World Without End by Ken Follett

Here it is, the long anticipated sequel to Pillars of the Earth. Of course it's more dramatic if you read the first one when it was published 20 years ago instead of reading them back to back. First about the sequel context. We are in the same town, but we are 200 years later. All the characters are new, but some are descendants of characters in the first novel. Because this was promoted as the sequel to Pillars of the Earth, I can't help but compare the two. I liked Pillars of the Earth much better. Both books are well written, but the story behind the story in the first book kept me hooked. This one was more depressing. I'm still glad I read it and I think it's worth reading, just if you had to pick one over the other go with the first.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This could just as well be titled, "Why I owe Ken Follett a huge apology". I bought this book last summer. My mom loved it and thought I would too, so I bought it out of respect for her. Then it sat on my shelf. It looked big and boring to me. I like to read books I'm interested in, not books just because Oprah thinks they are good. I mean how could a book that focuses on building a Cathedral be? Okay, I was wrong. It was good, very, very good. I ate this book up. I know, a thousand page book and I flew through it in just a few days. Yes, there is the cathedral building element, but there is so much more to this book as well. If you are like me and are one of the few people left who haven't read this book, put it off no longer my friend, this is one worth reading.