The Pillars of the Earth

Rating:
Summary: The Biggest and Best Book on the Market
Review: A wonderful and breath-taking book, with a plot that never gets dull. I was 14 when I read the epic novel and fell in love with the characters. For the first time in my life, I cried while reading.

Rating:
Summary: Because 0 Stars aren't An Option
Review: I see that two other memebers of my on-line reading club have already chimed in on this piece of junk. OK, we academics may not be the best reviewers of a work of historic fiction, but I'm appalled that so many people rave about the historical accuracy of a book that is so deficient. Maybe it's good beach or bathroom reading, but it doesn't rise to the level of literature, and it's way too long to be this bad.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I first read this book years ago and have read it again and again. I found that there was always a twist in the story that I hadn't expected and even though I could recite this book now I still enjoy reading it...perhaps even more because I can now get excited about what will be soon happening. I have not read many of Follets other books but I highly recommend this one. It's one of my favorites. A very well written piece of fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book on Tape for Cross Country Travel
Review: Absolutely, without question, a wonderful story, well written and supported by historical fact. I enjoyed the book on tape and have purchased the book for a read. I'll read it time and again and pass it on to my children. Wonderful work.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: I just finished reading my fourth Ken Follett novel and enjoyed it very much. It is one of Follett's best. This book opens the door to life in the 12th century. We come to better understand our world as we learn about the people that lived before us. The book is at times predictable, but this does not take away from the greatness of the story and its ability to touch your heart. I highly recommend this book. You just don't want it to end!

Rating:
Summary: Bad History, Bad Engineering
Review: This book probably seems accurate to people who know nothing about history, medieval building techniques or traditional monastic life. I didn't find the novel compelling as fiction, and I found it painful that so many reviewers claim to have learned from this piece of trash. It was predictable and boring, overly long and hardly stimulating.

Rating:
Summary: Get Thee to an Editor
Review: Poorly researched, poorly structured and poorly edited. Follett now suffers from Michener's Syndrome, where a pop novelist grows too powerful for an editor to do his or her job. As a historian, I was disturbed by the inaccuracies. As writer, I was disturbed by the weak and inconsistent internal structure and predictability. God forbid anyone views the history as accurate. This could have been three hundred pages shorter, and much better. It also seemed to be a direct rip off of Ellis Peters (A welsh monk during the civil war between Maud and Stephen? Been there, done that) Read Name of the Rose or, better yet, a real history book. Plenty of those in the library.

Rating:
Summary: UN-PUT-DOWNABLE!
Review: This is the best book in the world! AMAZING! READ IT! (If you liked this book, you should also check out Shogun, even though it is NOWHERE near as good as Pillars of the Earth)

Rating:
Summary: A book that you never want to finish.......
Review: This book has to be one of the best I've ever read. In fact, I just finished it for the second time. When it first came out, I gave it to a friend to read. After a few weeks I asked her what page she was on in the book. She was almost done with it. After another few weeks I asked her again what page she was on. She was still finishing it up. She was only reading one page a day. She did not want it to end. I told her to finish it! I had other people in line to read it!

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT HISTORICAL NOVEL
Review: This book is a must for anyone interested in medieval history, but does not have the interest in learning dates. I particularly enjoyed Follet's attention to detail regarding 12th Century architecture and construction. Should be requried reading in high school!!!