Pillars of the Earth

Not one of my favourites and it's actually a rented book that I failed to return but I had a dream about it the other night. I was looking at the bookshelf of my house and saw it there. It looked absolutely real and I could see the title on the binding.

It is strange that I recall this particular book because I haven't been home in about 1.5 years as I'm studying abroad and it's a book that I've just read once. Maybe it's time to find a copy around here and reread it. Maybe I'll like it more this time round. :)
 
Nice to see Ian Mcshane and Donald Sutherland in the cast and it looks to have a decent budget to give it a good account (40million dollars).
Now if only someone in the UK TV business would stump up to buy the rights, i'd be happy.

My only worry is that William Hamleigh may not be EVIL enough. Man, I hated that dude!
Oh, and Donald Sutherland and Ian Mcshane in the cast, looking good!
 
That's my worry too, nj1. I've never seen this David Oakes person in anything. He'd better be good, 'cause William Hamleigh has got to be the nastiest piece of work I've ever read in a novel.

Apparently there's been no broadcast rights sold in the US either. I live in Canada, wonder if any Canadian network will buy it?
 
Riselka said:
That's my worry too, nj1. I've never seen this David Oakes person in anything. He'd better be good, 'cause William Hamleigh has got to be the nastiest piece of work I've ever read in a novel.

Apparently there's been no broadcast rights sold in the US either. I live in Canada, wonder if any Canadian network will buy it?
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According to the link you posted the production is joint German/Canadian (strange?) so you should get i would think.

http://www.the-pillars-of-the-earth.../090609-THR-PillarsGainingStrength-medium.pdf
 
According to the pdf file you linked to, it would seem that it's been licenced to the CBC, so I guess we will be getting it here.

Fantastic!
 
Just read an article in Total Film magazine about the mini-series. It has the endorsement of Follet and is eight hours long. Ridley Scott bought the rights and is one of the producers. It is finished filming and should be out sometime this year.
 
Oh that's great svalbard! I wonder how long it will take to reach our shores though? :(
 
I found out about The Pillers through the series on the Tv and ofcourse like any book junkie I ran out the next day to find myself a copy of the book, having just finnished it I have to say it was fantasticly written, but I hessitated on World without End, It's just as large as Pillers and since I have such a backlog of books to read I havnt started it yet, should I put everything else down and devour it? or should I leave it till a later date?
 
Falsteed said:
I read this on recommendation, and can't say I agree. While it started and progressed well, it became a bit absurd with its recycled plot--"good overcomes, evil sets good back, good overcomes, evil se..ect..". I couldn't find any deeper level and by the end the story just felt cheap to me, its length unwarranted.
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Totally agree with your take on this book. I read this quite a while ago but I also remember very shallow characterization in the book. Everyone was black or white, often extremely so. Also some of the unbelievably irrational actions of the characters really took away from my reading enjoyment. Coupled with scenes that were entirely gratuitous I lost my belief in the story. I did think it was a solid and the writing was fairly enjoyable to read, but it had too many problems for to really like it.

From what I remember, I think he could have done better breaking the book into 2-3 novels, each with its portion of the story.
 
Have started this and am enjoying it, which is a relief, because the past few novels on my reading list have been a slog.

It's simply written, and the sense of the early mediaeval period is excellent.

Only a couple of objections so far, namely why Tom didn't confront the thief in front of witnesses (when he would likely got his money back), and the incident with Ellen just after Agnes which was a bit ridiculous.

But still interesting regardless, and a general nice feel.
 
Brian, please tell me what it's about. I get the distinct feeling it sounds really boring and uninteresting. Maybe I can be swayed in a different direction about this.
 
biodroid said:
Brian, please tell me what it's about. I get the distinct feeling it sounds really boring and uninteresting. Maybe I can be swayed in a different direction about this.
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Well, so far the first chapter has been about a mason and his family down on his luck, and the second chapter is so far about a Welsh monk getting involved with intrigue regarding the (soon to be) King Stephen.

The prologue should be visible on the Amazon Look Inside! feature, which is pretty decent and should give an idea of Follet's writing style.

It appears so far the story will be about the people and politics of Kingsbridge, with the cathedral forming a focal point for issues that will have national importance during a coming civil war for the English throne.
 
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