• The Pillars of the Earth

  • By: Ken Follett
  • Narrated by: John Lee
  • Length: 40 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (34,702 ratings)

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The Pillars of the Earth  By  cover art

The Pillars of the Earth

By: Ken Follett
Narrated by: John Lee
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Publisher's summary

The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known...of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul...of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame...and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.

A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of 12th century England, this is Ken Follett's historical masterpiece.

©1989 Ken Follett (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.

Critic reviews

"Follett is a master." (The Washington Post)

"A historical novel of gripping readability, authentic atmosphere and detail and memorable characterization." (Publishers Weekly)

Featured Article: The Best Historical Fiction Audiobooks


Often based on real people, events, and scenarios, historical fiction gives us the opportunity to learn about worlds and times we will never experience while introducing fascinating characters and stories set in their midst. Sometimes, the genre can even give us a peek into hidden storylines that routinely go unmentioned in traditional history books, showing us that those of ages past are perhaps not so different from ourselves.

What listeners say about The Pillars of the Earth

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing and captivating

The storyline is captivating, and the narration is magnificent! Horrifying and satisfying characters and plot.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great except the romance and other sex.

A bit rambling at times, but I was fine with that because the strength of the story is the vivid historical detail. The plot was secondary, but also good.
I'd be unlikely to recommend the book or author, however, based on the sex and romance. the romance is unrealistic in my opinion and there are some thoughts and sex acts that come off as wanton and voyeuristic.

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Brilliant

I would not have chosen it based on the description but once it started, I couldn’t put it down. I never wanted it to end

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Escape the Commute

The content and performance helped me escape reality and my hour commute to work. I felt a connection with both the heroes and villians.

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an absolute masterpiece

follets pillars of the earth is one of the best novels every written. I first read it nearly 30 years ago and loved it then and listening to the story again was great, although I do wonder why prior Philip has a German accent.

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  • 07-17-08

Probably my favorite book of all time

compelling, wide reaching, historical, excellent narration. couldn't put it down. John Lee provides a variety of voices and accents for different characters and the book itself does an amazing job providing historical context for the lifestyles of the time. Sure, the characters are more or less good or bad, but they all have various levels of depth and interest. I've listened to this book 4 times in the past 6 years and every time I absolutely love it.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

J ust as good as the first time. love John Lees narration and integration with history.

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Pillars

very interesting. Ending came out as I hoped. Good story and kept me wondering what would happen.

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A Must Read

This was a wonderful book. It kept me listening and intrigued. It was hard for me to focus on anything else.

The narrator was incredible. He was such a talented performer.

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A true page Turner!

I loved this book. I could not wait to hear more. many plot twist along the way. every time you thought the good guys would win something eventually came along to destroy it.

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