I remember there were a number of us using this book for the Challenge Bonus. Has anyone started it yet? I am taking it with me next week on vacation and hoping to finish it.  Would anyone be interested in discussing it in a couple of weeks?

I chose its prequel, Pillars of the Earth, as my greater-than-1,000-pages challenge title and I've already finished it--if WWOE is as good as POTE, then I cannot wait to read it!

I too enjoyed Pillars and haven't started world without end yet despite having it right on the desk by my computer.  I felt I needed a little break so picked other books.  I'll probably start it next... would love to join in on the discussion.

Trish

Ok, so I took this book with me on vacation and I am sorry to say I really did not like it. I reluctantly finished it. A lot of people on here recommended it and I was lookng forward to it, so I kept reading. But I have to be honest that I lost interest about half way through.

It was to me like watching a soap opera, it was predictable and frustrating, while at the same time you didnt want to not watch/read it because you wanted to know what happens.  The lives of Merthin and Caris I found a little more interesting than the rest, but that too lost my interest after about 400 pages. Sorry to sound like a prude, but the vulgar c@#t and c@3k and unnessasry grafic sexual scenes turned me off to the rest of the story. The whole storylines of Ralph and Gwenda were so predictable that eventually I skipped over their parts. I found the politics of the cathedral and all its corruption amusing though.

I found the parts with caris and Merthin the most interesting. Especially when the bridge collapsed and the parts with the plague. The one talent I have to say about the author is that he really was good at making you hate the villains, but to me that was the downfall. I hated them so much I didnt want to read about them. I skimmed the parts with Ralph and Philomen. Gwenda irritated me because she predictably made one bad decision after another. She got the man of her life but treated him like he was a baffoon. So I guess I have mixed emotions. I read more out of curiosity than enjoyment/

polbio;    I'm with you on the villains, 

I've had "World Without End" for months now, but haven't started it because I read "Pillars" many years ago and barely remember it now. I do remember enjoying it, but I barely remember any details about it. It's all vague!

Should I re-read Pillar before starting "World Without End"? I can't decide.....

Since Pillars is set during the reigns of Stephen and then Henry II and World Without End takes place during the reign of Edward III I don't think so, the family references are there and Follet gives enough info to remind you of the connections.