Story here.
This could be good… if it doesn’t suck. It’s got Ian McShane, that’s a good sign!
I’m there.
What is it?
Ken Follet novel about building a church in England in the . . . (memory . . . straining . . . ) . . . 1100s.
One thing I remembered was a Fleece Faire and fire don’t mix.
Watch as Ian places a stone…!
And another…!
And grout…!
And another stone…!
Go Ian! Go!
(Not anymore to the story than that, perhaps?)
Awesome!
When does it come out? How many episodes in the serial? Maybe I’m blind, but I looked all over that site and didn’t see the answers to those questions.
It’s not already in existence? The kid they said will replace Orlando Bloom in POTC IV has it listed on his IMDB page.
Couldn’t figure out what cable channel is doing this?
According to the webpage, Starz.
Heh, for me when I see Pillars of the Earth, I go “I will use my Mason to convert 2 sand into 1 Victory Point”
There’s a board-game based on this novel, if anyone is wondering about the sentence above.
Yes but…what is the story? Is there someone trying to stop the person from building the building? Is it a romantic tale where the main character just happens to be building a building between sessions of romancing his babe? I have to imagine that there is some sort of action besides physically building a building.
Guess I missed that bit. Not a subscriber, so I’ll wait for the reviews.
I read it when it first came out – loved Follett at the time. From what I remember, it’s romantic/historical fiction centered around the construction of a cathedral. The story follows several generations of builders, financiers, etc.
I thought the novel was a bit light on characterization. Every one was a type. It’s one of those books where you could read the Reader’s Digest version and not miss anything.
The miniseries has been available in Europe. There might even be a region 2 DVD already, but I haven’t checked.
POTE is not “about” building a cathedral any more than Star Trek is about a spaceship. It’s a setting in a fictional town in England where the story takes place over several decades.
What squeegee said. It’s also got[spoiler]the assassination of Thomas Becket, and the consequences suffered by Henry II.
Also the introduction of the flying buttress into English architecture, and the invention of commodities futures.[/spoiler]
No, really!
The cast list on Wikipedia is encouraging:
Has anyone else read the sequel, World Without End? My partner and I are about half way through but I can’t say it’s grabbing me in the same way.
This PDF of the character relationships in both books is coolness itself.
Yes it is, it’s the central running theme that carries the entire storyline. Everything - everything - in the book revolves around it. The “story takes place over several decades” because that’s how long it takes to build the cathedral. The title is a reference to it. Wikipedia says it is. The freakin’ author says it is.
Nonsense. The wikipedia entry says whatever the last wiki editor thought was true. Follett says no such thing in your link. In any case, the story is set in a town building a cathedral, but it is about the lives of the characters in that setting. Yes, the theme is about the church as a civic project, but the story diverges many times from that theme.
Please tell me: is Buffy “about” Sunnydale High? Is Apollo 13 “about” a spacecraft? Is Avatar “about” Pandora? Is Casablanca “about” Casablanca?
I’ve read World Without End. It was pretty damn good until about halfway through when the plague hits. That just depressed me.
You gotta take this kind of writing for what it’s worth. It’s very much “popcorn fiction,” along the lines of something like Desperate Housewives.
Oh yeah, and (I don’t think this is a spoiler, really), there’s very little payoff for the mystery that is set up in the beginning.
I guess there is, going by some of the random event cards. Besides what already have been mentioned, there’s opposition to the building of the church, greedy clergy, and a love triangle of sorts. The building of the cathedral is just the backdrop.
I didn’t really care for the book (I disliked Follett’s writing style) but I love medieval England, and the details about building the cathedral were fascinating. It might make a good mini-series. I’ll watch for it.