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Summary: What happened, Ken?
Review: I've been a follower of KF's work since "Eye of the Needle" and have read nearly all his paperbacks. My favorite by far must be "Pillars of the Earth."As many of these readers have pointed out, there are major problems with this novel. The most glaring of which is the plotline. In the journalism industry, we are taught one basic rule about writing a story: do you understand your assignment to the extent that you could chat with your neighbor "over the fence" about it and have it make sense? If not, go back and do your research. Okay, it breaks down like this: a bunch of forgotten hippies from the 1960's cause a series of earthquakes with oil-drilling equipment to stop the State of California from taking their commune, and a beautiful FBI agent must stop them to win fame, career advancement and love(!). That about right? I'm from Northern California, and the area has a flavor all its own. KF captures some of it. (I especially liked the segment where the N. Cali residents justify staying in California with the imminent threat of another earthquake looming.) But KF's strongest area is historical fiction focused on England and/or Europe. His war dramas also ring true with most readers. This experiment with modern American culture tended to fall short, as did his previous work in this area, "The Third Twin." Folks, if you need your KF historical thriller fix, pick up a copy of "London" - it's bland in places, but it will keep you going until KF decides to write again about his homeland.
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Summary: Worthless
Review: I sympathize with the editor who must have had instructions to lay off the red pencil when editing this piece of garbage. Best selling author? Haven't read such lousy writing in years. And the book sold! Unbelievable.
Rating:
Summary: Bad News
Review: I sympathise with the editor of Hammer Of Eden who had to stifle the urge to re-write Follett's terrible prose. It's a wild plot with wild characters , but the writing is incredibly bad. Has Follett made so much money that he no longer cares what carries his name?
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Summary: Bummer of Eden
Review: This book is replete with poorly chosen and ineptly described characters. At times, I felt the linguistic analysis was overblown. look elsewhere
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Summary: I loved it!
Review: This is the first book I've read by Ken Follett, and I absolutely loved it. I thought it was an easy and very interesting read. I was always wondering what Priest, Melanie, and Star would be up to next. Is it humanly possible to cause an earthquake?
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Summary: Not up to par...
Review: Ken Follet really falls short in his latest book. The Hammer of Eden contains none of the character devices, which Follet used in his past books to capture the reader's attention, such as espionage and deceit. Sure, The Hammer of Eden has the classic Follet plot, with revolutionary elements and told from the point of view of the antagonist. But this book falls short of some of his classic masterpieces such as Triple, Eye of the Needle, Key to Rebecca, and Night Over Water. I believe Follet needs to stick to his greatest gift, writings of espionage, instead of the contemporary time period and Eco-terrorism.
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Summary: THE PITS!
Review: "The Hammer of Eden" gets my vote for the worst book of the millenium.
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Summary: Please Forget About Contemporary America, Mr Follett
Review: All Ken Follett books are decent reads--even his earliest efforts that he himself deprecates. However, his last two books have been definite let-downs for me after such mesmerizing masterpieces as Night over Water, Dangerous Fortune, Pillars of the Earth, Triple, and Eye of the Needle. The special combination of interesting heroes, strong suspense, passionate romance, and beautifully rendered settings just doesn't work in contemporary American settings. How very much I wish Mr Follett would return to a historical era--World War II, the Victorian Age, the French Revolution, the Renaissance--I don't care (as long as it's not the Wild West). Or, if he must be contemporary, at least I wish he'd try for a more exotic locale--Hong Kong, the Balkans, Pakistan, Chechnya . . . . even his native Wales. But, please, no more Boys from Brazil retreads on American college campuses and tiresome doomsday cults in California. There are enough bad American writers writing this sort of stuff; why should a good British writer waste his time on it?
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Summary: The novel equivalent of a stale Big Mac eaten in a hurry.
Review: After the magnificence of Pillars of the Earth, the pretty-goodness of Eye of the Needle, and the not-badness of several of his other novels, this one is clearly at the bottom of the heap. The story and characters are ridiculously implausible. It is the kind of thing that reads as if it were hatched by an author who found himself with a one-week deadline to write a book, and had to do so while on a skiing vacation in Aspen (would that I had such a life). It is formulaic to the point that it feels a bit like stuffing oneself with a stale Big Mac while driving in rush hour traffic (not that I've ever done that). Neither tasty nor satisfying, and certainly not memorable. After a string of Follett novels, this one made me leap for someone new. I'm trying Ethan Canin.
Rating: 
Summary: Action packed !
Review: I have read many Ken Follett books, and again I was captivated by his character developement. Altough Pillars of the Earth, is still my all-time favorite book.. Hammer of Eden was very enjoyable. The action sequences were done well, and many twists in the storyline made it very unpredictable. The characters were intelligent and therefore the story did not seem contrived.
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