Ken Follett - World Without End

Review by Ro Bennett on show 25th November 2010
World Without End by Ken Follett

I have just finished watching the TV series Pillars of The Earth which is an adaptation of Ken Follett’s best seller from 1989 and I remembered that I had bought the sequel World Without End so decided to read that.

Pillars of the Earth is basically about the building of a cathedral in the 12th century and is a gripping story that I thoroughly enjoyed - though I wasn’t keen on the graphic violence and sexual content in either book, however they are depicting very unsettled and brutal times.

Like Pillars of the Earth, World Without End is set in the fictional Wiltshire Cathedral city of Kingsbridge, but it is now 200 years later, between 1327 and 1361. The cathedral’s structure is collapsing and the main mason and architect involved in the rebuilding is Merthin, the son of a soldier who just happens to be a descendant of Tom the Builder who who began the building of the cathedral in the first book.

There are many similarities - in Pillars of The Earth there is intrigue and mystery surrounding the father of Jack the builder and in this book there is a hidden scroll which contains a dangerous secret. The hiding place is known only by Merthin and a monk who was a former knight. Despite being 200 years later, life is still precarious, unpredictable and brutal. The book is riddled with intrigue, treachery, injustice, horrendous punishments, corruption and superstition, and to top it all the Plague - the Black Death strikes in 1347.

World without End is very informative about what life was like in that era - and like the Pillars of the Earth it has inspired me to research the history of the time on the Internet. Nothing has particularly motivated me to explore life in the middle ages up until now so I’m finding it very interesting.

I haven’t finished the book yet, there are 1058 pages - but I am enjoying it very much so far. I was drawn into the story right from the start and find it a page turner and can’t wait to get back to it.

Talking about the length of the book, one review commented, ‘Weighing in at 2.6 pounds and lasting 1024 pages, World without End could double as a doorstop.My husband immediately started calling it Book without End.’

Another wrote: ‘Assuming you can pick the novel up, you won’t be able to put it down’

I got the best of both worlds - I bought the e book!

Ro Bennett