World Without End by Ken Follett

Okay so I promised you that I will give a different view on World Without End once I finished it. Unfortunately I can't finish it anytime soon due to the fact that I have to read a novel for a test and another one for a newspaper article (yes, I'm on the newspaper). So I decided I'll give a temporary review on this novel. Again, this novel isn't appropriate for children under 14. Reader discretion advised.

We're back at Kingsbridge Priory after 200 years and it seems like things can't seem any worse. The bridge collapses on the last day of the Annual Fleece Fair, killing hundreds of Kingsbridge townsfolk and visitors to the town. This bridge changes the lives of Merthin Carpenter, Caris Wooler, Gwenda, Brother Godwyn, and Squire Ralph. A story filled with love, war, and a pride for yourself and others, this is the story of the legendary Kingsbridge Cathedral and how it brought completely different people's lives together.

So the summary that I just gave you sounded pretty good right? Sounded just as good as Pillars of the Earth for a little bit. The very sad thing is it doesn't come close to the first book at all. Pillars of the Earth kept me riveted through over 900 pages. Never did the book seem dull or without any action. The description was vivid and I always loved the main characters. World Without End is a different story. The description is great and that's probably why this book exceeded a thousand pages. There is so much description that it gets you bored very easily. I will admit though that the characters are well developed. Every character, even the ones that you only see for one page, have a huge background story. Don't get me wrong, that can be great, only a true writer can come up with that. The bad thing is that he tells their whole entire story in tremendous detail. So you're getting information on characters that you don't even really care about.

Plus, there isn't as much action or drama going on in this novel. This one is missing a lot of the fights stories, even rape stories which were common back then. I'll admit there are some parts that are really good and that kept me riveted for about 20 pages. But riveted reading for 20 pages isn't the same as riveted reading for 1014 pages. That's what Pillars of the Earth did for me and I never wanted to put it down. I felt like I was being forced to finish World Without End and when I feel like that I really don't want to finish the book. Overall, it was okay, but Ken Follett can do better. :( Maybe I'll go back to it one day and finish it.