I am about half way through Follett's "World Without End"

[OffWithTheirHeads]

It's wonderful! Follett is truly a great writer anyway but this is a masterpiece. I suppose you could call this a follow up to "Pillars of the Earth. It's set in 12th century England and the masterful character development makes you think these people could be your neighbors. At about 1,000 pages, it will keep most folks entertained for several weeks and, in the unlikely event that you don't like it, it would make a good door stop. It retails for about $35.00 which sounds pricey until you consider how many hours of entertainment you get compared with other venues. I found my copy at the used book store for $19.00 and am hard pressed to think of anything else I could spend $19.00 on that would provide anywhere near this much pleasure. Well, except maybe my donation to DU.

[stray cat]

1. Thanks for the recommendation

[hlthe2b]

2. I remember feeling that way re: "Pillars," but haven't picked up

"Earth". I suppose I've been waiting on the paperback release, but maybe I'll get lucky too and find a used copy...

[TexasProgresive]

3. I read it recently and reread "Pillars"

I found a copy of Pillars of the Earth on the "free" table at the library. I had just heard that Follett had published a sequel and thought it odd that the library would be dunping the first book. In rereading Pillars I once again found Follett to be a wonderful story teller who builds amazing characters. This was a consistent quality in World without End. I'm especially pleased that he has women characters who are powerful in a culture that did not allow for that and yet it is believable that this could've been so.

When I first read Pillars, years ago, I enjoyed learning about the building of cathedrals and the methods that were used to solve difficult problems. This learning process continued in World and the method of building coffer dams was ingenious. I always assumed that coffer dams were only used from the industrial revolution onward.

I beat you on price. I got my copy of World from the Half-Priced Book Store for $17.00 which is a bit less then half price. But for the enjoyment level it would've been a bargain at full price.

[Liberal Gramma]

4. Got ya both beat

I got my copy from the library. Great book! Glad you're enjoying it.

[MaineDem]

5. I loved it.

I listened on audiobook. It was fantastic.

Loved Pillars as well.

[flamingyouth]

6. Oh, I just loved it.

I stayed up past 4 am the night I finished it. He's such a great writer.

[Captain Hilts]

7. Is it necessary to read "Pillars" before WWOEnd?

[Mr_leftyclimber]

8. It's not necessary, per say..............

But, I would recommend reading "Pillars" first. I liked it better than "World", and it will give you a lot of insight to the history of the town, etc...

I also believe that both of these books should come with an "extremely hard to put down" warning.
don't even try to read "just a little" before bed, you'll be up all night.

Ben

[hippywife]

9. I started this book on Sunday

and I'm 3/4 of the way through it! I read 500 pages Monday alone. Don't be intimidated by it's size or the fact that you may not have read Pillars of the Earth. I read Pillars when it first came out in paperback and I don't remember a single thing about it. I'm really loving this book!