Historical Fiction -- 5 stars
Kingsbridge - Book 4 (a prequel)
It is 997 when Edgar's father is killed and his coastal English village destroyed by raiding Vikings. With no income and no home, Edgar, his two older brothers, and their mother take over an abandoned farm near Dreng's Ferry. Around the same time, Ragna, a Norman noblewoman, leaves her home and crosses the sea to marry an English earl--a love match made possible with the help of the earl's brother, the Bishop of Shiring. As Edgar and Ragna settle into their separate lives, Aldred, a monk in charge of the church's scriptorium in Shiring is dreaming of turning it into a center of learning. None of them can know the turbulence and triumph they will lead as England rises from the Dark Ages. ----- Nobody writes epic historical fiction like Ken Follett. Using simple language, he builds a world where good and evil clash in legendary fashion. There is never any discomfiture in this book's characters; the good are good, the bad aren't. This is a weakness, albeit a small one on the grand scale, in Mr. Follett's writing; but one easily forgotten in light of his solid and complex story telling. He creates characters and situations that draw you deep into a twisting and changing world that is slowly making order out of chaos. This prequel ends where The Pillars of the Earth, Book 1 in this series, begins.
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