Rating: 
Summary: the best book I ever read
Review: After one chapter, I knew how the story would end, but that didn't change my enjoyment of A Place Called Freedom. Follett explores the life of lowly coal miner Mac who longs to be free and free-spirited Lizzie who has a disdain for the social classes of her time. Still she marries Jay Jamison and she truly loves him. Jay Jamison is an interesting Follett character. This book compares with a Dangerous Fortune in plot and scope, but that book had clearly defined good and evil characters. Jay and Lizzie were in love, and through actions of their family, their love was destroyed. Still, to the end Jay always cared for Lizzie. Still, his devotion to power and greed and to please his family mattered more. Follett is great at developing characters and educating the reader on the certain time period. Follett details the day to day life and the character's interaction with social norms very well. I haven't read too many of Follet's WWII novels or spy novels and look forward to moving on to those. I've read six Follett books, and only the Third Twin was bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical Follett, Great Characters and Story
Review: After one chapter, I knew how the story would end, but that didn't change my enjoyment of A Place Called Freedom. Follett explores the life of lowly coal miner Mac who longs to be free and free-spirited Lizzie who has a disdain for the social classes of her time. Still she marries Jay Jamison and she truly loves him. Jay Jamison is an interesting Follett character. This book compares with a Dangerous Fortune in plot and scope, but that book had clearly defined good and evil characters. Jay and Lizzie were in love, and through actions of their family, their love was destroyed. Still, to the end Jay always cared for Lizzie. Still, his devotion to power and greed and to please his family mattered more. Follett is great at developing characters and educating the reader on the certain time period. Follett details the day to day life and the character's interaction with social norms very well. I haven't read too many of Follet's WWII novels or spy novels and look forward to moving on to those. I've read six Follett books, and only the Third Twin was bad.
Rating:
Summary: a classic book you cant miss-- especially you scots!
Review: Ahh..I look back on this book with such nostalgia, one of the first books I read in high school that I truly enjoyed, that was for pure and complete pleasure. The story is exciting and fast-paced, the scottish atmostsphere is delightful...ah I can just smell the highland air and see the lochs, bogs, and thistles as I read this book. (however not the whole book takes place in bonny scotland..sorry lass!)
I read this book for the first time before I had ever been to scotland, now it is twice as pleasant an experience. a truly fun read of historical british isles fiction...
Rating: 
Summary: Two Stars is Being Kind, Kenny Boy
Review: Ask yourself if it's fair to review a book four years after having read it. If you feel such subjection is unfair treatment, then either stop reading this or heap it with a grain of salt.
I am a Follett fan, but this one disappointed me immensely. The book stays on my mind because it seems to pop up in so many places, like used bookstore shelves---in mass quantities. Obviously, there are others who felt less than passionate about A Place Called Freedom. I have read most of Follett's works and I daresay this is his most lackluster effort. It is smooth, fun and at times most characters and circumstances fit together like a charming jigsaw. Such is his talent. But Follett's main flaw throughout his works (I'm not at all implying that I can do better) is that his stories can be so damned formulaic. The grudges, romances and plot devices are often forced and never moreso than in this novel. If you haven't read it yet, please don't read the rest of what I have to say. But I found it to be a glaring insult to the reader's intelligence and sense of the dramatic that in the vicinity of the third act, when all parties involved were settled in the Virginia colony, Jay, our antagonist, resigns with little fight to the fact that his nemesis and rival for his wife's affections, protagonist Mack, is working as a servant inside his own home. The two were at odds across the globe in Scotland and London (with Jay never seeing Mack as any sort of equal, but simply an annoying obstacle to all his aristocratic goals) and even though Jay sought to punish Mack by endenturing him as a servant in the New World, he comes to accept him within his own walls working a cush job in close proximity with his wife? What the hell is that? Welcome to "Plot Convenience Playhouse!" And the name Follett chose for our hero, a coal miner working the fire-damp in the hills of Scotland: "Mack McAsh." It reflects the imagination present in a small comic book one obtains free-of-charge from the inside of a cereal box.
Four years between reading and review may not be just. But even though I could heartily recommend any other Follett novel to an avid fiction-reader (save for Jackdaws) steer clear of this one if you harbor any concern over adding more time to any you feel you've already wasted in your life.
Rating: 
Summary: Middle of the Road Follett
Review: I have read several of Follett's works and generally cannot get enough of them. This one is historical in nature yet the story is not as compelling as some of Follett's other works (Pillars of the Earth, A Dangerous Fortune). Some of the plot is predictible. However, it does have some likable characters and the book seems to be well paced. All in all it is better than most books but not quite up to Follett's usual high standard.
Rating:
Summary: HISTORICAL DRAMA AT ITS BEST
Review: If you enjoyed Pillars of the Earth as much as I did, then you're going to enjoy this book as well. As with Pillars, the action starts from page one and keeps going - his focus on pacing is what sets him apart and what makes his books so much fun to read. A few reviews tied the story to Far and Away (the Cruise/Kidman flick), in my opinion I think that's quite a stretch - this is not a love story first and a quest for freedom second tale - it's a little of both, but it's mainly about the struggles of the classes.
I you already like Ken Follett, then you must read this outing. He keeps the pages turning and his eye on historical accuracy is dead-one (he's been guilty of gross anacronisms in a few of his works).
If you haven't read his books, then give yourself a treat and pick this up, I promise you won't be bummed. After that, read Pillars of the Earth, which is probably one of the best books out there (check out all the reviews - many feel the same).
Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: HISTORICAL DRAMA AT ITS BEST
Review: If you enjoyed Pillars of the Earth as much as I did, then you're going to enjoy this book as well. As with Pillars, the action starts from page one and keeps going - his focus on pacing is what sets him apart and what makes his books so much fun to read. A few reviews tied the story to Far and Away (the Cruise/Kidman flick), in my opinion I think that's quite a stretch - this is not a love story first and a quest for freedom second tale - it's a little of both, but it's mainly about the struggles of the classes.
I you already like Ken Follett, then you must read this outing. He keeps the pages turning and his eye on historical accuracy is dead-one (he's been guilty of gross anacronisms in a few of his works).
If you haven't read his books, then give yourself a treat and pick this up, I promise you won't be bummed. After that, read Pillars of the Earth, which is probably one of the best books out there (check out all the reviews - many feel the same).
Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Not his best but good
Review: The story was enjoyable, the characters a little too predictable, but I have read it twice now so it must be pretty good. I don't read books twice very often. Malachi (Mack) McAsh and Lizzie Hallim are the two main characters. The story begins in Scotland. Mack is a coal miner and Lizzie is the daughter one of the lairds, a widow. Lizzie's mother has mortgaged her property so they could live well after Lizzie's father dies and now the loan is about to be called. Lizzie needs to marry into a wealthy family to save her family estate. The coal miners were really not much better than slaves basically owned by the mine owners. Lizzie and Mack had known each other as children and now they are adults. Mack gets into trouble regularly and Lizzie helps him more than once. The story ends in the Colonies specifically in Virginia. The book is fast paced and keeps you interested all the way through. It is a little too predictable but if you like Ken Follett you will like this book. It has elements of historical fiction and maybe even a little bit of a romance novel in it. There is some sex (although not too graphic) in it so I wouldn't necessarily let preteens read it.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This is another good book by Follet. Though not in the league of "the pillars of the earth","night over water"etc....
it still holds you.A story from a bye gone era.. This enthralls you, read it if you are a follet fan.
I dont miss his books at all, as i am a die ... of Follet. Anything he writes i will devour religiously.
Rating:
Summary: another great follett historical work
Review: This is the second Follett book I've read, the first being Pillars of the Earth. Actually, this is only the third review I've written out of the 60 to 70 books I've read over the past couple years but I find myself wanting to express my opinions more and more when I get done with a great read and maybe helping people get exposed to great books they otherwise wouldn't have tried or known about. While not as wonderful as Pillars of the Earth (I still can't get that book out of my head...definetly one of the best if not THE best I've ever read), this is still a great book. The book has rapid fire pacing but doesn't sacrifice on the details and characterization that suck you into the book. And that's what the focal point of the book is, the characters. You feel their pain, their joy, every emotion that they're going through. From Scotland, to London, to Virginia, the reader is taken on a journey of treachery, deceit, love, loss and triumph. You feel as if you can reach out and touch the characters. Follett is fast becomming one of my favorite authors and he's edging his way to the top of the list. You won't want to stop reading this book. I could have easily read it in a day but I decided to stretch it out over a couple days and let each section I read sink in. I don't think I've encountered another author who can weave romance, violence, humor, action and great research as effectively as Ken Follett and this book does all that.
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