World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2)

Compared to the other novels in the series, this one seems overwritten. There are too many characters and too much unnecessary text. For example, after a Prior dies, his brother goes to meet with the new prior without preliminaries, we're told, as usual, something he could do because of their brotherhood. At the end of the meeting, the new prior tells him not to do that anymore because they're not brothers and he should follow the procedure everyone else uses. The author should have gone back and deleted the earlier explanation because he has just showed it. There was no longer any need to tell it in advance.

Again, there is an editing problem. Writers should show, not tell. But with the matter of Godwyn and the nuns' money, this book show more does both. First, the character says what he is going to do, then he does it. It's as if the author thought of the idea and planned to implement it later, but instead decided to pursue it right away. Someone should have gone back and deleted the original telling.

I really grow tired of the constant scheming in this book, and the way that victims, that is, the heroes, so stupidly allow themselves to be schemed against.

Two nuns crossing the channel to follow the army is preposterous. Even if they find the bishop whom they want to adjudicate the dispute, how in the world is he supposed to do so with no facts at hand and only one side of the story to consider? Never would have happened.

The architecture stuff was very interesting, but now they're back to scheming again. And it's even the same scheme. *sigh*

The Caris character displays a surprisingly modern understanding of psychology at times.

The author must have a deep belief in nature over nurture. Over and over again people tend to be just like their male parent, even if raised by someone else.

Book club questions:
What messages does the book offer?

Did Ralph become a slightly better person by the end? Learning to deal with Philippa in a more mature fashion. Taking Sam under his wing. Agreeing to give Wulfric and then Davey land`.

Do Caris and Merthin grow as well? They figure out how to bargain for what they want such as closing Kingsbridge because of the plague and also getting someone besides Philemon made bishop. Instead of arguing, they seem to have learned to go and talk to people privately first and enlisting their support.

Did the book play fair wrt. the conflict between Gwenda and Annet? Annet claims that Gwenda had Wulfric all along, but did the author really show us this, or only tell us, at the end? Wasn't it possible Wulfric could leave Gwenda tomorrow?

Does the author put too much emphasis on DNA? Sam is like his father Ralph and Roland is like his father Merthin? Wulfric wanted Annet so Wulfric's son wanted Annet's daughter? Doesn't nurture count for anything? And if so, should we also conclude that Merthin and Ralph had two different fathers? show less

I had finished Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth several years ago (and loved it), but hadn't ever listened to this sequel. So many people have raved about this book and especially the great narration of the audiobook, but this book is long - over 45 hours - and between trying to keep up with my various book clubs and sampling a wide variety of books to help me recommend different authors (as well as making a very small dent in the 1001 books to read list), has pushed this book down on my list. But somehow, it ended up on my iPod, I started listening and I couldn't stop.

Set 200 years after Pillars of the Earth, the book is about the Kingsbridge Cathedral and the town built around it. The story is filled with a great cast of characters show more - knights, bishops, priests, nuns, town merchants, serfs, basically everyone who is part of the social structure of this medieval world. There is a wealth of research about life during these times, from medical practices to the intricate balance between the church and town to the horrors of the Plague and 100 Years War. Listening to this book felt like a glimpse of life during the Middle Ages. But more than amazing historic fiction, Ken Follett captures so much of the emotions of life and fills his book with stories of greed, power, love, and compassion. Great fiction! show less

A terrific follow-up (sequel doesn't seem the right word) to Pillars of the Earth, World Without End picks up two hundred years after Pillars. Once again, Follett has done a masterful job of creating memorable characters that the reader really cares about (or really detests!). And, once again, he lets the reader in on some of the things that many of us haven't thought much about. We learn about the rivalries between the church, the nobility, and the merchant class. We learn about the life of a serf and how it compared to the life of the nobility, merchants, and the clergy. We learn about the controversies about how to respond to disease and the Black Death. And we see, first hand, the beginning of the end of chivalry on the show more battlefield.

I think what most impressed (amazed?) me about this book was that Follett was able to maintain the exact same style and feel that he achieved more than 20 years ago when he wrote Pillars. Given the intervening years (not to mention the number of books that he's written in the interim), I marvelled at how seamlessly he was able to bring readers back to Kingsbridge without missing a beat.

I hope that I don't have to wait 20 years to find out what happens to Kingsbridge and its citizens in the 1500s! show less

This second installment of the Kingsbridge series felt a lot like the first. The plot was almost the same with a few minor changes and the characters, which I did love, encountered a lot of the same difficulties. Despite this, I still enjoyed the book.

Even though it felt like a repeat at times, the plot was just so well written, and the prose was exceptional I found myself not minding.

I honestly didn't think that I would like this book as much as I enjoyed the original, The Pillars of the Earth, but I stand happily corrected. I couldn't put it down!! I became completely drawn in by Merthin's raw genious, Gwenda's earthiness and honesty, Caris' unexpected attitudes, and Ralph's brutality. The book has everything that one could want: mystery, love, history, violence, and the quest for power. Excellent read.

“Whether I’ve been good or bad, I don’t think God will be fooled by a last-minute change of heart.”

‘’World Without End’’ is the second installment in Follett’s Kingsbridge series and what a world it is….Set during one of the most turbulent times in European History, amidst the beginning of the Hundred Years’ War and the nightmare of the Black Death that swept over the continent causing the deaths of an unthinkable percentage of the population, it is one more example of why Historical Fiction is the Genre of the Genres when done right. And who can write better than Ken Follett who owns the crown in this field…

In my opinion, what differentiates his writing is the focus he places on the characters. He doesn’t show more perform a History lecture, but builds his protagonists around the depicted era with compassion, respect and immense skill. His descriptive passages and the way he composes the dialogues throughout the novel should be the example for any writer who’d like to make a foray to the tormented Historical Fiction genre. So, ‘’World Without End’’ is no exception to the rule. He paints with words and even the readers who have little knowledge of the era and the events that shaped it will find themselves captivated and immediately drawn to the action. However, in my humble opinion, there is a difference that places it in a significant distance behind ‘’The Pillars of The Earth’’ and this is the characters. Hence the 4 stars.

The main couple, Caris and Merthin, are nowhere near Aliena and Jack. Especially Caris seems like an average copy of Aliena and her character failed to attract my sympathy. Same thing happened with Merthin and don’t even get me started on Gwenda, Ralph and Godwyn. The way I saw it, they came across like badly drawn versions of ‘’The Pillars of the Earth’’ protagonists and they were the only reason that prevented me from fully enjoying the novel. Caris is not Aliena, Merthin is not Jack, Thomas in not Philip, Godwyn is not Waleran, Ralph is not William, no matter how much they ''tried'' to be. The only characters that attracted my attention were Mattie Wise and Mother Cecilia. The book was made into a TV series in 2012 but was nowhere near as successful as ‘’The Pillars of the Earth’’. Tom Weston-Jones portrayed Merthin and Charlotte Riley portrayed Caris. I’ve seen a number of their roles and they both seem to have the same expression in every role they’ve played. Namely, the ‘’I-only have -one expression with my googly eyes-because I can’t act -for the life of me’’ style and they managed to make the tormented lovers even more boring than their novel counterparts so kudos to them….I think….

‘’A Column of Fire’’, the third novel in the Kingsbridge series, has been sitting quietly in its place in my TBR fortress since October, waiting for its turn. It’ll have to wait until Easter but I am sure that it won’t disappoint me….

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less

Una lectura sumamente recomendable. La trama nunca pierde fuerza y es un libro largo. Los detalles cierran, nada esta al azar. Los personajes son convincentes y realmente evolucionan para bien o para mal. Lo senti mas intenso que el anterior que recuerdo con cariño, volvi a estar en esa epoca. No podia dejar de leerlo me saco varias emociones. Que buen escritor es Ken Follet.