Ken Follett

Hi! Has anyone read any Ken Follett books? I'm become addicted to them, he's so versatile, u can read them all in a row!

I've read a couple of them. One of them had the word "Lion" in the title. Lie Down with Lions?

Welcome!

I think I read one of his books... I think it was called The Cathedral? (I can't be sure, since I don't have my book list here)

But from what I understood the book I read wasn't in his usual style or something... I think I'll have to look it up...

Aah, my mind's so lazy, I must replace it...

I also enjoy novels by Ken Follett.

His list of books contain the following:-

The Modigliani Scandal
Paper Money
Eye of the Needle -- filmed as "Storm Island"
Triple
The Key to Rebecca
The Man from St Petersburg
On Wings of Eagles
Lie Down with Lions
The Pillars of the Earth
Night Over Water
A Dangerous Fortune
A Place Called Freedom
The Third Twin
The Hammer of Eden
Code to Zero

Here are a few tasters to wet your appetite:-

Lie Down with Lions - There is a valley in Afghanistan ringed with wild mountains called the Valley of Five Lions, a place of ancient legend where men and custom haven't changed since the beginning of time. A French physician, a young Englishwoman, and a roving American each have their reasons for arriving in Afghanistan where the mountain-bred natives wage a guerrilla war against the invading Russians. Jean-Pierre brings medical relief to the Afghans, his pregnant wife, Jane, aids and advises the native women, and Ellis, the American, bears a message for Masud. But first he has to find the legendary leader of the Afghan guerrillas, for the Russians want Masud too. Alive or dead.

The Key to Rebbecca - Our Spy in Cairo is the greatest hero of them all says Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in September 1942 - He is known to the Germans as "Sphinx", to others as Alex Wolff, a European businessman. He arrives suddenly in Cairo from out of the desert, armed with a radio set, a lethal blade and a copy of Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca. He is a ruthless man with a burning , relentless conviction that he will win at all costs.

Code to Zero - A man wakes up to find himself lying on the ground in a railway station, his mind stripped bare of all recollection. He has no idea how he got there. He does not even know his own name. Convinced he is a drunken down and out, it isn't until a newspaper report about a satellite launch catches his eye that he begins to suspect all is not what it seems . . .

These three books are sat on my bookshelf ready for me to start reading. I am currently reading Stephen Kings "IT" and a book about "Colditz" along with Jeffrey Archer's diary of his stay in Her Majesty's Prison Belmarsh.

I have only read one Ken Follett book, "Jackdaws," and I quite enjoyed it. I think perhaps I will try a few more...

Jill

Originally posted by lies
I think it was called The Cathedral?

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Originally posted by Ian Sanders
The Pillars of the Earth

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That's the one I was looking for... Yay for you!

I read two of Ken Follett's books: The eye of the needle and A Dangerous Fortune. Both were quite good, especially Needle and although Fortune did have an awful lot of sex in it (even too much for me ) it was entertaining.

What struck me most was the difference in setting for these two novels. Needle is a spy story set in WW2. Fortune is set in the 1800s.

All in all his books are well worth the time.

When he first came out I thought he might have been trying to cash in on his cousin James' name. After reading The Pillars of the Earth I accepted that he had enough talent of his own not to need to.
I found Pillars enthralling. The combination of religion, politics and architecture was exceptionally well done. Generally, I don't like novels that span generations (Michener's Texas is one of a few books I've never finished) but this book kept me interested to the end.

I have read two novels by Follett: Pillars of the Earth and Hornet Flight. I enjoyed them both very much, for very different reasons.

Pillars of the Earth is an enthralling tale of mediaval England. And I do love a good historical novel.

Hornet Flight is (mostly) set in Denmark during the 2. world war. Being Danish I found this particularly interesting, also because the story is inspired by a real event. I must say, the book is very well researched. I hardly found any mistakes.

The two books by Ken Follett I have read have the great quality, that they are able to make me forget time and place completely. - And they ruin your sleep!

I have also read both The Pillars of the Earth and Hornet Flight in addition to The Modigliani Scandal, Eye of the Needle,Triple, Lie Down with Lions
Great books!

I'm now well into Jackdaws! Love it!

I'm looking forward to the follow up for The Pillars of the Earth which is to be released in 2007!

Last year, my Adanced Placement History teacher reccommended that I read Pillars of the Earth, which I loved. I haven't read any of his other books yet.

Follet seems to always come out stunning whenever he's writing about class struggle and power. Eye of the Needle & The Pillars of the Earth are too publication miracles. I've tried his other books, they don't seem to be written by the same man who wrote the 2 above.

My faves are:
Eye of the Needle
The Key to Rebecca
The Man from St Petersburg
The Pillars of the Earth
Night Over Water

His WWII novels are just great. I've been thinking of picking up Hornet Flight. Did he write one called Jackdaws? I want to read that one too.

I read Eye of the Needle, Key to Rebecca and Night over Water, which were all brilliant.

I have since tried a couple more more but cannot really get into them. I have heard Pillars of the Earth is very good so I might try that. But I agree with one of the above comments, that some of the later ones are like they are written by a different person.

Roger- I read Eye of the Needle & The Pillars of the Earth(and liked them!), but I'm kind of hesitant about getting my hands on Night over Water; is it worth it?

I have read only one and i loved it. Pillars of The Earth. Some say it is historically inacurate, but me not being a history buff i enjoyed it as a story.

NoElle09 said:

Roger- I read Eye of the Needle & The Pillars of the Earth(and liked them!), but I'm kind of hesitant about getting my hands on Night over Water; is it worth it?

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Hi NoElle. Well worth it. A bit of sex admittedly, as mentioned by someone in another post, but also lots of intrigue, action and adventure. One of his better books I think. Plus it has some history in the form of flying boats. Great book.

Pillars of The Earth was the book that started me reading Ken Follett books. I was fascinated by the technical aspect of medieval architecture and the character story line, spread out over many years, kept me very interested.

Although most of his other books are very different (mostly spy or military related) I found them good reads as well, especially Eye of The Needle and Hornet Flight.

I just finished reading World Without End, which is the sequel to Pillars of The Earth. It's now one of my favorite books. I knocked out the 1000+ pages in three days.

Hi there,

there is a series by Follet, Starting with Pillars of the earth. How are these books? Dies anyone know them?

Best wishes
Christine

Ken Follet is awesome!, Pillars Of The Earth and World Without End are my two favourite books, undecided which one was better, both were awesome. should read them right away.