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A Column of Fire
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 30 hrs and 19 mins
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Publisher's summary
Number-one New York Times best-seller.
“Absorbing...impossible to resist.” (The Washington Post)
As Europe erupts, can one young spy protect his queen? Number-one New York Times best-selling author Ken Follett takes us deep into the treacherous world of powerful monarchs, intrigue, murder, and treason with his magnificent new epic, A Column of Fire.
A thrilling listen that makes the perfect gift for the holidays.
In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash, testing friendship, loyalty, and love.
Ned Willard wants nothing more than to marry Margery Fitzgerald. But when the lovers find themselves on opposing sides of the religious conflict dividing the country, Ned goes to work for Princess Elizabeth. When she becomes queen, all Europe turns against England. The shrewd, determined young monarch sets up the country's first secret service to give her early warning of assassination plots, rebellions, and invasion plans. Over a turbulent half century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. Elizabeth clings to her throne and her principles, protected by a small, dedicated group of resourceful spies and courageous secret agents.
The real enemies, then as now, are not the rival religions. The true battle pitches those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else - no matter what the cost.
Set during one of the most turbulent and revolutionary times in history, A Column of Fire is one of Follett's most exciting and ambitious works yet. It will delight longtime fans of the Kingsbridge series and is the perfect introduction for listeners new to Ken Follett.
Critic reviews
“Deeply researched...compelling.... A Column of Fire is absorbing, painlessly educational, and a great deal of fun.” (The Washington Post)
“Follett’s historical epics, including this one, evoke the Romantic adventures of Alexandre Dumas. Derring-do and double-crosses.... A Column of Fire burns bright throughout.” (The Christian Science Monitor)
“An immersive journey through the tumultuous world of 16th century Europe and some of the bloodiest religious wars in history. Follett’s sprawling novel is a fine mix of heart-pounding drama and erudite historicism.” (Publishers Weekly)
Featured Article: The Best British Narrators
If you're looking for an audiobook in an accent, check out these listens from our favorite British narrators. Authenticity is something many listeners value in their audiobook experiences, and that often boils down to narration style and accents. Although so many audiobooks are narrated by many talented actors with wide ranges, sometimes it's just nice to listen to an audiobook performed by someone in their native accent. If you're searching for the best British narrators, look no further. We’ve done the tough job of picking just ten of our favorite British narrators that you'll love listening to.
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By: Guy Gavriel Kay
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To Shield the Queen
- By: Fiona Buckley
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Rumor has linked Queen Elizabeth I to her master of the horse, Robin Dudley. As gossip would have it, only his ailing wife, Amy, prevents marriage between Dudley and the Queen. To quell the idle tongues at court, the Queen dispatches Ursula Blanchard to tend to the sick woman's needs. But not even Ursula can prevent the "accident" that takes Amy's life. Did she fall or was she pushed? Was Ursula a pawn of Dudley and the Queen?
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Fun and engrossing
- By SophieG on 05-31-10
By: Fiona Buckley
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Wolfblade
- Hythryn Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Jennifer Fallon
- Narrated by: Maggie Mash
- Length: 25 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Marla Wolfblade of Hythria is determined to restore her family's great name, but conspirators surround her: The Sorcerers' Collective, the Patriots - even members of her own family. She must make sure her son Damin lives to be old enough to restore the Wolfblade name to its former glory. Elezaar the Dwarf is a small man with big secrets - but that doesn't matter to Marla Wolfblade. Her brother is the High Prince of Hythria, and, in this fiercely patriarchal society, her fate will be decided on his whim.
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unless you enjoy pedophiles and child molesters..
- By Cheri on 11-11-14
By: Jennifer Fallon
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The Queen's Bastard
- A Novel of Elizabeth I and Arthur Dudley
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Historians have long whispered that Elizabeth "the Virgin Queen's" passionate, lifelong affair with Robin Dudley, Earl of Leicester, may have led to the birth of a son, Arthur Dudley. In this exquisite sequel to The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, Robin Maxwell fashions a stunning fictional account of the child switched at birth by a lady-in-waiting who foresaw the deleterious political consequences of a royal bastard.
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Story? what Story?
- By A User on 06-08-13
By: Robin Maxwell
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The Day of Atonement
- By: David Liss
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Lisbon, 1755: A distinguished-looking gentleman emerges from the bowels of a ship freshly arrived from London, and sets into the city with a singular purpose. This is Sebastian Foxx, born SebastiAo Raposa, and his parents were abducted by the Inquisition when Sebastian was just 13 years old.
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Action packed adventure in an unusual setting
- By Jean on 11-29-14
By: David Liss
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A Place of Greater Safety
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 33 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1789, and three young provincials have come to Paris to make their way. Georges-Jacques Danton, an ambitious young lawyer, is energetic, pragmatic, debt-ridden - and hugely but erotically ugly. Maximilien Robespierre, also a lawyer, is slight, diligent, and terrified of violence. His dearest friend, Camille Desmoulins, is a conspirator and pamphleteer of genius. A charming gadfly, erratic and untrustworthy, bisexual and beautiful, Camille is obsessed by one woman and engaged to marry another, her daughter.
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Disaster
- By Frank Dudley Berry Jr. on 08-01-13
By: Hilary Mantel
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Russka
- The Novel of Russia
- By: Edward Rutherfurd
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 39 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Russka is the story of four families who are divided by ethnicity but united in shaping the destiny of Russia. From a single riverside village situated at one of the country’s geographic crossroads, Russia’s Slav peasant origins are influenced by the Greco-Iranian, Khazar, Jewish, and Mongol invasions. Unified by this one place, the many cultures blend to form a rich and varied tapestry. Rutherfurd’s grand saga is as multifaceted as Russia itself.
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Wonderful Historical Novel
- By Angelyn S. Furst on 10-22-12
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The King's Return
- By: Andrew Swanston
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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The king's coronation brings hope. Until a murderer strikes. Spring 1661: After years of civil war followed by Oliver Cromwell's joyless rule as Lord Protector, England awaits the coronation of King Charles II. The mood in London is one of relief and hope for a better future. But when two respectable gentlemen are found in a foul lane with their throats cut, it becomes apparent that England's enemies are using the newly re-established post office for their own ends.
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More please
- By tara souther on 12-22-22
By: Andrew Swanston
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The Agincourt Bride
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Catherine Harvey
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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When her own first child is tragically still-born, the young Mette is pressed into service as a wet-nurse at the court of the mad king, Charles VI of France. Her young charge is the princess, Catherine de Valois, caught up in the turbulence and chaos of life at court. Mette and the child forge a bond, one that transcends Mette’s lowly position. But as Catherine approaches womanhood, her unique position seals her fate as a pawn between two powerful dynasties.
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Disappointing
- By Michelle on 02-16-13
By: Joanna Hickson
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In the Name of the Family
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Dunant
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics.
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One of the best historical fiction novels
- By GrandmaNurseHeather on 04-13-17
By: Sarah Dunant
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Push Not the River
- By: James Conroyd Martin
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700's - a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known.
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Save your time; buy something else.
- By AMS on 10-22-15
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First of the Tudors
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Tom Clegg, Non Haf
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Jasper Tudor, son of Queen Catherine and her second husband, Owen Tudor, has grown up far from the intrigue of the royal court. But after he and his brother Edmund are summoned to London, their half brother, King Henry VI, takes a keen interest in their future. Bestowing earldoms on them both, Henry also gives them the wardship of the young heiress Margaret Beaufort. Although she is still a child, Jasper becomes devoted to her and is devastated when Henry arranges her betrothal to Edmund.
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War of the Roses, Again
- By Laurel on 03-27-17
By: Joanna Hickson
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Loved it and learned alot.
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makes me want my money back
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Fun Listen
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A man wakes to find himself lying on the ground in a railway station. He does not remember how he got there. He has forgotten where he lives. He cannot even remember his own name.
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Code to Zero
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On Wings of Eagles
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When two of his American employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: American businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, hand-picked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared.
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Was the narrator in a hurry?
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Notre-Dame
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In this short, spellbinding book, international best-selling author Ken Follett describes the emotions that gripped him when he learned about the fire that threatened to destroy one of the greatest cathedrals in the world - the Notre-Dame de Paris. Follett then tells the story of the cathedral, from its construction to the role it has played across time and history, and he reveals the influence that the Notre-Dame had upon cathedrals around the world and on the writing of one of Follett's most famous and beloved novels, The Pillars of the Earth.
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informative
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An Outstanding Spy Novel
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Riveting historical fiction
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Las tinieblas y el alba [The Evening and the Morning]
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El gran maestro de la narrativa de acción y suspense nos transporta al ocaso de una época violenta y brutal y el comienzo de un nuevo tiempo en un monumental y emocionante relato de ambición y rivalidad, nacimiento y muerte, amor y odio.
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buen ritmo, historia poco interesante
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The FBI doesn't believe it. The governor wants the problem to disappear. But Agent Judy Maddox knows the threat is real: an extreme group of ecoterrorists has the means and the know-how to set off a massive earthquake of epic proportions. For California, time is running out. Now Maddox is scrambling to hunt down a petty criminal turned cult leader turned homicidal mastermind. Because she knows that the dying has already begun.
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A Change In Time and Naive Revenge
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By: Ken Follett
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Jackdaws
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D-Day is approaching. They don’t know where or when, but the Germans know it’ll be soon, and for Felicity "Flick" Clariet, the stakes have never been higher. A senior agent in the ranks of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) responsible for sabotage, Flick has survived to become one of Britain’s most effective operatives in Northern France. She knows that the Germans’ ability to thwart the Allied attack depends upon their lines of communications, and in the days before the invasion, no target is of greater strategic importance than the largest telephone exchange in Europe.
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Disappointing
- By vxdvxn on 10-25-10
By: Ken Follett
What listeners say about A Column of Fire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- 070316
- 09-13-17
WONDERFUL--As Good as Pillars of the Earth!
Any additional comments?
I bought this book as soon as I woke up this morning--been waiting anxiously for it for weeks! I have been listening all day, I'm about halfway through and am just enjoying it immensely. Ken Follett brings the everyday lives of everyday people in the period to vivid life. Ned and Margery are real to me, as are Carlos, Barney, Father Alfonso the Inquisitor (shudder) and all the others and yay...we even have a stupid brutal thug as the Earl of Shiring. Pillars of the Earth was one of my four favorite books of all time (the others being River God, Polar Star and Sailing to Sarantium). I've read and listened to 'Pillars' at least half a dozen times. I'm certain this book will now be added to that list.John Lee is one of my all-time favorite narrators (the other being Simon Vance). I love his work--I always start out a book narrated by him listening to and enjoying the slight hint of a Sean Connery accent, but then soon forget I'm even hearing a narrator's voice at all, I'm just...there,in the story, a part of the crowd listening to the people talking and watching them as they struggle, fight, love, make mistakes and sometimes, die.One funny little anachronism in this story, totally the fault of the editor, but it made me laugh. King Henry VIII's daughter, Mary, is on the throne. A fanatic Catholic, she is burning Protestants and other heretics by the thousands. Religious 'thought police' are everywhere, ordinary people extremely careful in everything they say and do publicly, for fear their neighbors will inform on them. We see a 15 year old girl, daughter of a book printer of subversive Protestant teachings, in the marketplace, she meets a handsome young man and later thinks of him as a 'dreamboat.' Ummm? Seriously, Mr. or Ms. Editor? Teenaged girls in the 1540s thought of handsome young men as...dreamboats? haha, just made me laugh, but didn't diminish the story for me, at all.If you loved Pillars of the Earth, you will love Column of Fire. That is all.
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- Chip Atkinson
- 10-11-17
Follett is a Master Storyteller
A Column of Fire is set in Kingsbridge shortly after the death of Henry III. His daughter Mary is queen and England's alliance with the Roman Catolic Church has been restored. Thus, the tensions between Protestant and Catholic faiths are seething. Unlike Pillars of the Earth, where few of us if any knew the history of earliest England, there is little mystery or revelation surrounding the actual events of the times. Yet it is Follett's skill at weaving extradorniary characters and stories with historical events that make this book a worthy sequel.
Within moments, he introduces us to a string villains and heroes we are immediately attracted too. There are impending conflicts, the dread of loss and the hope of true love.
Creating characters with religious motivations is remarkably difficult. One has to assume the subject's degree of education, upbringing, sincerity and moral character to make it believable. Follett is great at this. And even today, it is clear that many sincere people of faith often believe, live, teach and manipulate others in direct conflict with their own religion. However, having studied the history of Catholicism in Europe, I do take issue with Folllet's view of Catholicism (and really all of Christianity) history. His disdain for the Catholic faith is impossible to hide.
I bring that up, because even though I personally took issue with his prejudice, A Column of Fire grabbed me from the beginning and kept me riveted till the end.
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- James
- 09-15-17
Just like the first two...
I have no idea how this ended up with such a low score here. It gets a 4.29 on Goodreads right now, and I cannot imagine the low score is John Lee's fault!
If you loved the other two then you will love this one.
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- Simone
- 11-15-17
Should have been a stand-alone instead of Book 3
I am about three quarters of the way into this book, and I don’t need to wait until the end to give my opinion.
Overall I liked it, but I found that there was A LOT more 'tell' than 'show' and although it was interesting, it felt more like a non-fiction historical lesson sprinkled over with a few lively scenes rather than a gripping novel. Long stretches of informative narration and very little dialogue.
In addition, I am not sure why this is considered Book 3 in the series; Kingsbridge makes a cameo appearance in the book but most of the story takes place in Paris. I think linking this book into the series was a disservice because everyone is comparing the books and this one is emerging as the weakest in the trilogy. If it was a stand-alone book, I think the reviews would be stronger… including mine!
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47 people found this helpful
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- Drob631
- 09-30-17
A great epic by a master storyteller
This is a richly detailed historical novel. The narration is excellent. The story is compelling and reveals the brutal depths of the religious conflict in Europe during the 1540’s to the 1600’s. If you are a fan of Ken Follett you will not be disappointed.
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31 people found this helpful
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- Tokeyna
- 09-17-17
I expected more
The first book gripped me right away. I was an instant fan. The violence and cruelty made me dislike the author for all the misfortune and loss the characters suffered at the hands of greedy b@stards.
Pillars made me smile, made me laugh and made me cry. The book was a roller coaster of emotions. I felt like I truly knew and loved these people.
The second book was just as good, but lost a little of the cruelty and detail that made me so horrified by the first. I was peachy with that.
This last book, although also very good, is just not as gripping as the first or second. I love all the little references to the original book, but the evil plots are not near as sinister as before.
If I had read this book first, I would love it even more. It's a fantastic book. The things that made me dislike the author, hate even, in the first book are what made the book so hard to put down. I just wish he could have kept that same momentum going.
I recently read another book series about a time traveling witch and a vampire, that spend some time in the Elizabethen era, and comparing some of the charachters, such as Lord Umberland, some of the spies, and the Queen herself was a fun little bonus!!
That's all, I hope you enjoy the book!
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- James
- 09-30-17
Love Follett, but this wasn’t his best
Similar to the third book in the century series, A Column of Fire is just a bit less entertaining than the previous two of the series. Still worth a listen.
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24 people found this helpful
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- Louis
- 10-02-17
Lots of History
Historical Fiction for me is a way to learn a lot about history without really realizing it. This book achieves this. The history in this book is woven in a great story and is connected by family. This was a violent time and it was developed appropriately. No one was right and all were wrong. I went to catholic school and somehow missed this part of history. I could not put the book down except when I went to the computer to augment what I was listening to.
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- Emily Pulley
- 09-15-17
Maybe his best one yet!
And John Lee is terrific, as always. I loved the creative backstories for familiar events.
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- Tracy Bisbee
- 09-22-17
My favorite author !
A marvelous trilogy but I must admit pillars of the earth is still my all-time favorite! I hope there is a book four that follows Jack to the New World !
( hint hint Mr.Follett ) lol
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