The Pillars of the Earth

Rating:
Summary: Much Ado About Nothing...Really
Review: I read The Pillars of the Earth in a "Name of the Rose"-mood, meaning that I was doomed to feel disappointed about the value of the book. Ken Follet writes entertainingly but this time his novel is centered around a weak plot in a distant and faint dark ages landscape with few and pale and in some cases unplausible characters. The scope of Pillars of the Earth is over ambitious; it spans over more than 30 years and tries to capture a broad range of events and destinies, therefore its focus is seldom clear throughout the reading. The plot is straightforward with the classic many loose ends tying in at the end in a very predictable way; good always prevails, evil always gets hammered.

Overall, The Pillars of the Earth makes a fair, relaxed reading; a simple and straightforward subject about everyday life in a 12th century English monastic community with all pertinent ingredients: bigot monks, power hungry bishops, treacherous kings, ruthless landlords and a few good men caught in the middle. If you think you can read 980 pages about this and you are prepared to ignore some common sense breaches here and there, then I recommend the book.

Rating:
Summary: Ken Follet's Epic of the Middle Ages
Review: 'Pillars of the Earth' is more than proof that Ken Follet deserves his place among the great authors of historical fiction. Set in the bloody English civil war of the 12th century, 'Pillars' spans four decades and the lives of several richly drawn characters. The heart of this novel revolves around the building of a cathedral in a small English village. The sacrifice of these humble people to erect a monument to God is nothing short of inspiring and the tension and drama place this novel among the great thrillers that Follet is known for. Truly a great work and one that will undoubtedly be hailed as a classic in the years to come. This book is wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: The standard
Review: Awesome! This book has become the book which I compare all others too. Unfortunately, I haven't found many that quite compare. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Medieval times meet the 20th century
Review: Very engaging book that combines lots of information about cathedral building with a story full of the usual love, hardships, and triumphs of human beings. The explicit sex scenes belong squarely in the 20th century as does the language and the sophistication of the characters. The descriptions of the period, as well as the knowledge of cathedrals evoke the medieval times and makes the reader want to be there to see it.The detailed descriptions indicate that Follett did his research thoroughly.

A book that is hard to put down! A different style for Follett, mostly known for his spy and mystery stories. Five stars for The Pillars of the Earth!

Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT
Review: Not only was this book highly entertaining, but informative as well. Mr. Follett obviously did some research on historical cathedrals.

The characters were vivid and the story will stick with me for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad.
Review: I definitely enjoyed The Pillars. It is a good easy reading while on a plane or during long winter evenings. However, I would not call it a masterpiece. It reminded me of some Mexican soap operas, long, with strictly good or strictly bad characters and a sea of cheap emotions. I am sure it will make a very good plot for TV series. Housewives will love it. The language spoken by characters is definitely modern. It is not that they were supposed to speak the authentic 12th century English (we would understand nothing), but I doubt that they knew, say, the word "mesmerized". Despite some caveats, I should say that Mr. Follet did a great job. I will be pleased to recommend the book to my friends.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a favorite!
Review: This book is definitely a must read. The book can only be described as encompassing. The characters are so well developed that you begin to feel as if you are a part of the family, experiencing life as the characters experience it. The descriptions of the cathedrals are completely mesmerizing. Even if you have no building or construction interest at all I guarantee you will be enthralled by the beautiful descriptions of the cathedrals and how they were built. I was honestly disappointed when this book was over. I wanted it to continue. As a result I have read it three times in the past few years. I was completely drawn in to this book and highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Bad guys against Good guys story
Review: The two stars rating (instead of one) is owing to the impressive architectual descriptions of the cathedral. The historical descriptions were OK but the rest was truly disappointing. The plot repeats itself over and over again. The bad guys attempt to ruin the good guys. The good guys prevail. Then the bad guys come up with a new plot to ruin the good ones . And over and over again. The characters are all one dimensional. The language is too much 20th century for a 12th century novel. The sexual descriptions are at times almost vulgar. The romantic parts are truly shallow. It reminded me of a Daniel Steel novel. Not that I have anything against Daniel Steel, it just wasn't what I expected from "without doubt Ken Follet's masterpiece, and a story for all time" (from book backcover). Besides, if you want to write this kind of novel, you can settle with 300 pages top. Don't torment your readers with 1000 pages looking all the same.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time.
Review: This book is a prolonged mess of words. There are too many undeveloped characters, a meandering plot, and an inappropriate amount of lewd content. Let's just say that the book could've been very enjoyable if it was 10-15 pages long--it didn't require a 1000. I know I'm in the minority in the rating of this novel, but it has no literary merit and was a complete and utter waste of my time. I continued reading it just to get it over with....

Rating:
Summary: Repetitive, but interesting
Review: Grabbed my attention from the beginning, but it seems only because there was nothing to repeat yet! So the story goes: good vs. evil, evil wins, good overcomes...good vs. evil, good prevails, evil makes another attempt...good vs. evil, evil wins, good overcomes...for a span of forty some odd years! I could only have so much treachery, lying, and debauchery from a limited amount of characters. The writing was very simple; if Follet wished to shorten the length by 300 pages, he could have simply left off the constant summarization of what he wrote earlier in the book. Bottom line: liked the idea, liked the story, far too dragged out, with the actions of the characters and people not matching up to what we were led to believe about them. But again, it's fiction. A bit too soap opera-y for me.