A bevy of horrible nobles also populates the story on both sides of the pond. There is Margery, a devout Catholic who happens to be Protestant Ned’s first love, and Silvia, a brave Protestant who smuggles French bibles to the people of Paris. The rest of the novel’s characters are also wonderfully crafted. There are also scenes set in Spain and the Netherlands, and even the New World, making A Column Of Fire unique among the Kingsbridge series. This brings a feeling of international intrigue to the novel, which takes place as much in Paris and London as it does in Kingsbridge. Instead, Ned serves in Her Majesty’s secret service, working as Elizabeth I’s chief spymaster.

The book’s main character, Ned Willard, is the first of Follet’s lead Kingsbridge protagonists who is not a builder. Every character in the novel stands on one side of this conflict or the other, which drives nearly every significant event in the story. The Spanish Inquisition was eagerly hunting heretics, and England was ruled by Mary I, known as “Bloody Mary” because of her persecution of English Protestants. This was a time when being a member of the wrong religion could get one burned at the stake. The book’s focus is the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants raging throughout Europe in the late 16th century. It also features a decidedly different cast of characters and a sweepingly epic scope. While The Pillars Of The Earth, World Without End, and The Evening And The Morning had similar settings, characters, and structure-all of which worked brilliantly in those novels- A Column Of Fire takes place during the Renaissance, offering a refreshing break from the Middle Ages.

I’m glad I did-it might be the best one yet.Ī Column Of Fire stands out as markedly different from the rest of the Kingsbridge series. As soon as I finished Ken Follett’s The Evening And The Morning, I dove headfirst into the final novel in his Kingsbridge series: A Column Of Fire.

A column of fire book review