Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Eddyz Aquila · Mar 1, 2011

By Ken Follett.

I'm surprised there's no thread on this, considering it got rave reviews and a huge number of copies sold (the jacket boasts 18 million copies), and a TV series on it too.

How many of you here have read it? Did you enjoy it?

I for one did enjoy it. The story in itself is absolutely brilliant, I loved it. Characters are somewhat one dimensional but the story just makes you immerse yourself in the brutal medieval world.

Ineti · Mar 1, 2011

I read it about a month ago, after watching the miniseries. I thought it was a good read, up to about the last 100 pages or so. I thought the ending involving Thomas Becket felt out of place with the rest of the story.

But, great attention to period details. It'd certainly be a good place to start researching if someone wanted to write a story with medieval trappings.

Izz · Mar 1, 2011

Yep, greatly enjoyed it. He really made the world come alive in a way i'd never seen him do before in one of his thrillers. You could tell he loved writing the story.

Unfortunately, i found the sequel, World Without End, disappointing. Not bad, just nowhere near as good as Pillars. But that's probably just me.

NoGuessing · Mar 1, 2011

Pillars was brilliant, but I always felt the sequel was different character names, much the same story in many parts. I still enjoyed it though.

Sai · Mar 3, 2011

I loved Pillars of the Earth. While I don't think the sequel is as good I still really liked it, mainly because Caris was an awesome character and all of the plague sub-plots were really gripping. But otherwise the events in the second book kind of blend together with the first one in my mind.

bethany · Mar 3, 2011

Loved it. I read it years ago, before I went to Europe. Certainly made me appreciate the cathedrals. Liked the mini-series, though it was good, but not great.

Esmeralda · Mar 5, 2011

I'm always amazed at how many of us love the first book, but not the second.
Reminds me to make my sequel better than the first!

And yes, I loved Pillars, but only read 1/2 the sequel. Got bored with the same old, same old.

screenscope · Mar 5, 2011

Loved Pillars and the sequel, although it didn't quite carry the same impact. I thought the mini-series was superb also.

I'm just about to start Follett's Fall of Giants, the first part of a new epic trilogy.

Eddyz Aquila · Mar 6, 2011

I read it once again and I'm a bit daunted by I love his showing skills. They're brilliant, and a great guide for any aspiring writer.

And the second read reinforced my idea - the characters are flat. They're solely focused on one, maybe two things. Take Waleran for example - he's being portrayed as a schemer and strong character when it fact he's probably the weakest. Even more, I find William more intriguing because the author spent more time on William than everyone else.

And he had way too much fun writing those erotic passages

lol

gothicangel · Mar 6, 2011

I actually bought this while the mini-series was on. Still sitting on my to-read-pile. Think I'll wait until my course finishes.

RickN · Mar 8, 2011

This ranks in my top 20. I enjoyed the sequel, but I was totally captivated by Pillars.

I also enjoyed the miniseries.

grandmastertuck · Mar 23, 2011

ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. Reminded me of Monsoon by Wilbur Smith. Especially that whole generation-after-generation epic storytelling. Fantastic book, one of Follett's best, in my opinion. His follow up wasn't nearly as good, but still decent. I rank this in my top ten books.

Eddyz Aquila · Mar 27, 2011

Nah, the sequel didn't keep me that hooked. It was good, and a very good exercise in showing, but not as good as Pillars of the Earth. It was quite rehashed in some parts and the characters felt the exact copies with a different name from Pillars.

Nevertheless, good read as always.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Eddyz Aquila

Noob Writers United

Ineti

Purveyor of Prose

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

NoGuessing

Buzz

Sai

Book lover/Spy

bethany

:)

Esmeralda

Snowman...on the job

screenscope

Eddyz Aquila

Noob Writers United

gothicangel

Toughen up.

RickN

grandmastertuck

Slightly misanthropic troll

Eddyz Aquila

Noob Writers United