THE ARMOUR OF LIGHT by Ken Follett -MACMILLAN BOOK REVIEW
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Jane Warwick
I was delighted to do the review of Ken Follett’s latest edition to the Kingsbridge novels “The Armour of Light”. I have read “Pillars of the Earth and “A Column of Fire” so I was interested to see how this book is connected to the others.
The book is cleverly divided into six parts with each part about events occurring at a different time in history and the consequences of these. This book is like the others in the series looking at the lives of the local villagers and gentry through a period which is from 1792 to 1824. The cathedral features again in this book impressing the reader of the beauty of the building in terms of being majestic whilst also recalling how despite its sheer size it was built without the use of machinery to help. Incidents which link the characters are written in detail and the readers follows these characters through the years.
There is also a variety of different types of romance written in this book between the main characters. The book also looks at different religions that would be present in villages and towns in that era and the role these religions play in how society of that time functions. I knew nothing about the beginning of the Methodist so was surprised how initially no musical accompaniments were allowed with the singing. It also reminds you for the great divide between the haves and have nots and the suffering of many of the villagers.
Ken Follett wrote about the concern of most of the gentry to let the working class people be educated as they felt it would threaten their life style and profits. As a textile artist, I was fascinated by information written on the history of cloth manufacture and how and where cloth was first made in the UK and how this changed over time with both the introduction of mills and then machines, and how this impacted on the spinners and weavers to name a few and how they coped to survive. You certainly get to know the characters well, sympathising with most whilst disliking a few.
I also learnt a lot about the history at that time and enjoyed the detail in the descriptions of buildings, wars, etc. which shows evidence of detailed research. The map at the front of the book (and at the back), is a great idea as this is very useful to look at, at different times in the book, so you know where events took place and where different characters travelled to. Ken Follett makes the book an easy read whilst providing knowledge and stories though there was a bit of repetition of events which annoyed me as it gives the impression that either he had to write a certain number of words (the book consists of 735 pages), hence the repetition or he feels that his readers need to be reminded of an event occurring earlier in the book. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading it.
The front cover is an attractive blue colour with drawings of machinery and the author’s name and title of the book stand out in white though they are written in different fonts. I would recommend this book as an ideal Christmas present for a book lover who has read some of the series or enjoys finding out more about history; likes a bit of romance or just to get them to try another author.
Rating: 4/5
RRP £25 Currently £11 on Amazon
This book can be purchased from Amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Armour-Light-Follett-Kingsbridge-Novels/dp/1447278836/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=ken+follett&qid=1702060684&s=books&sr=1-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1