World Without End

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 45 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in 12th-century England that centered on the building of a cathedral and the men, women, and children whose lives it changed forever. Critics were overwhelmed, and readers and listeners ever since have hoped for a sequel.

At last, here it is. Although the two novels may be listened to in any order, 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.

Three years in the writing, World Without End once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.

Listen to The Pillars of the Earth.

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

Critic reviews

"Fans of Follett's previous medieval epic will be well rewarded." (Publishers Weekly)

Long listen, but very very good.

Would you listen to World Without End again? Why?

yes, I would listen again in several months. There are a lot of charecters in the book, it would be nice to visit them again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of World Without End?

when Wolfrick realized that Gweneth was a good mate for him.

Which scene was your favorite?

The last scene was my favorite...but man, it took a long time to get there!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When that dang Ralph finally met justice...it took a long time to get there, too.

copied from CDs

Audible failed to edit all of the "end of disk ..." statements from the recording. Otherwise a very good book.

Amazing book, but digitized copy has a major flaw

This is an amazing book, so well written and performed as to merit 5 star reviews all around. Except....

When they created the digital download version our beloved Audible provides, it did not remove any "End of Disc X" references. And so regularly throughout the book you are regularly disturbed by these comments which has such a negative effect on the experience.

Please, Audible, fix this file!

Another solid Novel

What other book might you compare World Without End to and why?

It is very much in the same style as Pillars of the Earth. Generally I felt that it was not quite as good, but still one the best audio books I have heard. Initially it was difficult to keep track of the characters but after the initial portions I was able to get engrossed in the story.

What about John Lee???s performance did you like?

Everything. He is easily in my top 3 narrators. Have picked books just because he is the narrator.

Any additional comments?

Well worth the adventure. I have considered listening to it a second time, even though it is a large investment in time. This is something I almost never do.

Terrific

Loved every minute.A long and wonderful tale.

Capturing throughout!

The story is great, complex and evolves naturally.
The narration is very good, paced and helping for picturing the situations on one's mind.

Excellent story and narration

As with the first in the series, book 2 World Without End is excellent with multiple interconnecting and interesting storylines, deep detail, and well defined characters. Amazing! However with only a little over 4 hours left on the book I had to walk away from it for about a week. Until then I had been listening every chance I got. So good was the writing that I had become immersed in all the worries the nonstop problems and intrigues! When I finally got back to it I throughly enjoyed the ending. It’s so well written with excellent narration. As a side note, many male narrators produce female voices that are, to me, unconvincing and sometimes cringe worthy. John Lee did a great job with all the characters
Bravo!

Rich Tapestry

Follet weaves the lives of each level of society into a colorful, riveting tale that makes the reader want to start all over again as soon as the book is finished. The details of medieval life, medicine, and technology are equally fascinating.

Sorry to have it end.

The characters are so real that I will miss them now that the book has ended. Wonderful story. Nothing more.

A Fantastic Sequel

If you've read Pillars of the Earth, then you know to expect great things from this book. I read Pillars of the Earth before joining Audible, and if you haven't read "Pillars" then stop right now and do so. It would be a shame to miss such a powerfully written book. Wanting to read the sequel, I purchased World Without End from Audible and gave it a listen. I was hooked from the first chapter. The reader has a wonderful british accent which helps transport you to the thirteenth century England, where you will live for quite a while. The characters and the story help you understand how this primitive society functions, revealing a tremendous amount of research. This is a long book, so you definitely get your money's worth. I thought I heard the ending a couple of times, but the story kept on going. I wondered why Ken Follett would go on with the book when there were perfectly good endings earlier, and it seemed like he was jumping through the years from ending to ending until the story finally ended. I'm glad he did keep going. The final ending was much better than the "earlier" ones I thought closed the story nicely. Perhaps he did end the book earlier, but kept getting better ideas and added them on until the last one. (Perhaps it was just my current mental exhaustion of finishing my own novel.) Anyway, this book was definitely one of the best I have listened to on Audible. The ending is superb.