World Without End

WARNING!! ANIMAL ABUSE!!! graphic, in chapter 90, I think (my audiobook doesn't have chapters), it's a passage after “Gwenda walked to Earlscastle on a baking hot day. She knew what Ralph wanted her for, and the prospect made her miserable. As she crossed the drawbridge into the castle, the rooks seemed to laugh derisively at her plight.”I love Ken Follett's books. [b:Eye of the Needle 92364 Eye of the Needle Ken Follett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327939511l/92364.SY75.jpg 395229] was the first book of his I ever read, and it was masterly. Oh my. Then I read [b:A Dangerous Fortune 825508 A Dangerous Fortune Ken Follett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387637715l/825508.SY75.jpg 2627197] which wasn't an agent thriller, but a historical, and... wow. So, when I found [b:The Pillars of the Earth 5043 The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1) Ken Follett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576956100l/5043.SY75.jpg 3359698] I was overjoyed. And Ken didn't fail me. It was amazing! It just made things better than I am a medievalist (Thanks, dr Tolkien) and I love cathedrals... it was like written to me.So, of course I had to read the second book. But... it wasn't about the same people, and it wasn't (much) about cathedrals, and they killed the dog in the beginning, so... I didn't come long with reading it.Now I have read it. I hate Ralph. He's one of the most dastardly villains I've read about. Now, he's pretty typical Ken Follett villain, but he's good with the villains. There are several in this book. All those people with too much power and too little compassion. Lady Phillippa is absolutely correct. A person with no compassion and kindness is not a man. Not even a human being.Ken Follett is very formulaic, but I like his formula :-D