Pillars of the Earth, Starz miniseries based on the novel

[pollyanna]

emason means that it is on Netflix instant watch - you can watch the episodes on your computer or via a device such as a video game console, iphone, roku box, netflix-ready dvd player or TV, etc.

Right. I hooked up my son's Playstation3 to the telly, inserted the Netflix disc, and have been going back and forth between Pillars of the Earth and The Monarch of the Glen.

[Orable]

Funny, one of my coworkers just told me today that I should watch this series bc I'd be into it. Off to add it to my Netflix queue

[zowie]

So, I read the book and liked his style of writing. I know he has many other books, but from what I've heard this one seems to be the best?

Were his earlier books different in the type of novel but just as good?

I am looking for another good read and didn't know which book to choose.

[KHenry14]

So, I read the book and liked his style of writing. I know he has many other books, but from what I've heard this one seems to be the best?

Were his earlier books different in the type of novel but just as good?

I am looking for another good read and didn't know which book to choose.

I've read every Ken Follett book, so I can say with certainly that "Pillars" is easliy his best book. However, he's written a number of excellent other books.

I'd start with "World Without End" which is sort of a sequel to "Pillars" It's set in Kingsbridge, but 200 years later and the characters are decendants of the charactors in "Pillars".

Follett started his career by writing spy novels, the best and most famous is "Eye of the Needle" which was made into a movie starring Donald Sutherland. Of WWII spy books, this is considered one of the best. "The Key to Rebecca" is also a WWII spy book, but the difference is that it's set in Egypt, so the setting is more interesting. "The Jackdaws" is a later work set in pre-DDay france with a woman as the main charactor.

As for his non-spy novels, I like "A Place Called Freedom" which spends a lot of time in Colonial America. "Dangerous Fortune" is set in turn of the century England and swirls around banking, finance and rich people. Both are historical thrillers like "Pillars", with romance, backstabbing, redemption and greed, and both are very good.

I'd avoid "Hammer of Eden" "Whiteout" "Code to Zero" and "Hornet Flight" Also, "On wings of eagles" is an interesting non-fiction book about Ross Perot trying to get captured employees out of Iran after the Shah fell. But not the type of book that Follett is famous for.

Needless to say, if you like Follett, you have quite a few more good reads ahead of you.

Also, Ken is releasing a new book on Sept 28th, which is the first of a trilogy of books beginning at the turn of the century and following the exploit of five families and their decendants through the century. "Fall of Giants" looks to be a epic trilogy.

[jlai]

By the way, the war between Stephen and Maud (Mattilda) is one of the reasons why Henry was so obsessed with having a male heir. He wasn't certain that the nobles would be loyal to a female queen.

I assume you mean Henry VIII, not Henry II the heir?

[Nomad]

By the way, the war between Stephen and Maud (Mattilda) is one of the reasons why Henry was so obsessed with having a male heir. He wasn't certain that the nobles would be loyal to a female queen.

Edward II's unfortunate end proved that they wouldn't be loyal to a male queen, either.

[Really]

Waaah...POTE isn't available on Canadian Netflix!

[Artemis@BC]

Canadian Netflix sucks. They only have a handful of TV offerings because of broadcast agreements. Plus there's the whole issue of most Canadian ISPs having download limits ...

But never mind, it'll be out on DVD in a month.