If I had to read a book by Ken Follett

[MrsDoyle351]

Which is the best one to read?

Going to the library later.

Another vote for the Century trilogy. The first book has Welsh miners and WWI so it is probably the one that PP hated. Truly awful sex scenes, best to skip-read them or just have a laugh.

I loved the Barchester Chronicles and Anna K. And thank you for other suggestions.

@PuppyMonkey 😀. I will an open mind at the Library and might not even go for the Ken F.

Aww I love Pillars and the Kingsbridge series. They are formulaic but enjoyable reads all the same.

Not a fan of Follet's style myself, but Pillars of Earth is an enjoyable read.

In a similar, but (IMO) better, vein, is Edward Rutherfurd - multigenerational historical epics, usually based around one particular place over centuries. I've particularly enjoyed Paris and Dublin.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwall however (and maybe it wasn't Ken's fault) I could only watch half an hour of The Pillars of the Earth (despite the cast) so I'd read Cornwall over Follet.

He's an appallingly bad writer imo.

I guess if you prefer authors like Trollope and Tolstoy then a book that is as easy to read as the Kingsbridge Trilogy won't appeal.

I like to read highbrow classics and "lowbrow" authors like Ken Follett
Currently reading a Lisa Jewell. I loved Pompeii by Robert Harris BTW.

I must look out for Edward Rutherford @rbe78. Those books sound right up my street

Doesn't Follett fall foul (alliterative genius here) of the informal rule that if you want a decent read, always avoid authors who have their names in gold foil in letters bigger than the actual title of the book?

I've read all but the latest of Jo Rowling's Cormoran Strike books and enjoyed them. Don't "get" the Osman books having read a sample.

I have read The Thursday Murder Club @Milknosugarta, but didn't enjoy it. I found the writing style very irritating.

I have a soft spot for Ken Follett. I’m reading Never at the moment. I enjoyed the century trilogy and am saving the Kingsbridge books for a spell of annual leave as I suspect I’ll want to spend all day reading them.

Warning. The sex scenes are excruciating. I wonder if he’s ever had sex…

Like @rbe78 i enjoy Edward Rutherford. I liked Ruska.

Thanks for the thread @MrsDoyle351

Pillars Of The Earth just listening to it on audible love this love have read for the last 30 years.

@MaryasBible your welcome!

I went to the library and they didn't have Pillars of the Earth (after all that)

So I got - The Heights by Louise Candlish

All the Light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr

American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins

and Fallen Angel by Chris Brookmyre (started on the last one - so far so good)

I'm going to be busy and will most likely need to renew a couple!

I love Follet. Particularly fab as audiobooks. Go as early as you can which I think might be pillars of the earth. Then you can get pretty much to the modern day. You've got about 300 hours of listening/reading!

I've read Pillars of the Earth and The Evening and The Morning which I think is sort of a prequel to POTE. Both great, enjoyable, immersive reads.

You should be able to up Pillars in a charity shop for £1!

I enjoyed Night over Water, it is one of the older books of his, but a good read.

Fall of Giants

@MrsDoyle351 if you enjoyed Gone with the Wind may I recommend Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. It's set in the Restoration and is absolutely brilliant.

I really enjoyed Eye Of The Needle.

Pillars of the Earth.

Follett is a hack. A tit-obsessed hack at that.

He writes books that don’t need a brain and is endlessly reintroducing characters to you in case you forgot who they were over the last 50 pages.

”There she was, the raven haired mistress of X and sister of Y, her breasts straining against the fabric of her dress as she leaned forward to greet Z, her former employer.”

That kind of thing.

It can be fun holiday reading but if you
only read long books when they’re worth it, this isn’t worth it.

I really like the Ken Follett series books.

Saw you picked up American dirt, I read it recently and couldn't put it down!

@CheeseIsMyPatronus 😂😅. Love your example of writing style for Ken!

Youre not talking it up for me 😅. May have to have a re-think

@Geranium1984 yep - looking forward to that one- good to hear you enjoyed it

If you are not necessarily wedded to Ken Follett but you want a long interesting book to read with an historical theme I would recommend "A Place of Greater Safety" by Hilary Mantel. She can write the pants off Ken Follett IMHO - I've read it twice and enjoyed it both times ( many years apart) - I think it is better than her Wolf Hall series. But others may differ.