Book Log 2011 #42: World Without End by Ken Follett


This sequel to Pillars of the Earth jumps 200 years after the events of the first book, returning to Kingsbridge to follow four characters who, as kids in 1327, witness an altercation whose implications will not become known for decades. Still, it shapes their lives in various ways, as they grow into their roles as builder, healer, peasant and lord.

Many of the themes from the first book continue in the second - secular versus clerical rule, life as a serf versus free man versus lord, etc. - though they're obviously distinct given the 200 years that have passed. The plague plays a major role in the book - as you might expect given the year the book starts in.

This book is every bit as enjoyable as the first, though it took me a while to get going with this one, mostly as I was trying to sort out how the people in this book were related to the folks in the first one. A family tree would be helpful for those characters who are descended from people in the first book. A map would have been nice as well, though the website linked above has one.

You will need to dedicate a fair bit of time to this book - like the first, it clocks in at over 1000 pages - but it reads much quicker than you might expect for something so big.