Book Review

Pillars Of The Earth was my first exposure to Ken Follet and I enjoyed it immensely. World Without End follows the same template in that it is an epic that takes place over a lifetime, in medieval times with a multitude of characters, both good and evil, who overcome obstacles and try to make the best of their lives. The world, if a bit black and white, is described in an engrossing way with a strong fascination for carpentry and building techniques.

Often, I found myself skipping ahead to check on the health situation of various characters, a clear sign that I had become hooked to the book.

Unfortunately, World Without End is not perfect and doesn't quite reach Pillars of The Earth, in my mind.

One thing I found annoying while reading was the constant recouping of what had happened before, through thoughts of whatever character was being described, as if I had forgotten. I started noticing this about halfway through the book and from then on it got worse and worse. At 1200+ pages, this may be a long book, but this constant recollection of previous events took me out of the narrative and simply became too obvious, obstructing and extremely annoying, as I started noticing every little hint to previous events.

Another problem with the book is that a few characters are sacrificed for the sake of making the book more exciting, meaning that their actions, behavior and change of personality is never explained in a convincing way. This makes them feel more like plot devices than fully fleshed out characters. I'm specifically talking about Godwyn's change of personality during the book, but there are other, minor characters whose behavior is not completely convincing.

In spite of these problems I still enjoyed World Without End tremendously, as I was swept away in the Medieval setting in a grand way.




Written By Steen
Online: Wednesday, December 9, 2015

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