by Ken Follett, 2020, Audiobook narrated by Ken Lee, Penguin Audio

This book is the prequel to Pillars of the Earth and is the story of Edgar the Builder and his early life before he became the builder of a cathedral.

The story is interesting as it depicts life in late medieval England. It shows the impact of the Church and the political structure on the daily lives of the people.

The story and the characters are, as in Follett’s other novels of this genre, formulaic. There are the good guys (Edgar being the prime example) and the bad guys (Bishop Winston and his family). The struggle is between good and evil and (spoiler alert) how the good guys eventually outwit the bad guys and prevail. It reminds me of the Harry Potter books where each character is type cast as either good or evil.

This book has more sex, brutality, and bad language than I recall in Follett’s previous books in this series. I think I heard an interview with Follett in which he was asked about it. He basically responded that “it’s what sells.” If that’s the case, it’s pretty sad when an author stoops to that level when the focus should be on creating something worthwhile. On the other hand, maybe it contributes to a more accurate depiction of life as it was during that time period in England.

In summary, the book held my interest as Follett certainly can weave a story. It doesn’t, however, stack up to be what I would consider a great book.