World Without End

Kingsbridge, Book 2

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 45 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

The historical saga that has enthralled millions of fans, Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series continues with World Without End.

On the day after Halloween, in the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. They are a thief, a bully, a boy genius and a girl who wants to be a doctor. In the forest they see two men killed.

As adults, their lives will be braided together by ambition, love, greed and revenge. They will see prosperity and famine, plague and war. One boy will travel the world but come home in the end; the other will be a powerful, corrupt nobleman. One girl will defy the might of the medieval church; the other will pursue an impossible love. And always they will live under the long shadow of the unexplained killing they witnessed on that fateful childhood day.

Ken Follett’s masterful epic The Pillars of the Earth enchanted millions of readers with its compelling drama of war, passion and family conflict set around the building of a cathedral. World Without End takes readers to medieval Kingsbridge two centuries later, as the men, women and children of the city once again grapple with the devastating sweep of historical change.

World Without End is followed by the third of Ken Follett's Kingsbridge novels, A Column of Fire.

©2007 Ken Follett (P)2007 Penguin US

Great listening, I love historical fiction

Where does World Without End rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I haven't listened to too many audio books at this stage but I found it very enjoyable.
Well narrated and fast paced.

Excellent

I feel as if I have been on a journey. Wow. Absolutely a whirlwind into a time in a plague in 1350. Over six hundred years ago.

Amazing Characters. Great plots. Great detailed description of the medieval period. very engaging.

Amazing prequal to Pillars of the earth. pillars of the earth was a 10 /10. I would give this one an 8/10.

As always there are amazing plot. Great descriptive emphasis on the characters, the medieval time period, and accurate historic reference.

I also enjoyed the detailed description of the evolution in medicine that was used during that time and various reference a to recovery of remedies.

This is a master peice.

Nearly as good as Pillars

After listening to Pillars of the Earth (POE) I was avid to listen to this one. I think John Lee's narration is better in World Without End (WWE), his voice seemed more relaxed. I've read reviews of it elsewhere and these expressed a strong theme of the story being more like a soap opera, and objections to the frequent description of sex scenes, rape, violence etc. I can't say I agree with either of these criticisms, though I do agree that there is more of the latter in this book than in the previous one. There also seems to be more talking/scheming behind closed doors - I've interpreted this as a reflection of the changed times, after all, the book is set 200 years later and I'm sure that the level of fear about 'sinning' may have become more conscious, thus more verbalised than in POE. Further, the motivation toward accumulation of wealth and the justification for this (added to the growing distrust for the church) would mean that the scheming/scamming could be less 'secret' than 200 years beforehand. Anyway, all criticisms aside, I loved this book, just as I loved the previous one and I highly recommend it - particularly to those who have an interest in medieval history - it brings the period alive. Follett has a very candid and realistic approach to human nature; if you like that approach then this is the book for you!

John Lee does a great job

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. The performance is excellent and the plot is engaging. Maybe this novel doesn't shine like Pillars of the Earth, but it's worthwhile to read it,

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

Its predecessor, "Pillars of the Earth". Same pacing, same kind of characters with motivations and psychological background.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

The women in general. Gwenda, Caris, Lady Philippa, the abbess... he has a certain skill to make them alive and real while his voice is definitely male.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"What Real Aristocracy Is", or something of the kind. One of the themes is the downfall of aristocrats and peasants, the ascendancy of some and the despair of others. Ralph has his own notion of what being an aristocrat is, his brother Merthin another. It's interesting to see the "new" mentality develop (and we are still struggling today with this idea that there's a "divine" right to something... people would not acknowledge this, but they behave like Ralph most of the time).

Any additional comments?

Great performance by John Lee. A must if into Ken Follett or historical novels.

Pillars of the Earth Part 2

A great job of delivery from John Lee, brings the depth of characters to life. This is set 200 years after Pillars, but it is not necessary to have read Pillars as it is not much of a tie in. I love longer stories, but only if they can keep you engrossed, and this did. I preferred Pillars,but would still recommend this to anyone who enjoys period dramas.

What a ride!

A delightfully complex adventure, spanning decades and fates of many people, with interesting details from middle age society and its way of living. Ken Follet has a way with words in describing the past that is very vivid. I realized recently that although I read his Pillars of the earth many years ago and deemed its storyline too black and white and stereotypical, I still didn't forget the feeling of living in those long gone times through his storytelling. That's why I decided to give a second book in his Kingsbridge series a go, and I wasn't disappointed, it's even better than the first one. And the narrator is marvelous ❤️

Epic tale

Would you consider the audio edition of World Without End to be better than the print version?

I have never read the print version so unable to comment on a comparison.

What did you like best about this story?

Never a boring moment, fast paced.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, John is a great performer, specially in this and Pillars of the Earth.

Any additional comments?

Do yourself a favour and listen to this and Pillars Of The Earth!

Good Sequel To Pillars

While this book isn't quite as good as Pillars of the Earth I would still recommend it. It follows a similar format to Pillars, in that in chronicles the lives of well developed characters over a long span of time. Very well narrated and worth the long listen. For those who haven't read Pillars of the Earth, do that before reading World Without End.

A favourite

I loved this book when I read it and even more now listening to it. John Lee is the perfect narrator to bring to life the saga of the Kingsbridge community. I enjoy Ken Follet but this has to be one of my favourite - a true masterpiece!