World Without End

Customer Rating:
Summary: Maybe not Pillars, but still good quality
Comment: When I read "Pillars of the Earth" a couple of years ago, I immediately ranked it in my all-time top 10 -- a five star. My wife then read POTE and enthusiastically endorsed it, too. So, when "World without End" came out last year, she immediately bought it, finished it within a week and said it was better than POTE. Hmm, I thought. I have finally gotten around to reading WWE and, Even if it is a delightful story, I didn't find it to be in the same league as POTE.

WWE's major shortcoming is that the Plague -- which doesn't just come around once, but over and over -- wipes out too many characters, both the good and the bad, and therefore eliminates all kinds of potential story development along with it. So, what we're conveniently left with in the end, is that our white-hat lead characters are the only ones left standing. This sort of writing is a little too lackadaisical for me.

On a lesser note, what is with Follett's preoccupation with sex? It certainly isn't titillating and, in my opinion, is excessive. Anyone beyond their early 20s has outgrown this stuff.

All in all, though, WWE is another very good Follett story that should appeal to both men and women of various ages. By all means, read it. Don't be put off because it isn't five stars.

Customer Rating:
Summary: a wonderful read
Comment: This was even better than Pillars of the Earth. A gripping tale with well developed characters and plot. It's an interesting look into life in the 14th century.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Comment: Listening to this audiobook on a recent 18-hour solo drive, I gained an understanding of what daily life was like in Medieval times through this fascinating story. I was drawn into the lives of the characters to the point that I was anxious to get up early on day two of my trip just so I could find out what was happening. Wonderful story, skillfully told. I will read more Ken Follett in the future.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Trite without End ....
Comment: I dislike being so very negative, but this book really has no redeeming features and I often found myself wondering if a very inadequate ghost writer had actually penned it. Propelled by all the hype, WWE was chosen as summer reading fare for our book club, else I never would have finished it. Insulting to the reader's intelligence, it is nothing more than a soap opera of the worst kind. Another reviewer suggests that it could have been redeemed had it been subjected to the sharp knife of a good editor. I say forget the sharp knife and use a kitchen mandoline to shred it into julienne strips. The recycling bin is where it belongs. Life too short to subject yourself to this type of shallow, poorly written fare.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Comment: Part of the allure of "Pillars of the Earth", the book that preceded this one, is the originality of it. This one seems like a slightly paler version of the first book. It takes place in the same English town, Kingsbridge, and has dastardly lords, poor but honest peasants, and clergy who jostle for position and power. There is plenty of action, but to me the characters were not as interesting or compelling as the ones in the first book. It was clear that the peasants would be exploited by the upper classes, so I just gritted my teeth and suffered through the cruelties knowing that eventually all would be well. If I had read this book first, I might have had a slightly different opinion of it, but it did seem like a less compelling version of the first one.