A sprawling, enchanting epic that was, for all the time it took me, hard to ever fully put down — I found myself deeply invested in its characters, especially Aliena and Jack, and was devastated at the

death of Tom Builder in William's raid

. If there's one thing that was truly difficult about this book, it was being in William's head as he ages — as a young man, he is quickly shown to be spoilt and cruel, and only ever comes a

rapist and warmongerer

before actively turning his hatred to the

murder of Thomas Beckett

. (The latter is historical event, but spoilered for the sake of its role in the story for the unfamiliar.)

I've always been a deep lover of historical fiction, and watching Jack's explorations across medieval Europe and Spain as he became an adult were especially interesting — I wish we'd spent more time with him then! Aliena's perspective was always riveting, and her story was such a wild run of twists and turns, falls and triumphs. Despite not being a religious man myself, at least not a Christian one, I also found deep empathy for Prior Philip, and loved the way his story illuminates the politics and zeal of the medieval church.

I'm borrowing the next one from a relative, and I know I'll start it soon!

Content Warnings

cheazcakeguy's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I only finished this because I read it for a book club. Way too much unnecessarily explicit SA & pedophilia (just because it's "historically accurate" does not mean I want to read full details of a 14-year-old being rped by someone twice her age), characters were mostly one dimensional and often more like caricatures, and the pacing was uneven. The plot and the character Philip were the only things keeping me going, as it is ultimately a good story. The descriptions of the cathedral and the building process were also great. However, all of the tension and story beats ended up feeling super repetitive and recycled, and for the last couple hundred pages I was rolling my eyes at the dramatic twists and turns which felt contrived and meaningless at that point. I really wanted to love this book, but ultimately it was unremarkable. Hard to recommend, unless you like to read soap operas with one-note characters and you're okay with repeated graphic SA. I suppose if you really* like drama and architecture, and have extreme patience, this is the book for you.

Content Warnings

ochelissa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

krosa's review against another edition

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This book is clearly trying to be a more nuanced story about medieval history but it can't seem to avoid the "rape is realism" trope seen in so many similar books.

Content Warnings

breadwitchery's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

sophiaoquias's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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