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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN num: 9780525950073
ISBN number: 0525950079
Label: Dutton Adult
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 1024
Printing Date: October 09, 2007
Publishing house: Dutton Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 584
Studio: Dutton Adult
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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
Brief Book Summary:
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 very 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, 'It’s the best book I’ve 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: It’s 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?
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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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.
Rated by buyers 
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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 very 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 very 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 very first one.
Rated by buyers 
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After I read Pillars, I thought to myself, "no I want more," and then I found out, "hey there was more." I think this one might even surpass pillars in the emotional connections the reader makes with the characters. I finished this one in 3 days, KEN FOLLETT GIVE ME MORE!!!!!!!
Rated by buyers -
I simply cannot believe that this was written by Ken Follett. Abortion, murder, sodomy, lesbianism- all involving the members of the town's convent and priory as well as its bishop? A nun, who later becomes prioress, who doesn;t believe in God? Who is allowed to simply be released from her vows after ten or so years, after taking them in the very first place to prevent being burned as a witch? This same nun has an abortion, and an on again, off again affair with her long time love, has an abortion, refuses to marry him on more than one occasion, but won;t allow him to find a wife of his own? The main character's selfishness is simply appalling, even more so in that she is a religious. What anti Catholic drivel. 21st century "moral" standards transported smack dab into the middle of the 14th century. Plot was completely unbelievable and poorly written. Too much nonsense for this to be considered "historical" fiction. Fiction yes, historical, not in this life. Will not read anything by this author again, and I will now endeavor to unload this garbage on ebay. If unsuccessful at that, will simply relegate it to the trash.
Rated by buyers -
I enjoyed Pillars of the earth (POTE) so I got this eagerly.
Pillars had some pretty horrible sex scenes in it, rape, graphic details etc, but the story was good. But World without End is just porn and tedium set in the same universe. Porn, tedium, tragedy x 1111 pages
I wish I hadn't read it, I feel its ruined POTE.
I don't want to read about how semen tastes, enough already!
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