Edge of Eternity

The Century Trilogy, Book 3

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 36 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Edge of Eternity is the sweeping, passionate conclusion to Ken Follett's extraordinary historical epic, The Century Trilogy.

Throughout these books, Follett has followed the fortunes of five intertwined families - American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh - as they make their way through the twentieth century. Now they come to one of the most tumultuous eras of all: the enormous social, political, and economic turmoil of the 1960s through the 1980s, from civil rights, assassinations, mass political movements and Vietnam to the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, presidential impeachment, revolution - and rock and roll.

East German teacher Rebecca Hoffman discovers she's been spied on by the Stasi for years and commits an impulsive act that will affect her family for the rest of their lives. George Jakes, the child of a mixed-race couple, bypasses a corporate law career to join Robert F. Kennedy's Justice Department, and finds himself in the middle not only of the seminal events of the civil rights battle, but a much more personal battle of his own. Cameron Dewar, the grandson of a senator, jumps at the chance to do some official and unofficial espionage for a cause he believes in, only to discover that the world is a much more dangerous place than he'd imagined. Dimka Dvorkin, a young aide to Nikita Khrushchev, becomes a prime agent both for good and for ill as the United States and the Soviet Union race to the brink of nuclear war, while his twin sister, Tania, carves out a role that will take her from Moscow to Cuba to Prague to Warsaw - and into history.

As always with Follett, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. With the hand of a master, he brings us into a world we thought we knew but now will never seem the same again.

©2014 Ken Follett (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"[Follett] is a commanding storyteller who has taken on an impossibly large task and accomplished it with passion, intelligence, and skill. Like its predecessors, Edge of Eternity is a solid, rigorously researched work of popular fiction. It's an honest entertainment that brings back vivid, sometimes painful, memories of the not-too-distant past." (The Washington Post)

"Edge of Eternity is as compulsively readable a mighty page-turner as its two predecessors." (The Seattle Times)

"Hugely ambitious, the trilogy serves as a massive history lesson as well as an example of good, old-fashioned storytelling." (The New York Daily News)

I enjoyed this book but...........................

If you could sum up Edge of Eternity in three words, what would they be?

long but interesting

What did you like best about this story?

The continuity with the first two books. I think it would be better to listen without waiting a year or so, however.

Would you listen to another book narrated by John Lee?

Yes but he has limitations. He has a wonderful voice and was great with World Without End but he can't really do voices well other than his own.

If you could rename Edge of Eternity, what would you call it?

the 1960 story.

Any additional comments?

I hope there is not a book 4 even though I thought this book was ok.

an hitorical novel lived

What did you love best about Edge of Eternity?

At the age of 71, I recall most of the historical moments and found myself welling up with tears as I relived the emotional periods: the assassinations,the basttles fought, the elections, the days Berlin wall went up & came down, and Obama assumed office.

What other book might you compare Edge of Eternity to and why?

Follett's series has carried me along

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

George Jakes, I admired his characther throughout, sexist though he was--he changed as he matured.

If you could rename Edge of Eternity, what would you call it?

--title prefect:)

Any additional comments?

Thought I disagree with his one-sided view of the Vietnam conflict and its outcome, and though the times are necissarily compressed and his characters somewhat predictable, Ken Follett has created an historical fiction of depth & breadth worth reading.

Biased revisionist history

I read all three of these books the character development is excellent the ability to cover many historical events with all the intertwined families is an ingenious idea but the closer the story comes to the current day the more obvious the blatant bias and revisionism becomes.

Wonderful

I was spellbound by the series. John Lee is an incredibly gifted narrator. I was satisfied with the symmetric ending despite wishing it did not have to end.

Worth the many hours of listening

Gripping story and fantastic end to the trilogy. I will miss these characters! John Lee is a phenomenal narrator.

Amazing

Just finished the third book of the trilogy. This saga was the best fiction read in a a while. Learned a lot of new things, cried and smiles with the characters. Absolutely beautiful.

A MUST READ

This book, in fact, the entire trilogy is something every citizen of the world should read or listen to! Thought provoking, enlightening, and disturbing, yet highly entertaining and bcc as story you never want to put down.
I wish there was another one!

On the three novels from the early 1900s to 1989

Bravo! The three novels are a glorious march through tragedy, turmoil, and finally triumph in the 20th century Europe and America. Several generations of several families' lives interact to create a rich historical fabric. The characters are well developed, with the strengths and flaws of real people. The story flows from history, moving forward as separate historical streams converge into the flowing river of time. John Lee does a magnificent job of narrating, though at times his American accents are a little bit off. Nevertheless, he adds color to the characters, and makes them more convincingly real.

This is another great example of audio, in many cases, trumping print. It was well worth the dozens hours I spent listening.

Epic story

Just loved listening to every hour of this book and the previous two in the trilogy. It was educational, entertaining and emotional. I cried real tears and felt joy and fear for the characters as they navigated the most incredible events of the 20th century. A truly inspiring book.

Excellent end for a great trilogy

Ken Follett is a outstanding storyteller and combined with the great Jonh Lee's performance make the story flow easily. Historic events and amazing fiction characters, both in one storyline.