Reviews

We follow the building of a cathedral over many centuries, seeing how lives intersect with the building and powers rise and fall around it. Religion, class struggles, witchcraft, masonry.

paulap's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is centered around the building of a cathedral in Germany in the 13th century. It focuses a lot in the church politics, the feudalism and the treatment of the jews. It is kind of a better written, slower version of the pillars of the earth. It does not have the same pull, but it has many more layers and complexity (it is more similar in that aspect to Wolf Hall). I enjoyed it.

tommooney's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I lost momentum with this half way through (it's not you, it's me), which is a shame as it's a good book. It just needs the right reader and I don't often manage to get to the end of tomes this large.

It's like Ken Follett meets Tyll.

realis's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

mitchk's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

Really loved this - it was a bit left field for me, but I enjoyed the immersive nature of it. Based around the building of a cathedral in thirteenth century Germany it was chaotic, ripe with a cacophony of noises and smells, with politics and family feuds, with power struggles and love triangles. It was huge and sprawling, messy and layered - historical fiction that really does take you to the real, non sanitised version of life!

cmurbanmead's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

clmckinney's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This is a story set in the 1200s. It is about the building of a cathedral. I would say it is more about the town that the cathedral is built in. It reminded me a lot of The Pillars Of The Earth with less magic and more practical story telling. I got really drawn into the different characters and theirs paths. My only issue is that the last third of the book felt unnecessary and I lost interest at that point. I give this one a 4/5.

More...