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World Without End | 
 enlarge | Author: Ken Follett
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
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Rating:  429 reviews
Sales Rank: 1733
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1024
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 2.2
ISBN: 0525950079
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780525950073
ASIN: 0525950079
Publication Date: October 9, 2007
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Amazon.com Review
Ken Follett has 90 million readers worldwide. The Pillars of the Earth is his bestselling book of all time. Now, eighteen years after the publication of The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett has written the most-anticipated sequel of the year, World Without End.
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. Critics were overwhelmed--"it will hold you, fascinate you, surround you" (Chicago Tribune)--and readers everywhere hoped for a sequel.
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 crossroad 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 breathes new life into the epic historical novel and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft. Questions for Ken Follett  Amazon.com: What a phenomenon The Pillars of the Earth has become. It was a bestseller when it was published in 1989, but it's only gained in popularity since then--it's the kind of book that people are incredibly passionate about. What has it been like to see it grow an audience like that? Follett: At first I was a little disappointed that Pillars sold not much better than my previous book. Now I think that was because it was a little different and people were not sure how to take it. As the years went by and it became more and more popular, I felt kind of vindicated. And I was very grateful to readers who spread the news by word of mouth. Amazon.com: Pillars was a departure for you from your very successful modern thrillers, and after writing it you returned to thrillers. Did you think you'd ever come back to the medieval period? What brought you to do so after 18 years? Follett: The main reason was the way people talk to me about Pillars. Some readers say, "Its the best book Ive ever read." Others tell me they have read it two or three times. I got to the point where I really had to find out whether I could do that again. Amazon.com: In World Without End you return to Kingsbridge, the same town as the previous book, but two centuries later. What has changed in two hundred years? Follett: In the time of Prior Philip, the monastery was a powerful force for good in medieval society, fostering education and technological advance. Two hundred years later it has become a wealthy and conservative institution that tries to hold back change. This leads to some of the major conflicts in the story. Amazon.com: World Without End features two strong-willed female characters, Caris and Gwenda. What room to maneuver did a medieval English town provide for a woman of ambition? Follett: Medieval people paid lip-service to the idea that women were inferior, but in practice women could be merchants, craftspeople, abbesses, and queens. There were restrictions, but strong women often found ways around them. Amazon.com: When you sit down to imagine yourself into the 14th century, what is the greatest leap of imagination you have to make from our time to theirs? Is there something we can learn from that age that has been lost in our own time? Follett: Its hard to imagine being so dirty. People bathed very rarely, and they must have smelled pretty bad. And what was kissing like in the time before toothpaste was invented?
Product Description
Ken Follett has 90 million readers worldwide. The Pillars of the Earth is his bestselling book of all time. Now, eighteen years after the publication of The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett has written the most anticipated sequel of the year-World Without End.
Unabridged edition read by John Lee
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| Customer Reviews: Read 424 more reviews...
Can't match Pillars... but it's good December 4, 2008
My wife and listened to Pillars of the Earth on a long road trip in March 2008. We were both completely enthralled, and we knew as soon as we finished it that we had to listen to the sequel.
World Without End is read by the same actor, and he is wonderful. Great voices, perfect delivery. I couldn't ask for a better reader.
The story, however, leaves a bit to be desired. The first thing you'll notice is the similarity between the characters (love story between a kind-hearted builder and a rebellious, intelligent woman; a wannabe knight with no conscience; a conniving religious leader taking advantage of his role). Also, the political maneuvering seems to come naturally to most of the characters, which somehow makes the conflicts less interesting (in Pillars, I liked seeing Tom and Philip learn how to work the system in ways that didn't really seem to match their personalities). And, Follett seemed a little more afraid to take risks in this one (there were sections of Pillars that were so bleak they almost made me want to stop reading, but even the plague isn't that bad in World Without End).
Having said all that, it's still very enjoyable. I care about the characters in this book as much (or almost as much) as I did about Tom, Ellen, and Philip. If you haven't read Pillars, don't even think of reading World Without End until you've read that first (not that there's lots of connections; it's just better). But if you have read and enjoyed Pillars, you'll probably like World Without End too.
 WORLD WITHOUT END: Another Great Read! December 1, 2008
WORLD WITHOUT END: Another great read by Ken Follett! A little longer than PILLARS OF THE EARTH, but it, too, left me wanting more. Two hundred years after Prior Philip in Kingsbridge, the characters and conflicts Follett has created rival those in the prequel.
 Midevil Soap Opera December 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
As good as Pillers of the Earth was that's how bad the World Without End is.
It is a real soap opera. The characters are tortured without end in an unrealestic way. As a student of midevil culture I have a insite into the time. His physical discriptions are good but the application of what many of the characters do is unrealistic being that they are either pure evil or good, no gray areas people are not like that.The book is an exact copy of his first book. The characters are the same moved 200 years later and follow the same pattern doing the same things. You can figure out what is going to happen next,it is that obvious. The book is annoyning to read in that the plots and twists are telegraphed so much that it becomes boring.The juvinile sex is even boring.
It is a ashsame that great authors have to surcome to the mighty dollar and because they have a great book they think they can churn out a second with in the same format. Write something new and different. I hate soap operas and that what the book is.
Exciting, rnjoyable historical fiction story. Well written. November 29, 2008
A good follow-up to "Pillars of the Earth".
Very suspenseful story, Really enjoyed this book.
Awesome sequel and worth the wait.... November 28, 2008
I didn't think Ken Follett could follow up The Pillars of the Earth very well, but he proved me wrong. Pillars is still one of the all time greats, but I loved World without End. It had tremendous characters, story lines, people you loved and people you hated....I am a big fan, this one is a winner.....
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