Pillars of the Earth and World Without End

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » February 15th, 2008, 10:36

I've recently read Pillars of the Earth and am now halfway through reading World Without End by Ken Follett. They're both large books (over 1000 pages) and are set in the 12th and 14th centuries respectively. They're focussed on the life of a Priory in Kingsbridge and the first book is about the building of a Cathedral. Usually I'd not bother with something like this, especially given that the first review on the back cover of the books is from Cosmopolitan, but I've glad I've read them.

The books cover a pretty long period - around 50 years or so each, but they do so quite well. While all the day-to-day stuff is clearly fictional, I'm not sure about the accuracy or otherwise of all the more regional stuff, and the national level stuff is definitely based on fact (Thomas Beckett features in the first book, and the wars that go on through the books were all real too). However, what makes the books interesting is that the characters are portrayed very well and are easy to empathise with, and that the day-to-day life of the people of the time is also portrayed very well. Also, the way in which things such as construction and trade were carried out was very interesting to me, as I believe them to be accurate to the time too and it's a period about which I know very little.

The plots are quite engaging, and I'm finding myself enjoying the books more than I would have initially thought. I usually read stuff like Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Sci-Fi like Alastair Reynolds and Iain M Banks, and Ken Follett made his name writing thriller books such as Eye of the Needle, so these were as much of a break for him as they were for me.

I'm not really sure what to add now in the review, but if you're pondering what to read next, I can heartily recommend picking up Pillars of the Earth and seeing how you get on with it. If anyone else has read either book, I'd like to hear other 5punkers' opinions on them too - but no spoilers on the second book if you please! Or the first one too I suppose.

If you need a bit more persuasion, they use the word cupcake from time to time and there has so far been a lot of sex in the second book.

bomberesque · Post by **bomberesque** » February 15th, 2008, 11:39

ta for the reviews, once I have managed to get through the backlog on my bookshelf (currently going at the pitiful rate of about 1 book every 2 months

) then I might give these a go.

I read a fair bit of Ken Follet years decades ago and rather enjoyed them. My profile over the last 10 years or so is pretty much as you describe yours. Hard SF, Good fantasy, and teh odd contemporary fiction thingy when I'm interested. As such, I really wouldn't have thought to loook up a Ken Follet novel. If he's turned his hand to historical fiction though, then that might be good indeed. He has a good pacy style and, while not "hard" to read not totally mindless either.

The whole historical fiction Genre seems to be the new ghetto that SF writers are heading to, as well as others whoi scretly want to write SF / Fantasy but don't want to be labelled as such. I especially like a lot of alternative history, which when mixed with a bit of SF and fantasy kicks up great sub-genre work like steam-punk or A Secret History.

The stuff that is more reality based, while I've enjoyed it, can get lost a little too much up it's own arse in its own detail (Stevenson's Baroque cycle comes to mind...). I also get a bit confused about which bits are real and which are fiction, which is my own fault for not reading any actual history I suppose. It can lead to having arguments in pubs wheer I realise that the historical point I am trying to make only existed in a world where Babbage's difference engine worked so they never developed silicon wafer tech ... but then real history is pissing boring.

Perhaps they could underline the real bits in historical fiction novels, then I could have a good read and learn something?

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » February 15th, 2008, 11:44

Haha, a brilliant idea. I've always wanted to be able to pick out the factual bits too, but unfortunately it's just not possible in any way other than going and reading up on the actual history in a non-fiction book - which is just what I plan to do at the end of this book.

I like your points about the different genres too, and was thinking similar things when writing the review. These two books are a bit like space-opera for the dark ages.

Post by **HereComesPete** » February 15th, 2008, 18:00

Unfortunately for my wallet, when I buy books we get on very well. I re-bought a couple of old discworlds I'd lost just the other day, then read them both between 9 and 4 the next morning. I tried to put them down but it was too hard. (twss) Now I'm £14 pound poorer and back to re-reading the stuff that Anham put together in his e-book collection.

bomberesque · Post by **bomberesque** » February 15th, 2008, 18:16

I got lucky on that front 10 years ago ... I started sharing a flat with a big fat hairy bastard who, while not playing video games or looking at internet Pr0n (he was somewhat of a pioneer) read more books than I could shake a stick at and didn't covet them once finished. He also had the same tastes in books as me so I spent the next few years reading the best of what he had finished.

then he moved to Australia so now I have to buy my own books