As of: February 10, 2024, 12:09 p.m
By: Sven Trautwein
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Ken Follett's Kingsbridge saga spanned five volumes.
He became famous with “The Pillars of the Earth”.
The final volume “The Weapons of Light” is now available.
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Ken Follett is the master of the historical novel.
Hardly any other writer is able to pack historical events into a novel as authentically as the British author, who was born in Cardiff in 1949.
More than 190 million books sold and translations in 30 languages speak for themselves.
Each of his past Kingsbridge novels has become a bestseller.
The current volume, “Weapons of Light,” which goes on sale on September 26th, will be no different.
Ken Follett “The Weapons of Light”: That’s what the book is about
Bestselling author Kenn Follett presents the fifth and final volume “The Weapons of Light” in the Kingsbridge saga.
© Metodi Popow/Imago/Lübbe (montage)
The fifth Kingsbridge novel is set during Britain's industrialization.
New machines, some of which are frightening for many, are taking over work that was previously painstakingly done by hand and turning many people's lives upside down.
Ken Follett chose weaving machines and fabric production as the subject of “The Weapons of Light.”
The power structure between the layers is beginning to falter.
Many simple workers are losing their jobs, the rich, privileged classes are getting richer.
An industrial change the likes of which the world has never seen before is affecting all of England, including Kingsbridge, and depriving those who work in the yarn and cloth factories of the basis of their existence.
Dangerous new machines are replacing manual labor and tearing families apart.
Blurb/Lübbe
In England in 1792, Sal, a young woman, loses her husband in an accident and is suddenly left alone to look after their son.
After a conflict with a local landowner, they are driven out of their town and find refuge in Kingsbridge, a village at the time.
But at this time the industrial revolution is imminent: the spinning jenny, a spinning machine that can spin eight threads at once, means the end for many workers.
What initially seems like a catastrophe to Sal, she uses as an opportunity.
Ken Follett revealed in an interview with
merkur.de
that he particularly enjoys the beginnings of a book project.
So outlining the story is a very attractive part of his work, which is still characterized by a lot of freedom.
But then it's time to get down to business.
The development of the characters, which can be detailed and detailed so as not to have to revise the manuscript numerous times.
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The Kingsbridge novels in order
The Pillars of the Earth
The gates of the world
The foundation of eternity
Kingsbridge – The dawn of a new time
The Weapons of Light
The fifth Kingsbridge novel is the perfect conclusion, said Follett in an interview.
The novel shows nice parallels to the current situation.
The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) worries many people and can be compared to the steam-powered looms that were emerging at the time.
Even if AI cannot formulate feelings, some fellow writers are still very afraid.
Recently, some best-selling authors, including John Grisham, filed a class-action lawsuit.
“Weapons of Light”: A book about freedom of expression and the right to education
The fifth volume, “Weapons of Light,” is a book about freedom of expression, ways out of oppression and the right to education.
These are all values that we have had to develop over the past centuries and that are once again in jeopardy in many places.
These are the values that are most important to Ken Follett.
Without wanting to lecture, he has written another possible bestseller that is first-class popular fiction, as praised by the
Washington Post
.
For die-hard history fans and lovers of the Kingsbridge saga, this book definitely belongs on the reading pile and on the shelf with books that you should definitely read.
The volume “The Weapons of Light” jumped to number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list in the first week after its publication.
Ken Follett “The Weapons of Light”
Kingsbridge Volume 5
Translated by Dietmar Schmidt and Rainer Schuhmacher
2023 Lübbe, ISBN-13 978-3-7577-0006-5
Price: Hardcover €36, e-book €24.99, 880 pages (different format)
Order from Amazon
For fans of Ken Follett, we have presented other novels worth reading here.