The Armour of Light: Ken Follett (The Kingsbridge Novels, 5)

Dieser Roman transportiert uns wunderbar in die Zeit der späten 18. Jahrhunderts und der großen Umbrüche der Revolutionen, die Geschichte ist sehr fesselnd. Allerdings sind einige der historischen Details etwas dicht und erfordern eine gewisse Konzentration.

The first novel I ever read by Ken Follett was “The Pillars o the Earth” and I think that is really his masterpiece. I have read many of his other novel,s but this is by far his best. This is the fifth novel on the developments in Kingsbridge - the same place where Pillars took place. This novel is very good, too and very readable and enjoyable, though not as excellent and outstanding as Pillars was.The fifth novel with Kingsbridge as its location shows the effects of the French Revolution and the effects of the Industrial revolution. The seemingly never-ending war between the French and the English and its devastating effects on the population in Great Britain is the backdrop to this novel. The aristocracy and the church are presented as the oppressors that they were. Now the new factory owners and the English Parliament are shown in the critical light that they deserve, since they don’t care either about the welfare of the people, either.Follett has again a number of characters that the reader can easily identify with, obviously some villains as well. There is a happy gay couple that somehow manages to preserver their love through all their trials and tribulations.The novel ends with the description of the battle of Waterloo and I learned a lot about this battle. There were many historical facts I never knew. Since the battle is presented from the point of view of the common soldiers this makes for very good reading, too.All in all, I really enjoyed reading this novel and I can highly recommend it with five well-served stars.I hope you found my review useful.

Dieses Buch hat mir wieder super gefallen. Wie immer wird man in die historische Zeitgeschichte gezogen. Ich habe alle Bücher von ihm gelesen.

The book describes the beginning of the industrial revolution in England. It is located in Kingsbridge, but that is not important, it could be anywhere, for instance in Manchester. The second topic are the Napoleonic wars and there I miss an important historical point. On the eve of the battle at Waterloss Duke Wellington said: "Night or the Prussians must come". For some reason Ken Follett misses this essential sentence out. Th Prussians eventually do come and thus the battle is won.