This book is the first book I have ever stopped reading midway through because it was just that horrible. I cannot understand any of the praise it receives with its intolerable characters (both "good" and "bad") and extremely boring and irritating plot. This book could have been half its length with the amount of unnecessary things that go wrong every other page not even for the sake of plot. The villains are so comically annoying, the way the women are written about is horrible, and there comes a point where I can only care so much about medieval architecture. Absolutely the worst book I've ever read by far.

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katieismay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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olivia_russell's review against another edition

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adventurous informative sad tense slow-paced

Loveable characters? No

3.5

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sarsaparillo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I had been looking for a new historical novel series and this one seemed to come up a lot in recommendations. My previous favourite was Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and so that's a point of comparison for me.

Firstly, this is simply a cracking good story, well told. The language is very plain and simple. No artifice or flowery prose or show-off vocabulary. No clever tricks. It's just a compelling drama with compelling characters.

Unlike Stephenson's often morally fluid characters, this book is pretty clear about who the heroes and villains are, and the plot is a some what straightforward rollercoaster of victories and setbacks, coming at at such regular pace that it never gets boring or off-putting.

I really enjoyed and appreciated the attention to detail in the world-building. Follet clearly enjoyed researching the time period and filled the book with details about the economics, social stratas, lifestyles, diets and day-to-day concerns of a broad swathe of mediaeval English life. Religion was a huge art of their mindsets and despite not being religious myself I was able to sympathize even with the most devout monks, which make up a large part of the story.

And there is a central theme arousldnt he cathedral building concerning perfection of craft, practising a trade, having grand ambitions and innovatingsl, which is very heart-warming.

If I had to criticise something it would be that the to-and-fro of struggles between and good guys and bad guys went on perhaps a bit too long, and the graphic violence and particularly the sex can be a bit on the nose. But such scenes and few and far between. Most of it is just an ode to good stone masonry and simple peasant table fare. Sweet stuff.

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sohva's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Great book, wonderful descriptions of the environment and cathedral building. A bit too many descriptions of boobs, though.

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