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World Without End | 
 enlarge | Manufacturer: Dutton
Category: EBooks
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $12.01 (55%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  395 reviews
Sales Rank: 51
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1024
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
ASIN: B000W93CHC
Publication Date: October 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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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. 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 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."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 390 more reviews...
 Why did it have to end? Great book! September 28, 2008
Having read "The Pillars of the Earth" earlier this year, I didn't wait long to pick up this volume. The first three hundred pages were very reminiscent of the first book, but then it came into its own. Contrary to the few reviewers on this site who panned the book as dull and its characters as poorly developed, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. In fact, this 60 year old college professor was very sad when the book ended. I felt like I had lived the main characters lives with them and that I knew them like friends or relatives. Yes, Follett inserted many anachronisms in speech and sensibility. But the book makes you realize the humanity of those who lived in those days and the constraints they lived under. The two main characters - Merthin and Caris - are very unusual in their times. However, that makes them stand out in as individuals. Most of their peers believed in spirits and potions. The medieval doctors in the book believed in humors and bleeding, beliefs that lasted into the 18th century. But there must have been many skeptics during this century, like the two protagonists. To follow up on the novel, I'm re-reading Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," written later in the 14th century in which "World Without End" takes place. The number of lecherous monks, adulterous wives and libidinous episodes is rather high in Chaucer. The sophistication of the people narrating Chaucers "Tales" correlates well with the advanced consciousness of Follett's characters. But Follett is writing in the 21st century, for us. His novel speaks to us and is not intended to be limited to what was current thinking in 1360. He is a great storyteller. If you can't enjoy this book, I feel sorry for you.
A great step back in time September 14, 2008
After reading Pillars of The Earth and enjoying it immensely, I had to buy Mr. Follets second offering. I truly liked how the first book laid flat while reading it. The second book, after a couple hundred pages also has this nice feature, even though it is a hard cover and over 1000 pages.
It is amazing to me that the human race has continued when you read how they only bathed once a year. I felt the dialogue was more current for now than that time. It keeps you interested in how the various characters will survive the latest mishap and what will eventually do them in. A good read all the way.
Cannot stop reading September 12, 2008
I have just read about 100 pages and I cannot stop reading... utterly amazing and advisable...
Received Promptly September 11, 2008
Received promptly, in great condition, packaged well. Thank you. Am still reading last book bought on Amazon.com.
 My wife loved it September 10, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Could not read more than one hundred pages. The prose is extremely dull and the plot very dry, very black and white, lack of depth in characters.
My wife loved it. Tore through its substantial pages in three days. I'm not equipped to judge it on my limited (and annoyed) experience with it. No doubt, some will love it. Good for them. It's prose, yes, but it's ugly prose. Like staring at a deformed baby and wishing its mother (author) would have loved it enough to have provided the surgery (revision) necessary before parading it through the city square. Dig it?
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