The Evening and the Morning

Kingsbridge, Book 0

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

From master storyteller Ken Follett, The Evening and the Morning is a historical epic that ends where The Pillars of the Earth begins.

A Time of Conflict
It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. The king’s grip on the country is fragile and chaos reigns. A young boat builder dreams of a better future after a devastating Viking raid shatters the life he hoped for.

Lives Intertwined
A Norman noblewoman follows her husband to a new land only to find her life there shockingly different; and a capable monk at Shiring Abbey has a vision of transforming his humble home into a centre of learning admired throughout Europe.

The Dawn of a New Age
Now, with England at the dawn of the Middle Ages, these three people will each come into dangerous conflict with a ruthless bishop, who will do anything to increase his wealth and power, in an epic tale of ambition, rivalry, love and hate.

Thirty years ago we were introduced to Kingsbridge in The Pillars of the Earth, and now in this prequel, international bestseller Ken Follett will take us on a journey into a rich past, which will end where his masterpiece begins.

©2020 Ken Follett (P)2020 Penguin Random House LLC

Always great

A great story like all of Ken Follet’s. Once you start, you can’t stop reading. Highly recommended.

Brilliant . Captivating as Pillars of the Earth

Loved this story. Such a good narrator. Ken Follett you have outdone yourself keeping the story of this period in time alive for us today.

Entertaining as always

The story is well constructed and told, I was sorry when it ended. However, I get a bit annoyed by the "nice" people in the story having the moral ethics of our time, not their. i find it suspect when a noble lady finds love between two female acceptable, and slavery bad.

Twists and turns, captivating

A seemingly impossible lovestory taking the reader far back in time with a feelgood ending

An awesome prelude

I loved this book. Ken Follet never fails to keep one riveted. Beautifully crafted story that makes me what to reread the Pillars series. This book was clearly and intuitively read and has been the highlight of this month.

Good story Awful narrator

Ken Follett is a favourite author but the story was spoiled by the awful narration. While the reader could do the character’s voices credibly, the word emphasis for the narrated parts was inappropriate with the timbre of the voice rising and falling in the wrong places. If i wasn’t a ken follett fan i would not have reached the end.

pretty grim, but stick it out

I was not prepared for the hours of utter despair ahead of me when I embarked on this book. It really was pretty grim. Characters who I came to love endured near-constant victimisation, cruelty and punishment. There seemed to be no end to the villains and villainy that was perpetrated in this book, and seemingly boundless in the ways in which it could be applied (in the same kind of way that Game of Thrones does it). I felt for my favourite characters so much, that honestly it really ground me down seeing them suffer so, and for much of the story I felt myself wondering whether anything good might ever happen. I appreciated the way that this book created such an immersive and engaging story experience for the listener, but for me anyway, it generated so much sadness that I nearly gave up on it. The only thing that kept me going was the hope that some redemption, justice, and reward would come in the end. The writing itself, and the storytelling was really impressive, and so was the character development, and the absolute authenticity in representation of that time period, (in all its ugliness). However readers like me need some regular breadcrumbs of happiness to keep me going – some little breathing spaces where you can reassure yourself that bad things don’t ALWAYS happen! Apart from that it was a terrific book.
In terms of the narration – a lot of reviewers didn’t like the halting kind of cadence to the narrator’s delivery, and I can see why they might say that. When I first started listening, it was really noticeable. But after an hour I didn’t notice it anymore, and by half-way through I couldn’t imagine it being narrated any other way. Generally the different characters’ voices were distinct enough that you could always tell who was talking, and the various accents (especially the French) were very well done. I can’t say how this book compares to the other ones written by this author – I read Pillars of the Earth, but it was so long ago and I was pretty young at the time, so I don’t really remember much about it to be honest. I will certainly think about reading the other Kingsbridge books.

Brilliant!

Like Pillars of the Earth, the story was riveting throughout the book. Enjoyed every minute of The Evening and the Morning.

Excellent audible narration by John Lee.

Absolutely Brilliant

The ultimate voyage through time. This is probably his best work. Thank you for 7 days of listening bliss🙏🏽

superb medieval story

loved the story but frustrated at the hesitating style of reading.. INcredible insight into life in first century.one lives through ur all on every page.