Rating: 
Summary: Big Sweeping Story that Earns its Accolades
Review: Wow. This is a big story that never fails to enthral and entertain. I stayed up many a night ripping off good sized chunks from a book I did not want to put down. At almost a thousand pages, there are a lot of chunks.Follett uses the thirty year building of a cathedral in 12th Century England to spin a ripping yarn. This is a historical novel that uses the format to both teach about the times and tell a gripping tale of the lives of a score of characters involved either directly or peripherally with the construction. Its all here. Love. War. Torture. Rape. Lust. Greed. Told against the backdrop of an English Civil War and the more immediate struggle between a priory (monestary) and a local earl. The real life Kings Steven, Henry I and Henry II and Thomas Beckett provide the historical backdrop as does the era. If Follett has done his research thoroughlly, then the misery and challenge of medival life is well portrayed (except very few people die of disease and no children or their siblings succumb before adulthood -- an improbable situation given the times). Besides being captivated by a very good story with many facets, you'll learn a bit about the majesty and technique involved in cathedral building, the economics, industry and agricultural practices attendant to survival, medival politics and the struggle within the church and between church and sovereign. The characters are well drawn and varied. Follett populates his story with strong women, and although unlikely given the practices and predjudices of the times, these women help form the focal point of the story and are easy to root for (except for sometime-Earl William Hamleigh's mother -- a cunning villan). The men are more evenly split between good, evil and in between. These characters are not one dimensional and most of the major figures have weaknesses that challenge them and make them very human in this book. A great read you'll not want to let go.
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Summary: "Name of the Rose" for the rest of us
Review: I love historical fiction. Seems that everyone is putting out some book set in twelfth or thirteenth centure. (timeline, etc.) One of my favorite books is Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco--this book reminded me a lot of it. Follet's book is a little more accessible and has very riveting epic story vs. mystery in Eco's. This is a great read and it made me stay up till 4am trying to get further in it.
Rating:
Summary: Pillars of the Earth
Review: I received this book as a dare. My uncle told me to read it and tell him that it isn't the best book I've ever read. After finishing it, I can tell you that it is! The best part about this book are the emotions that this story brings to you. You feel how the characters do as events take place. There is so much love, hate, and humor in the lives of these people you almost forget that this is fiction. You can really feel the rage and passion of the people. One of the best decriptions comes toward the end of the story when Prior Philip thinks about his life and what it meant. It was so moving, man what a great story! The crafting of 12th century English politics is amazing as well. The nobility, the peasants, and the Church all struggle for power as the years pass. The way the plot develops is so great. One seemingly minor event sets off a whole series of major developments. There were times when I thought I could predict how the story would unfold, only to see it take a totally unexpected path. You are always surprised by what happens next! Dispite some of the contrived sexual material, which got to be a little gratuitous, the story is amazing. You will not want it to end, and you will want to read more! Seriously, this book should not be missed! It was my first Follet novel, but it will certainly not be my last!
Rating:
Summary: a book you can't put down
Review: It took me three days of reading. I just couldn't give the book away. The story takes you back in time. There are different protagonists, you follow for a while until they meet someone else, someone you might even have met before, and then you follow him. The book just draws you into its time and the characters are so vivid, it feels like being there! Everybody I gave the book loved it. I liked it as much as the Medicus by Noah Gordon.
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Summary: Great Hisatorical Novel!
Review: This is one of the most interesting and informative books I have ever read. After reading it, you can almost imagine that you lived the story, so carefully are the plot and characters developed. As a student of history, it is obvious to me, that Mr. Follett did extensive research and when he had to use literary license, it was based on historical facts. This was truly a great story and one I will reread.
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Summary: The Best Historical Fiction in History
Review: This is my all-time favorite book. An adventure so rich in detail and human emotion, I could picture every scene, describe person and tell you the sound of their voices. During one tragic event I put down the book a screamed NNOOO! This book takes over - start reading it and you'll only put it down when you're done.
Rating:
Summary: Epic
Review: My husband urged me for months to read this book and it just looked too long and sounded too boring. I finally decided to try it and from the first page I was hooked. This is a story of history, love, family and religion. The story is addictive and you won't be able to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book - but 500 pages too long!
Review: I read this book for the second time in 2000 after reading it the year it came out. It is an excellent book, well plotted and an easy read. I think it could have been a "masterpiece" as some have written, if it cut 400 or 500 pages. For example, the machinations surrounding Prior Philip's rise up the Catholic hieararchy in the beginning of the book can be almost excised with no interruption in the storytelling. I speedread a lot of the wasted pages. But, in there is a great story with great characters. The only book I've ever read that warranted going beyond 700 pages is "War and Peace."
Rating:
Summary: A Classic.
Review: This book is one of the best books I've ever read. By the end of the book every single character is so developed, each with very unique personalities, that you think like actualy know them personaly and feel for them. Add to this a great plot with plenty of unexpected twists and lots of action (swords, fire, etc...) and you've got a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: A masterfully woven plot, and complex characters
Review: I've found some of the reviews for this book almost hard to belive. There are hundreds of good reviews and some bad ones as well, so instead of once again saying "a masterpiece" -- I'll tell you why. First of all, the plot in this book is as solid as there is. There are good writers that write all sorts of different books, different plots, and develop their stories from different ideas of what makes a "good read". If the only thing you like is a great story that joyfully dances along, no begining, no middle, no end -- you should read Mark Twain instead. You're neck deep in the plot of this book before you even know it, and it twists and entertwines all of the characters with such utter perfection that even some master writers could only hope to come close. This book has a solid begining, a solid middle, a solid end, and throughout every little twist and turn, every counter-plot, and sub-plot, there is no wasted reading. Every last word in this book is directly tied into the single story that you end up reading from start to finish. The next point that seems to be of some disagreement in the reviewes are the characters. You will not find a single one dimentional character in this story, nor will you find sheer good or bad as some of the reviewes say. These people are human in every way of the word. Sometimes you feel angry at them for being so stupid. Sometimes you love them for being so ingenious. I found myself feeling love and passion, anger, hatred, joy, jealousy, and any number of other emotions along with the characters. Sometimes you hate them for it, sometimes you love them. "Good guy" or "bad guy", it makes little difference. Not only do they have the complexity of real people, but when taken from the begining of the story through to the end, you know every charcter through most of their life. They gain a depth that makes the length of the novel, not hindering, but critical to it's enjoyment. Do I have any critisism? Yes. This is one of the best books I've ever read, but there is a minor little reason it could be better; the historical descriptions. The very same thing that most bad reviewers commended it for, I think went a little overboard at times. Sure, it has a solid historical acuracy, and the author seems to have a solid understanding of all of the mechanical and political aspects of the era, but at times the builders will rambel on and on about the mechanics involved in the acutaly construction of a cathedral. This gives you a solid feel for the characters obsetion and masterfull knowledge of his art, but it also gets a bit tedious here and there, and could probably be trimmed to make a truely "perfect" story. Overall, I don't think the extra historical explanations are even worth half a star. If you're looking for a flawless plot, deep multi-dementional chacters, and a journey that brings you through every emotion known, look no farther. If you want a book that is "merely" on building cathederals, go the library and look under 'C'.
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