World Without End - Ken Follett

World Without End

By Ken Follett

  • Release Date: 2007-10-09
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 2,727 Ratings

Description

#1 New York Times Bestseller

In 1989, Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected.

World Without End is its equally irresistible sequel—set two hundred years after The Pillars of the Earth and three hundred years after the Kingsbridge prequel, The Evening and the Morning.


World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroads of new ideas—about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race—the Black Death. 

Three years in the writing and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End is a "well-researched, beautifully detailed portrait of the late Middle Ages" (The Washington Post) that once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.

Reviews

  • Spell binding!

    5
    By Elizarose247
    Wonderful story telling. Makes you feel like you are there page after page.
  • “World Without End”

    5
    By MerrieDeb
    It’s troubling to realize that, even very very long ago, the religious hierarchy was so greedy and selfish professing it was not human nature but God’s will?
  • World Without End

    4
    By TJEL
    I enjoyed the book, series and history. They are all very long books and reiterate every detail of what happened in the earlier chapters, as if the reader cannot remember anything. Also, Follett uses the empty word “nevertheless” way too many times is throughout the all the series. That was a bit annoying.
  • Disappointing

    2
    By serpenssapiens
    Story is basically a rehash of Pillars of the Earth and The a evening and the Morning, just set almost 200 years later. New cast of characters are descendants of the old ones, cathedral and bridge needing building/repairs, a priory being poorly run again, monks bickering with monks, monks bickering with builders, builders bickering with builders…Fighting over the same rights and taxes, people getting raped…. Two nuns dressed as boys chasing the English army in France to complain to a bishop about the Prior stealing their money is a stretch of the imagination. I love Ken Follett’s books so to see such an unimaginative story and falling prey to the curse of so many series by being formulaic is so very disappointing.
  • World without end.

    2
    By boots saddle
    B.O.R.I.N.G. Far too much domestic blah, blah. Struggled through 50 or so pages and gave up. Save your money.
  • Wonderful series!

    5
    By read1st
    One can really get lost in the story, the history, the setting and time, and the characters! Follet’s covered all bases in Kingbridge!
  • Good

    4
    By krbf11
    It seemed loosely based on the storyline of his first book, and there were lots of character storylines to follow. Regardless, it was incredibly detailed and in depth, and a captivating story at every turn!
  • Great book

    5
    By Kiki088
    Easy to read and super interesting!
  • Another wonderful book...

    5
    By Ptvogelzang
    One more in the series now read, and I've loved each. Fantastic books, and it's incredible how drawn in I get to each book.
  • World Without End

    5
    By LF Girl
    Collet never disappoints, great read.