What a truly magnificent story!
I started this not knowing anything other than that it’s supposed to be an epic story. I knew the name of the book and had heard about the video game adaption (which is supposed to be very good). And though I wasn’t impressed by the little I had read by Follett before, that’s all changed now. What a book!
The story sounds simple enough on the surface. It’s set in a small town in medieval England, and it follows the building of a new church. But it isn’t just a church, and it isn’t just a small town. It’s the cathedral of Kingsbridge, and the building of it will affect people across generations, from the lowest born to the most royal, throughout all of England and even past its borders.
It’s expertly crafted. I’ve read one of Follett’s thrillers before and it wasn’t great, but this is something else. The complex interwoven plots, the conspiracies and political drama, the historical accuracy and the details that were poured into the masonry and the building of the cathedral make this an absolutely brilliant book. And on top of all that, there’s war, love, economics, religion, life and death. We follow at least three generations through an incredible, all-encompassing story and it’s fantastic. It’s so much more than just the building of a church.
To begin with I was kind of dreading the length of it, but as I got into it, I realized I didn’t want it to end. I’m glad to know that there are three more books in the series, a TV show and of course the video game. This is the kind of story you can lose yourself in, forever.
All in all – a magnificent piece of writing. I’ve never been so invested in stone masonry in my life, and now I want to be one. If you’re into historical fiction, this comes very highly recommended from me. Whoa.
As always, if you want to support an indie author trying to make his mark on the world, and if you’re into psychological horror, crime thrillers, or science fiction and fantasy shorts, then I’d, I’d love it if you checked out my books!
You can find all my books and stories here
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