Barbara K. (baskali) reviewed on 7/8/2012

Such a disappointment! I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth for its creative incorporation of history, fiction, and plot, with a pinch of engineering and physics to boot. I expected World Without End to satisfy in the same way, but I was wrong. First the pros: Lots of things going on. Reads quickly. The cons: The main plot line is weak; it barely serves to hold the individual story lines together. The story of Gwenda and Wulfric is tied to the story of Caris and Merthin only in the sense that they seem to know each other casually. I kept waiting for the proverbial bombshell explaining their true significance - to no avail. What grated on my nerves (and forgive me - this reveals my personal sensibilities) was that these 14th century characters were imbued with a 21st century progressive mentality. Well, at least the characters that the author ploddingly implored you to root for. For example, Caris, the heroine, embodies every possible feminist stereotype from the 70's. It's as if the author had Gloria Steinem whispering a checklist in his ear. "I reject paternalistic male-dominated social order!" "I refuse to be burdened by an unwanted pregnancy!" "I question the precepts of organized religion and embrace my spirituality through celebration of my womynhood!" "My sexuality is not defined by my gender!" While I accept that historical fiction needs to take certain licenses to appeal to contemporary audiences, I was unable to reconcile the anachronistic elements of the story with what I know about the time period. As a result, I felt like the author was pandering to what he believed was an audience ripe for the picking. And maybe he was right, based on other reviews. But the absolute worst (for me, again, based on my personal sensibilities) was the thinly veiled (or was it veiled at all?) animus toward the Church. I know, I know. The Church is a fair target, right? But how difficult - or original - is it to parade a series of rotten-to-the-core clerics who lack any character development beyond their rottenness? The author uses every worn-out stereotype imaginable. The only cleric treated sympathetically by the author is the archdeacon who is living in a secret homosexual relationship with the bishop. There is not one priest or monk who is described as having a true religious calling. Finally, I'm more amused than annoyed by the author's ham-handed attempt to sneak in implausible historic accomplishments by the main characters. "Caris invented the sick hospital? Wow! I didn't know that!" "Caris was the first person to ever receive a key to the city? That's amazing!" "Caris developed the first municipal bonds? And she was still a teenager? What a gal!" Ugh. I read until the end hoping to tie up the loose ends of the (presumably) main plot line, but the resolution was a letdown. Two stars because I'm a sucker for historical fiction.

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