World Without End

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

The historical saga that has enthralled millions of readers, Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series continues continue 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.

Critic reviews

You won't be able to put it down

Follett’s storytelling skills keep you compulsively turning the pages to the satisfactory ending of good triumphant over evil (Daily Mail)

Sweeping and yet detailed, a powerful story packed with superbly drawn characters and which evokes the period that saw the devastating black death

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.