# A sequel to "Pillars of the Earth!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551 "2007-08-22T20:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/21 "2007-11-06T19:29:51Z")
I just finished the sequel, is it just me or is it nearly an exact retread of Pillars of the Earth? Don’t get me wrong, I liked it, I just felt like I had already read it. In my opinion, Pillars was by far the better book, the characters in World Without End seemed like knockoffs of the main characters in the first book. Plucky modern woman - check. Amazing builder - check (trip to Italy with a new love instead of trip to the Holy Land - natch). Unscrupulous knight - check. ---
**Author:** ![MTRG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@MTRG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTRG)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/22 "2007-11-06T20:08:05Z")
Two centuries later and the poor are still getting screwed by the rich ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/23 "2007-11-06T20:16:47Z")
[QUOTE=MTRG] Two centuries later and the poor are still getting screwed by the rich [/QUOTE] Quite literally in some cases. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/24 "2007-11-19T23:08:12Z")
I just started it, and was wondering if there was a thread on it yet. I’ll avoid reading back in case there are spoilers, but I’m excited. I’ve been waiting nearly 20 years for this! ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/25 "2007-11-25T19:14:55Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] It lacks the central theme which that book had (the building of the cathedral) [/QUOTE] I would call the business with the plague and Caris’s attempts to modernize medicine a “central theme.” Anyway, I just finished it. Like the rest of you, I thought it was “as good as” Pillars except for being so similar, particularly with Merthin as Jack and Caris as Aliena and Ralph as William and Elfric as Alfred… etc. The plague stuff was really interesting, and I thought the romance of Gwenda and Wulfric was very well done, to the extent that I actually cared if she got her man, and that kind of thing usually bores me. The ending seemed a bit too… tidy? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/26 "2007-11-25T19:59:49Z")
For those of you who have finished both books, and crave some more juicy historical storytelling, I recommend another novel by the same author, set in the 1886 London banking world: A [dangerous](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0330332651/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books) fortune. > [@](#): > > In 1866, tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns in a mysterious accident involving a small circle of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many loves. . . From the exclusive men’s club and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London’s upper classes to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world’s wealth, Ken Follett conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust, bound by a shared legacy. . . men and women swept toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy’s death, must be stopped, or not just one man’s dreams, but those of a nation, will die. . . ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/27 "2007-11-25T21:15:02Z")
Yes! I loved **A Dangerous Fortune** (“Closed the Doors!..Oh Mr. Hugh ☹ …”) in fact it is the last Follett book I really liked and have read it three times. His latest just don’t interest me as much. I did not enjoy Jackdaws very much, Hornet Flight was OK, I my try the Pillars sequel because so many of you seem to like it. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/28 "2007-11-25T21:37:34Z")
Thanks for the tip… I’ll look for it. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551/29 "2007-11-25T22:03:39Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Prior Philip, who was the moral heart of the first book [/QUOTE] You didn’t think Philemon was the moral heart of this one? 😉 Actually, I thought Gwenda was. Caris and Gwenda kind of upstaged the boys in this one. Which reminds me… I have a question that involves a minor spoiler Did anyone figure out who the “M” was on Philemon’s bracelet that said (in Latin) “M. loves Ph.”? Or is that supposed to be a mystery? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sequel-to-pillars-of-the-earth/416551.md?page=1)