World Without End

Oh Joy! Ken Follett has brought surprise and delight to my life!

Monday evening I entered Barnes & Noble in Chicago to get a cup of Starbucks coffee for my journey home from my New Testament class. I do this every Monday, a nice routine, a chance to browse a book or magazine, and to start my trip home smelling like coffee and ink. As one walks in the two sets of double doors, there is always a display of recent hardcover books set right in front.

And there it was...I broke out into an enormous grin, I almost lost my breath...Ken Follett has written another book in line with his monumental The Pillars of the Earth. I set down my Starbucks travel mug and gently pick up the thick novel, goosebumps break out on my arm as I stare in delightful disbelief at what I am actually holding. I never expected Follett to write another story using the characters from "Pillars", so my surprise was magnified greatly!

I thought of calling my brother Jeremy right away, right there on the spot to share my delight with him. He is the one who introduced me to Pillars of the Earth, and I knew he'd be just as happy as I to hear this good news. But it was almost 11pm and he'd probably be in bed...I can't wait to tell him!

I've read rave reviews of "World Without End", I can't wait to buy it. If I don't get it for my upcoming birthday, then I'm going to buy it the next day. Don't know when I'll have time to read the 1000+ page story, but hopefully it will take me months - months and months of escape into a captivating story.

Part of the appeal of "Pillars" was the character Phillip, a wise and pious monk who cared deeply about people and worked diligently as a faithful servant of God. He navigated his way through the decades having to overcome unwanted obstacles - be it an evil bishop, a corrupt baron, a civil war, or petty neighbors. Phillip has been an inspiration to me, of living in a broken world, living with doubts, yet doubling efforts to do good in the name of God for his glory and our joy.

The books are so large, I'm not going to attempt to describe the plots, they are too complicated and wonderful for me to butcher them up to a compelling synopsis. Go to Amazon.com or KenFollett.com and read the reviews. It is compelling historical fiction, it is just flat out great storytelling.