World Without End

Kingsbridge, Book 2

De: Ken Follett

Narrado por: John Lee

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

A worthy sequel to Pillars

You need to read Pillars of the Earth first. This sequel then starts a few hundred years after the end of Pillars and makes references to the characters and events in Pillars. The story however stands up on its own, and is a thrilling read from start to finish, just like the original.

a totally riveting story

An audio book you can totally get immersed in, story great, narration great and you really feel as though you you are in the 14th century. This is the second in a series but you don't need to read the first to enjoy this.

Loved it!

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

John Lee is amazing! He does all the accents without fail. I don't normally read or listen to this sort of book but Ken Follet just has such a gift for story telling. I now feel as if I have so much insight into WW1 and the people who lived in that time. He made it come alive.I will read everything else he's written now, especially read by John Lee.

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved the story about the Russian brothers

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I didn't want it to end.

Any additional comments?

Read it if you are interested in History.

beautiful, great narrator

Beautiful book with a very slow start. I'm glad I pushed through tho because I really enjoyed it.
The narration is done so well, the different characters really came through!

Astounding!

If you are ready for a 40 hour plus epic that runs seemlessly through an ancient age then put this on your list. There are writers and epic writers. Many may achieve the former but to write a book of such length, interest, diversity and spiced with history and keep it flowing and connected takes a master craftsperson. It is not heavy or intellectual or complicated; it is a great yarn and I loved it.

The towering jewel

May not be the best of Ken Follet with too much of lewd text marring an otherwise brilliant epic, but the characters have been well crafted and the plot never losing its grip.

Excellent, but...

This book was another great novel about the lives and intrigues of the folk from Kingsbridge. The characters show good development and motivation, the plot moves along smoothly with some good climax scenes. I particularly like the description of the plague and the symptoms and effects thereof.

The Narration was outstanding and added to the story.

But now comes the "but". If you have read the first Kingsbridge saga pillars of the earth, then this story and especially the characters will seem all too familiar. They are almost exact copies of the characters in the first book. Their struggles (although the specific story elements might be different) are those of the first book. The evil knight / Earl. The conniving clergyman, the talented builder, the strong woman. These are all the same. I would have liked to see other roles / inner conflict for these characters.

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.