Emily May's Reviews > World Without End
World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2)
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I must confess-- I am addicted to these Ken Follett novels. I finished World Without End and had to pick up A Column of Fire immediately. I'm also going to get to his Century trilogy at some point. These books are bloodstained historical soap operas and I just can't get enough.
Follett knows how to create exactly the right amount of drama and set it to the gory backdrop of history. I've always loved being taken back to times that I've only read about in passing and here we see the horrors of the Black Death up close.
It is one thing to read a textbook about the illness, its symptoms and its wide reach - wiping out up to 60% of Europe's population - but it's another thing entirely to be taken into the lives of characters we come to love and seeing it firsthand. Knowing at any minute that they or their families could be next. It was a truly horrific and frightening disease, and I think the author captures that really well.
Follett once again utilizes a technique that worked very well for him in The Pillars of the Earth - the plot is often driven by our hatred for certain characters. In the previous book, it was William Hamleigh. Here, there are a number of candidates competing for our hatred; namely, Ralph, Godwyn and Philemon. It's pretty effective to despise a character so deeply that we absolutely must read on to see them get their just desserts.
It's also just a fascinating portrait of everyday life in 14th century England. Two hundred years after the events of The Pillars of the Earth, Kingsbridge now has a nunnery (which makes for some interesting politics as the monks try to control the nuns, but they are some seriously badass women) and the Guild plays an important part in decisions for the town, as well as the Priory.
It's hard to explain - between the deaths, disease and war - how much enjoyment there is in the everyday lives of these people, as we live with them through romance, poverty, heartbreak and betrayal. AND these books are so so easy to dip in and out of. I rarely feel ready to commit to a thousand-page book, but I can easily read this alongside other books and return to the story and characters without a problem.
So much fun and drama.
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We who are born poor have to use cunning to get what we want. Scruples are for the privileged.
I must confess-- I am addicted to these Ken Follett novels. I finished World Without End and had to pick up A Column of Fire immediately. I'm also going to get to his Century trilogy at some point. These books are bloodstained historical soap operas and I just can't get enough.
Follett knows how to create exactly the right amount of drama and set it to the gory backdrop of history. I've always loved being taken back to times that I've only read about in passing and here we see the horrors of the Black Death up close.
It is one thing to read a textbook about the illness, its symptoms and its wide reach - wiping out up to 60% of Europe's population - but it's another thing entirely to be taken into the lives of characters we come to love and seeing it firsthand. Knowing at any minute that they or their families could be next. It was a truly horrific and frightening disease, and I think the author captures that really well.
Follett once again utilizes a technique that worked very well for him in The Pillars of the Earth - the plot is often driven by our hatred for certain characters. In the previous book, it was William Hamleigh. Here, there are a number of candidates competing for our hatred; namely, Ralph, Godwyn and Philemon. It's pretty effective to despise a character so deeply that we absolutely must read on to see them get their just desserts.
It's also just a fascinating portrait of everyday life in 14th century England. Two hundred years after the events of The Pillars of the Earth, Kingsbridge now has a nunnery (which makes for some interesting politics as the monks try to control the nuns, but they are some seriously badass women) and the Guild plays an important part in decisions for the town, as well as the Priory.
It's hard to explain - between the deaths, disease and war - how much enjoyment there is in the everyday lives of these people, as we live with them through romance, poverty, heartbreak and betrayal. AND these books are so so easy to dip in and out of. I rarely feel ready to commit to a thousand-page book, but I can easily read this alongside other books and return to the story and characters without a problem.
So much fun and drama.
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Elle
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Aug 21, 2017 12:49AM
![Elle (ellexamines)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1674109019p1/52545435.jpg)
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![Emily May](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1705854088p1/4622890.jpg)
![Daniel Balici](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1633353821p1/45736197.jpg)
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![Emily May](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1705854088p1/4622890.jpg)
I definitely do! In fact, that's why I decided now was the time to read this :)
![Cristin](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1498754641p1/8410306.jpg)
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![Emily May](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1705854088p1/4622890.jpg)
No, not at all. It's a completely new story with new characters :)
![Skarlitt Knight](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1515403679p1/75162225.jpg)
![Dr CG](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1688443730p1/3983409.jpg)
Pillars of the Earth was quite the epic journey for me. I had to read a few short, YA novels in between these stories just so I could catch a breath. :)
Follett just has this way of taking you by the back of the neck and dunking you under to the point where you don’t even care that you didn’t come up for air! I live for this shit! Lol! #Nerdgasm
![Naoise](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_25x33-8a3530ed95c3dbef8bf215b080559b09.png)
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![Emily May](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1705854088p1/4622890.jpg)
I can see that. I think it's very soapy historical-fiction, but I find his books really enjoyable.
![Skarlitt Knight](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1515403679p1/75162225.jpg)
If he had chosen to focus on both storyline and character development the book would probably be about twice as thick.
![Charley](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1551278198p1/54605388.jpg)
![Erin](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1714910934p1/12436687.jpg)
I really enjoyed the Century series too. More "grand sweeping" than these books. Perhaps more like Column of Fire (I've read reviews)?
Perfect books while I'm not working due to Covid.
![Aisling](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1643672583p1/6769225.jpg)
![Andrea Bromley](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1714797579p1/169725600.jpg)