Publication Date September 26, 2023
Years ago, I was entranced by Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, the first in the”Knightsbridge trilogy,” but for some reason I didn’t read the entire series. TBH, I still haven’t completed it, but I was happy to receive a copy of The Armor of Light, the latest in the series, from Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. True confession time: my husband grabbed it first, and I haven’t finished it, so this review is based mostly on his opinion…but he’s incredibly smart, so we are all in good hands!
The story is set in the late 1700s, just as the industrial revolution is getting rolling. Massive changes are taking place, involving class struggles, tradition vs progress, and oh by the way there is a war in Europe, with Napoleon involved!
Typical of a Follett story, there are a LOT of interesting characters, all of whose lives are facing massive changes in all areas of life. Many years ago, I was a student at U.C. Davis, where I was lucky to take a history course which used novels instead of traditional texts.This book would be an awesome way to study nineteenth-century Europe. Follett fans: rejoice! A five-star entry in the series is here!