The Evening and the Morning, Ken Follett
The Evening and the Morning, Ken Follett
59 Rating(s)
List: $35.00 | Sale: $23.10
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The Evening and the Morning

Bestseller

Author: Ken Follett

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 24 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 09/15/2020


Synopsis

#1 New York Times Bestseller
An Amazon Best Book of 2020
 
The thrilling and addictive prequel to The Pillars of the Earth--set in England at the dawn of a new era: the Middle Ages

"Just as transporting as [The Pillars of the Earth] . . . A most welcome addition to the Kingsbridge series." --The Washington Post

It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns.

In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder's life is turned upside down when his home is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in. . . . A Norman noblewoman marries for love, following her husband across the sea to a new land, but the customs of her husband's homeland are shockingly different, and it soon becomes clear to her that a single misstep could be catastrophic. . . . A monk dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning that will be admired throughout Europe. And each in turn comes into dangerous conflict with a clever and ruthless bishop who will do anything to increase his wealth and power.

Thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth. Now, Follett's masterful new prequel The Evening and the Morning takes us on an epic journey into a historical past rich with ambition and rivalry, death and birth, love and hate, that will end where The Pillars of the Earth begins.

About Ken Follett

Ken Follett, a Welsh novelist has written important bodies of work, such as: Eye of the Needle, The Key to Rebecca, Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, Whiteout, The Century Trilogy. His genre includes thrillers and historical fiction. As a youth he was never allowed to watch television or movies, so out of boredom, he developed a keen interest in reading.

Follett had various jobs on his pathway to being a novelist. He was a general assignment reporter for the Evening News in London. He found that work to be very unchallenging, so he took a position as managing director of Everest Books and began writing fiction as an evening hobby. With the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978 he became not only internationally known, but also wealthy. Follett’s next project is a third book in his Kingsbridge series. The first two were The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, and is to be released in 2017.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Debra on May 03, 2020

It's 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages in England and one man is attempting to make his Abby a center of learning while others are fighting/manipulating/using corruption for Control. Who you marry is hardly ever a choice but an arrangement, there are power plays, wars, corruption and greed. There is......more

Goodreads review by Emily May on September 29, 2020

I wasn't sure if I was going to review this book because, honestly, I feel pretty ambivalent towards it. I liked The Evening and the Morning more than A Column of Fire, but still quite a lot less than the previous two books. I agree with the reviews that say this has a closer feel to the first two b......more

Goodreads review by Angela M on October 05, 2020

It took a while to be pulled into this story, but once I was - I was in for the over 900 pages ! The novel follows the stories of three main characters and how their lives cross, and there’s a slew of other characters in England from 997 CE to 1007. This was a chaotic time filled with violence and p......more

Goodreads review by James on October 11, 2020

I am officially in a book coma now... after reading all 3 previous books in the Kingsbridge series, was there any chance I'd miss the newest one, the prequel, entitled The Evening and the Morning? Nope... it was gonna happen as soon as possible. NetGalley declined me. I waited until the library had......more

Goodreads review by Tammy on June 30, 2020

Such a disappointment. It’s Follett’s usual intermingling of characters’ stories but it fails to engage. The characters lacked depth and the plots lacked momentum. Overall, this is just lacking.......more


Quotes

“[A] richly told, complex story . . . Follett is a powerful storyteller . . . [whose] fans will enjoy this jaunt through the days before England was merry.”
—Kirkus (starred)

“Follett has done it again. Readers will gobble up this exciting prequel.”
—Library Journal

“[An] absorbing and lengthy saga of life in a chaotic and unstable England on the cusp of the Middle Ages . . . Fans of Follett's ever-popular Kingsbridge series . . . will flock to this . . . while intrigued newcomers can start here.”
—Booklist

“Follett vividly re-creates the ancient era . . . in this feast for his fans.”
—AARP


Praise for Ken Follett and the Kingsbridge series


“The Kingsbridge books . . . are swift, accessible and written in a clear, uncluttered prose that has a distinctly contemporary feel. . . . Follett presents his worlds in granular detail, but the narratives never stand still. Something dramatic, appalling or enraging happens in virtually every chapter. . . . The result is a massive entertainment that illuminates an obscure corner of British history with intelligence and great narrative energy.”
—The Washington Post

“Follett takes you to a time long past with brio and razor-sharp storytelling. An epic tale in which you will lose yourself.”
—The Denver Post

“[Follett is a] master of the sweeping, readable epic.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Follett is a master.” 
—The Washington Post