Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book,holds you fascinated from beginning to end
Review: Those who love Diana Gabaldon's books, would definitely love this one...The history in it is fascinating and I wish Ken Follett would write a sequel to it!!!!! It is one of the best books I have read recently...Definitely a 10 in my books!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best I've Read!!!
Review: This is truely one of the best novels that I have ever read. A friend recommended this to me and once I started this I couldn't put it down!!! I tried to savor it but couldn't help myself. You won't want to miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read
Review: I am a 23 year old college student who loves to read in his spare time. I have read a ton of books, and I have to say that this book by Follett is the best novel published in the past 25 years. The only word to really describe it is "epic". It is very long, but the pages just fly by and you don't want to put it down. I wish I could go back in time and read it again for the first time.
Rating:
Summary: Follett's Best!
Review: I've enjoyed a number of Ken Follett's thrillers over the years but generally found his work inconsistent. A friend gave me a copy of Pillers of the Earth and convinced me to undertake this huge novel. What a surprise! This is a totally entertaining novel of epic proportions! Though it appears that several reviewers here on Amazon found the novel to be dull and lacking merit, I can assure you that my sentiments are with the majority that consider this novel to be exciting and interesting from first page to last. If you are a reader I believe most people will enjoy this novel. If you enjoy your evening sit-coms and 48 minute dramas, perhaps not.
Rating:
Summary: The middle ages don't have to be boring!!
Review: This story is set in the middle ages, over a generation of time. Don't let these facts lead to hesitancy in picking this book to read. Follett shows his best story telling skills along with great descriptions that add brilliant color to a generally regarded bleak period of history. This book is truly the "Gone With The Wind" of the middle ages. I highly recommend this book. The characters will live in your memory long after the book is completed. It is a great book for religious person (priest or brother) as well as layperson.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. My fiance had been trying to get me to read it, and I kept putting it off. He finally brought it home from the library...I picked it up one night and was hooked. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the ending seemed rushed. But I've been recommending it to everyone! Even made my fiance and I decide to add Renaissance and Medieval touches to our upcoming wedding!
Rating: 
Summary: Long, but dull
Review: The title says it all. This guy must pay reviewers.
Rating: 
Summary: Medieval Mastery
Review: As a historical fiction junkie, I adored this story of the building of a cathedral in England. The story is gripping, the writing well-executed. The only drawback to the story is that all the loose ends are a little too well tied up at the end. Otherwise, it is historically authentic, deals with big issues and a period of unparalleled building in the Western World. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Ripping Yarn!
Review: A friend of mine urged me to read this book, assuring me I'd love it. The size of it put me off at first (it's huge!), and when I flicked through and realized it was a medieval saga I thought she had flipped. But in a moment of boredom I picked it up and after 20 pages was thoroughly hooked. There is far too much going on in this story for me to give a complete plot description, but basically it is set around the time of King Stephen in the 1100's. Short history lesson: Stephen pretty much stole the throne from the rightful heir, his cousin the Empress Maud, whom he considered not good enough to rule England because she was a girlie. (Typical bloke.)This resulted in a civil war full of blood and gore that went on for about forty years. During this time, dukes and earls and other filthy rich types were allowed to go around bumping off whoever they took a dislike to - and in some fairly gruesome ways. Going on amongst all this is the fictional story of Tom, a poor builder, who travels from village to village looking for work. His dream is to build a cathedral. After many setbacks, he gets his chance when he meets Philip, Prior of Knightsbridge (that's a fairly high up person in church circles), who commissions him to build a magnificent cathedral in his village after their church "mysteriously" burns to the ground. In the meantime, the Earl of Shiring is captured and executed for treason against the King, and his earldom is given temporarily to the evil William - a nasty piece of work whose idea of fun is to beat women senseless before defiling them. During quiet moments he gads about bopping people on the head and raiding villages, killing all the townspeople who get in his way. When he commissions the cathedral, Philip manages to make an enemy of Bishop Waleran Bigod, who also happens to be his boss. Bigod joins forces with William to try to get rid of Philip, Tom and most of the other good guys. While all of this is happening, the Earl of Shiring's children, Aliena and Richard, are thrown out into the world with nothing when William takes their castle, and they spend the next few decades attempting to reclaim the earldom and avenge their father's death. Confused? Think of it as a medieval Melrose Place, with everybody plotting and scheming and bedding everybody else. This type of story is not usually my cup of tea, but I have to admit it is a terrific book - full of excitement, romance, violence and gory bits. All the good stuff.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book. EVER.
Review: I am an avid reader, but no book had ever made such an effect on me as this one, nor has any since. It is epic, heart-wrenching, and difficult. This is not an easy book to read, but it is immensely rewarding. Follett has written three works of historical fiction, but this is by far the best. However, if you enjoyed this, by all means check out the other two which are quite excellent - "Dangerous Fortune" and "A Place Called Freedom". I'm still waiting for Follett to write the next book in this vein, so I can snatch it up and devour it!
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