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)

Simply AMAZING!

Although it took a little time to get going compared to the quickness of Pillars of The Earth, this is a far more complex and engrossing story than Pillars...and that is saying a lot because I treasure Pillars as one of my greatest reads! The evil in this book is far more sinister and I absolutely fell in love with the characters. John Lee does such an amazing job of giving each character its own life and he outdoes himself with every passage.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Read Pillars first if you haven't, and once you do GET THIS one as it builds on an already amazing foundation.

Terrific!

Follet breathes life into medieval England with his two books, Pillars Of The Earth, and this one. Halfway through, I am going to be ever so sad when this second book is finished. I wish it could go on forever....
The narrator is so good he makes me forget he's reading. I wish there were more long books by this narrator, I'd follow him anywhere.

Fascinating view of the times

I don’t know how I fit in the time, but getting through this book became a priority in my life. This is a great book! It does a wonderful job of expressing life in that age. The terrors which they regularly faced are just not a part of our lives. It is amazing that humanity survived. This book, as well as Pillars of The Earth, helped me to grow in my appreciation of this.

Living History

Although not a true sequel to Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet does pick up the story in a way that you don't feel you missed much in the couple hundred years he skips over. He brings the times to life in a way that I just loved and kept me entertained for several weeks of driving to work and back. The characters are fully formed and the story winds up the lives of each so that you don't feel cheated - you can easily imagine the rest of their lives.
If you enjoy historical fiction, this is definitely one to read and helps you to fully appreciate the medieval ages - a period that is pretty lightly covered in most history class.

Excellent Listen

I have read and listened to Pillars of the Earth and was completly spellbound by that one. You may find yourself skeptical about your interest in a medevil tale but trust me you will be hooked. World Without End is every bit as riveting as Pillars but I do recommend reading Pillars first for historical perspective on the town of Kingsbridge.

Great Book

I finished Pillars a little over a year ago and immediately wanted to start World Without End. Someone left a nice review recommending some time between listening to each. I gave it a year between them and I'm glad I did. I loved World Without End every bit as much as Pillars, but I think it would have been a little much to listen to them back-to-back. Enjoy!

Excellent Return to Kingsbridge!

It was a wonderful continuation.... although since I listened to both books back to back, it was easy to see that some of the characters in this book were basically very much the same people as some in the first book. Such as William (book 1) and Ralph (book 2)....

But all in all, it was 44 hours well worth the time.

favorite listen

In three years with Audible, having heard dozens of books while stuck in traffic, this Ken Follett series was my alltime favorite listen. The story was gripping and entertaining, the narrator is great and I was enthralled by this book for the entire 50+ hours. Surprisingly, I liked this sequel even better than Pillars of the Earth.

Another Great Historical Novel from Follett

Ken Follett is a great author. I know this because his books suck me in and I can't put them down, even though I can become furious with the evil villains he creates. There was one point in reading this book that I was afraid I would have to stop reading it because of the visceral reaction I had to some of these evil men. I was not a pleasant person to be around for a couple of hours.

This was a long book, as many of Follett's are, and a sequel to Pillars of the Earth. However, these two are really stand-alone novels. This one refers to characters in the first book and it takes place in the same village, but had I not read the first one, I would have still totally understood this one. It has been five years since I read Pillars, and I'm wondering if I liked this one better because of the perspective of a few years. They both go down similar paths, but the intrigue is huge in both books. True there was plenty of gory details to go around in both, and too little intimacy left to the imagination, but the characters are so well defined and developed and the plot twists and turns are so amazing, and that is why I enjoyed the book.

One thing I love about these two Follett books is the strong female characters he comes up with. I can identify with them because I hope and pray that had I lived in the 11th or 13th century I would have had the guts to do what they did. I see myself as wanting to be like them.

I don't mean to sound sexist because there are many men in my life whom I love and admire and would trust my life and honor to, but when men want to take advantage of women, in any number of ways, they do a dastardly job of it. The oppression under which women survived for so many centuries, millennia even, is nothing short of criminal. Hats off to all of us who have been able to shed that oppression, although so many of my sisters world wide still suffer. I am grateful for the women AND men who made it possible for me to be pretty close to equal with men. We are not there yet, but get closer all the time.

That said, please don't think I intend to vote for Hillary just because she is female. That is no smarter than voting for Obama just because he is black.

John Lee is, of course, one of the all-time great narrators, and I would choose a book just because he narrates it.

A dark history of England

If you are looking for light and cheerful reading this is not it. History at its darkest and most brutal. However there is love and compassion, and it is brilliantly written. If you love history you will love this story.