Ken Follett says in the forward of this book that he wanted to create a popular historical novel, and that is exactly what he has done-nothing more, nothing less. The story which is set in the 1100’s in Knightsbridge, a small English village, has something for everyone; clearly defined good and evil characters, a couple of love stories, betrayal, loss, fire, famine, battles, political intrigue and of course sex.

The basic story is about a Pryor and a Builder who come together to build a grand cathedral in Knightsbridge and all the many, many, many (did I say many already?) things they must overcome to see this cathedral become a reality.

While I liked this book for what it was, popular fiction, my main complaint was it was too long. I recently read Follett’s Fall of Giants which is about the same amount of pages, and I didn’t feel the same way about that book. I think it was because this book was so melodramatic. Right after one bad thing happens another crisis begins, and while that keeps the story moving along, it starts to become a little unbelievable and exhausting if kept up too long, as in this case.

This novel also feels very contemporary. Follett did not transport me back to medieval England like Karen Maitland’s Company of Liars. His language and descriptions are too modern, throw in a couple of computers and the internet and the story could be set in 2011.

I listened to this on audio and as always John Lee does an amazing job.

I would recommend listening to this on audio so that you could be doing something else at the same time (getting from one place to another, painting the house, working out) and wouldn’t feel like you wasted all of your valuable free time just reading this book. ( )