Karen H. (SashaFletch) reviewed on + 121 more book reviews
I read this book when it originally came out in 1979. I was very young then and not well versed in history. Since then, I've become extremely interested in history and I know that Ken Follett writes very good historical fiction, whether it be about the 12th century, or the 20th. Plus, he's one of my favorite authors, as you all know if you've read my other Follett reviews. This book, however, got too complicated for me as it went on with all the different characters and nautical maneuverings. Even though there was a romance added, it still didn't bring up my interest levels because I couldn't just "believe" in the romance. It was too cliche: Man meets beautiful daughter of beautiful mother whom he desired 20 years earlier. The daughter looks JUST like her mother (cliche), is 16 years younger than man (cliche so old and frequent, I could throw this one away for good), and they both fall in love with each other in about 1 day??? And, as usual, it doesn't matter what the man looks like. His head could look like a billiard ball and his face a pock-marked mess - she falls for him anyway. But her looks are always PERFECT. Anyway, there is a lot of merit in the book and people who don't have problems with complicated war plots will love it. But for me, not one of my Follett Favorites.
