build his cathedral, and for Jack and Aliena to get together. And for something, anything to happen to William so he would stop being such an ass.
I felt the same investment with World Without End. This is the recently released (not) sequel to Pillars. World continues a few hundred years after Pillars ends. Some of the characters are descendants of the originals but the main tie is that we are still in Kingsbridge. There is another pair of star crossed lovers who have even more ups and downs, Merthin and Caris spend the majority of the book attempting to be together with fate standing in their way. The treasured cathedral is in dire need of repairs. The clergy and nobles are still as corrupt as ever, only this time the prior does not have a good heart such as Phillip. Sir Ralph the resident asshole noble is brother to Merthin which makes hating him more complicated. Because Kingsbridge is bigger there is more wealth, more people and more at stake in the various political squabbles. All levels of class are represented by major characters in the book, but everyone is threatened when the Bubonic Plague shows up.
Both books have a fair amount of technical building trivial interspersed amongst the characterizations and plot. This information is interesting and adds an extra layer of texture to the books. I felt like there was less of this in World Without End, and I felt like this wasn't a bad thing. There were times in Pillars where it bored me.
The best thing about these books is that they can stand alone. If you want something epic but don't want to invest in a series, either in any order will do.
I felt the same investment with World Without End. This is the recently released (not) sequel to Pillars. World continues a few hundred years after Pillars ends. Some of the characters are descendants of the originals but the main tie is that we are still in Kingsbridge. There is another pair of star crossed lovers who have even more ups and downs, Merthin and Caris spend the majority of the book attempting to be together with fate standing in their way. The treasured cathedral is in dire need of repairs. The clergy and nobles are still as corrupt as ever, only this time the prior does not have a good heart such as Phillip. Sir Ralph the resident asshole noble is brother to Merthin which makes hating him more complicated. Because Kingsbridge is bigger there is more wealth, more people and more at stake in the various political squabbles. All levels of class are represented by major characters in the book, but everyone is threatened when the Bubonic Plague shows up.Both books have a fair amount of technical building trivial interspersed amongst the characterizations and plot. This information is interesting and adds an extra layer of texture to the books. I felt like there was less of this in World Without End, and I felt like this wasn't a bad thing. There were times in Pillars where it bored me.
The best thing about these books is that they can stand alone. If you want something epic but don't want to invest in a series, either in any order will do.
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