The Evening and the Morning - Ken Follett ---------------- 4 Stars

 The Evening and the Morning is Ken Follett's newest book that is vaguely set up as a prequel to the amazing Pillars of the Earth (one of the few books to ever receive a 5 star rating). While there was really NO connection to Pillars or those characters, the book did include many of Follett's best storytelling skills and was an enjoyable read.

Set at the end of the Dark Ages and beginning of Middle, circa 1000, this book tells the story about three characters in England (same places as Pillars, so I guess there is that connection). A young french noblewoman coming to England for marriage, a poor but intelligent builder finding his way through a lost love, and an ambitious and caring young monk working to improve the religious focus of peoples. Though less the main focus, the book is littered with evil men (a few brothers) who these three characters fight literally and figuratively throughout the novel.

Checking in at over 900 pages, this is not a short book (and I read the old fashioned hard back - good workout!). However, the book reads quite easily and I finished it quickly. First, it is an engaging novel; one I struggled to put down on many occasions. Bridging as Follett does on being a soap opera, the novel has many highs and lows for the characters and lots of rising and falling action. Like most of his books, he does an incredible job introducing characters and making it clear their motivations. While those motivations are often quite limited and not very complex (i.e. this person is "bad" and just wants power while this person is "good" as they just want to find true love), they still are engaging and it's quite clear who to root for and against. 

Perhaps my favorite aspect of Follett's books is his narration of character thinking and plotting. As I mentioned, most of his stories are about conflicts between "good" and "bad" people, and he has it play out like a chess match between the two adversaries, seeing who can make the smartest move to get what they want and watching the fireworks along the way. 

The only reason this book does not earn 4.5 or 5 stars like the other books Follett has written I've reviewed, is that it lacks the depth those novels included. Again, the story is super engaging and it's a really fun read but, as a reader, I was left with wanting to know more about the motivations of the characters. It's almost been dumbed down for the reader so it's still a great read but doesn't include the complexity and varied viewpoints that elevated his previous novels. Nonetheless, I highly recommend as a read!

World Without End - Ken Follett ------------------- 4.5 Stars

It has been almost 9 years ago to the day since I reviewed Follett's masterpiece Pillars of the Earth. What a great book, and one of the very few that has earned 5 stars on this blog! While I'm not sure why it took me nearly a decade to read the sequel, World Without End, I am quite happy it did come back in front of me (literally, it was being given away on a table as I was putting together my lunch!).  Did it equal it's predecessor? Not quite, but pretty darn close.

If you are not aware of these two books, you should be. While they are dated over a half a millennium ago, the stories are simply fascinating. I'm not a huge fan of this historical time (knights, castles, religious leaders, church building, plague, etc.), but due to Follett's excellent character development and story telling, one can't help but be intrigued and entertained by these books. A word of caution, both come in over a thousand pages, but due to the addicting nature of the story, they are easy to connect with and push through.

What I also enjoy about both of these stories is the varied timing of people's story arc. Both of these books are really about individuals. Often, very "normal" people who were not necessarily born into privilege who make great things of their lives, while battling others (who, are more or less "evil" (yeah, it's a pretty typical good guy/gal vs. bad guy/gal narrative - but it works!)). I really am fascinated by what goes in people's total lives, and Follett does a great job of telling each person's story from their childhood through middle/old age or death. It makes for a fulfilling read.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, hence the 4.5 star rating, it was still not quite as strong as the original. First, the story was pretty much a straight copy of the first in many directions. And while this is great, as the first was awesome, it certainly loses some originality points. Second, while the characters are still very well rounded and easy to root for, they were not quite as compelling as those in the first book. Third, this book had a couple of dry spots that went on a bit too long and were harder to push through than the first.

Overall, this book was still incredibly compelling and very entertaining to read. I couldn't put it down for long periods of time and nearly always looked forward to getting back to it. And not just near the end, there are many cliffhangers throughout that kept me engaged while reading. Again, if you have not read either of these, clearly you should start with the first (and slightly better), Pillars of the Earth. If you haven't read the sequel, I strongly urge you to do so as well. While it was worth the wait, I wish I would have read sooner than a decade later!

Eye of the Needle - Ken Follett ----------------- 4 Stars

I've read and reviewed three Ken Follett books (reviews here), including the incomparable Pillars of the Earth, which was one of the few books to earn a five star review. Hoping to enjoy another great story, I learned of a fairly well reviewed Eye of the Needle. While released over 40 years ago, I wasn't aware of the book and was excited to pick it up. For the most part, I was happy I did.

Unlike Pillars of the Earth, this book is set during World War 2 and covers a Germany spy living in England. A fascinating character with an interesting history, the German spy was really the centerpiece of the novel. Beginning with a murder early that sets the tone for much of the novel, the story turns in a spy thriller as it moves into the final quarter of the novel. And, a strong ending helps it along.

While nowhere near as interesting and well detailed as Pillars of the Earth, it's certainly a much shorter book that feels more like a deliberate page turner to keep the reader engaged. And, while I'm not complaining about the pace of the story, I do wish there was more depth created for certain characters and historical pieces. For example, we get a few fictional scenes with Hitler, that simply move the story along, rather than add any profundity.

What may have actually helped my review as I watched a feature film based on this novel just after I finished the book. Filmed in 1981 and starting Donald Sutherland, the movie helped to provide some visual accompaniment to the story that existed in my head but really did not do the novel justice. While I appreciated a greater amount of screen time was given to the relationship between the spy and the other main character - a civilian woman and eventual adversary - the movie too quickly ran through parts and didn't hold my attention.

Perhaps my biggest problem with the book was Follett's introduction in which he prides himself on having a female protagonist be the hero of the story. And, while this woman does end up being a hero, the author's creation of her character is very one-sided and flat. Besides depicting her as unhappily married, he also shows her as sex crazed on multiple occasions. This deliberate focus on her sexual interest ended up being her defining characteristic, which I really found minimized her character significantly.

Overall, the book was an exciting and engaging read that did a great job holding my attention. While it had some character development holes, and ran too fast in some places, it was a fun book to keep my attention and had plenty of chapters ending with a question that made you want to read on.  I would recommend the novel but I would skip the movie.

11/22/63 -- Stephen King ------------------------ 4.5 Stars

As I was reading Stephen King's amazing new novel 11/22/63, I knew from about 50 pages in that this would be approaching a 5 star book. As I continued reading, I kept going back in my head about whether it was truly a 5 star novel. I really wanted it to be one (they are pretty rare on this blog), but in the end, I just couldn't do it.

There have only been three 5 star books I have blogged about. All are amazing and they include Steinbeck's East of Eden, Puzo's The Godfather, and Follett's Pillars of the Earth. This book was definitely in their league, and I would argue, was perhaps a more enjoyable and addicting read than those books but to get 5 stars it has to be epic. Alas, that is where this fell a little short.

Quick synopsis about the book that gives nothing a way: it's about this guy who finds a way to time travel, thinks best to help the country by going back to 1963 and stopping the Kennedy assassination. That's about all you need to know to get started. Perhaps what's most exciting about the book is how quickly it does begin. So many novels slowly set up the setting or describe characters but about 20 pages into this novel the time traveling already starts. I absolutely loved the start of this book.

That was one of the reasons I new quickly that I would be debating whether this was a 4.5 or 5 star novel... it was such a page turner. After a dynamite start, I had trouble putting it down for the three weeks it took for me to plow through the 850 pages. Like other Stephen King books, it could have used some trimming. The middle had some parts that got a bit long and did not contribute a great deal to the plot. The book also was a bit simplistic in writing style and at no point did I find myself impressed with any of King's language or intricate writing elements. One of the concerns that I had early was that the idea of time travel can be so 'cheesy' sometimes, but the way King presents is so matter of fact and with so little fluff, that you can't help but go with and say to yourself 'okay, I'll just suspend some disbelief for a while'.

What was impressive was just the unbelievable storytelling power King possesses. As I give ratings mostly on entertainment value, this book knocked it out. As I said earlier, you get hooked in the first few pages and are with the main character throughout. I also love dialogue when I read, and this was chock full of conversations and fun back and forth. It's also written so simply that it's an incredibly easy novel to get through and one that does not take a lot of work to read.

As I mentioned earlier, the only real weakness of the novel is a slow middle section but due to such a strong start you find yourself happily reading through some duller parts waiting for the action to start again...and there is plenty of action too. I would like to write more about the actual plot because I loved the actual elements of the story, the characters, the description and time spent in the 1950s and 1960s and the wonderful ending. However, I don't want to give anything away. I knew just what I gave as a synopsis earlier and that left plenty for my imagination to go wild as I went through the story. As it was, there were so many ways that it could have worked out and part of the fun was trying to guess what might happen.

I strongly recommend this book to all readers and would argue that it's as close as can be to getting a 5. I really would pick it up as soon as possible though I warn you it's going to be hard to do other things once you get started, you are not going to want to put it down.

The Pillars of the Earth -- Ken Follett ------- 5 STARS

Well I felt it was fitting to include a 5 star book for my first review. If anyone ever reads this they will learn that I am not what you would call a creative writer. All I can say about this book is that it is: really, very good. 5 stars.

There you have it, not eloquent but accurate. The Pillars of the Earth really is an incredible book... great characters, wonderful story, moving dialogue and action. For a book that is so ridiculously long (973 pages), it flew by. Normally a book of that length would not even be considered by these eyes but SO many friends had SO many positive reviews I had to give it a try.

Now, I would not say 'I could not put it down'. That's just not accurate, I have to work, shower and do other things that I really can't read a book to do. However, whatever free time I did have, I dedicated to the book until it was finished.

If you have read it, you know what I am talking about. If not, go get it very soon and read it. It's really that good.

As a friend of mine said about it, "I don't think I can be friends with someone if they don't like this book". Yeah, that's right, it's that good that people are willing to lose friendships on it.