Ken Follett

Året är 1792 och revolutionen ligger i luften. En teknisk utveckling utan motstycke har svept fram genom England och när de nya moderna maskinerna når textilindustrin i Kingsbridge ökar motsättningarna mellan invånarna. Spinneriarbetarna förlorar sina arbeten och familjer splittras. Men i konflikten väcks också kampen och hoppet om en bättre framtid. Samtidigt som människor höjer rösterna mot den maktfullkomliga regeringen närmar sig ett annat hot utifrån – i Frankrike har Napoleon inlett sin väg till makten och det viskas om krig." En rustning av ljus" är Ken Folletts femte bok om katedralstaden Kingsbridge. Det är en hisnande, storslagen berättelse om krig och kärlek, framtidstro och tyranni i en tid som förändrade allt." Folletts styrka som författare vilar på två pelare: den skarpa blicken för historiens långa linjer och den absoluta berättarlojaliteten till de enskilda människorna som en gång gick här på vår jord." Lars Kepler"Follett är en mästare." Washington Post

The long-awaited sequel to A Column of Fire, The Armor of Light, heralds a new dawn for Kingsbridge, England, where progress clashes with tradition, class struggles push into every part of society, and war in Europe engulfs the entire continent and beyond. The Spinning Jenny was invented in 1770, and with that, a new era of manufacturing and industry changed lives everywhere within a generation. A world filled with unrest wrestles for control over this new world order: A mother's husband is killed in a work accident due to negligence; a young woman fights to fund her school for impoverished children; a well-intentioned young man unexpectedly inherits a failing business; one man ruthlessly protects his wealth no matter the cost, all the while war cries are heard from France, as Napoleon sets forth a violent master plan to become emperor of the world. As institutions are challenged and toppled in unprecedented fashion, ripples of change ricochet through our characters' lives as they are left to reckon with the future and a world they must rebuild from the ashes of war. Over thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth. Now, with this electrifying addition to the Kingsbridge series we are plunged into the battlefield between compassion and greed, love and hate, progress and tradition. It is through each character that we are given a new perspective to the seismic shifts that shook the world in nineteenth-century Europe.

The grand master of gripping fiction is back. International no. 1 bestseller Ken Follett returns to Kingsbridge in the 18th century, with an epic tale of revolution and a cast of unforgettable characters. Revolution is in the air1792. A tyrannical government is determined to make England a mighty commercial empire. In France, Napoleon Bonaparte begins his rise to power, and with dissent rife, France’s neighbours are on high alert. Kingsbridge is on the edgeUnprecedented industrial change sweeps the land, making the lives of the workers in Kingbridge’s prosperous cloth mills a misery. Rampant modernization and dangerous new machinery are rendering jobs obsolete and tearing families apart. Tyranny is on the horizonNow, as international conflict nears, a story of a small group of Kingsbridge people – including spinner Sal Clitheroe, weaver David Shoveller and Kit, Sal’s inventive and headstrong son – will come to define the struggle of a generation as they seek enlightenment and fight for a future free from oppression . . . Taking the reader straight into the heart of history with the fifth novel in the ground-breaking Kingsbridge series, The Armour of Light is master storyteller Ken Follett’s most ambitious novel to date.'Follett's storytelling skills make their adventures riveting' - The Times'An effortlessly engaging and entertaining read' - Daily Mail'Bold in scale and meticulously researched' - Sunday Times'The plague scenes are expertly handled. Where Follett excels is in telling a yarn' - IndependentMore than 175 million copies sold worldwide. Published in over eighty territories and thirty-seven languages. The international no. 1 bestselling phenomenon returns.

Edge of Eternity is the epic, final novel in Ken Follett’s captivating and hugely ambitious Century trilogy. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants and Winter of the World, this is a compulsive, gripping blockbuster about the fight for personal freedom set during the Cold War. A FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICE1961, and in the United States George Jakes, a bright young lawyer in the Kennedy administration and fierce supporter of the civil rights movement, boards a Greyhound bus in Washington with Verena, an employee of Martin Luther King whom he is in love with, to protest against segregation. A RISING TIDE OF DANGERIn East Germany, teacher Rebecca Hoffmann finds her entire life has been a lie as she is targeted by the secret police, even as her younger brother, Walli, dreams of escape across the Berlin Wall to Britain. In Russia, activist Tania Dvorkin narrowly evades capture for producing an illegal news-sheet, her actions all the more perilous because her brother, Dimka, is an emerging star of the Communist Party. A COLD WAR THAT COULD ELIMINATE THE WORLD FOREVERIn a sweeping tale that began in 1911, the descendants of five families will now find their true destiny as they fight for their individual freedom in a world facing the mightiest clash of superpowers it has ever seen.*Ken Follett’s Column of Fire was an instant Sunday Times HB bestseller when it published in 2017

The first in Ken Follett’s ground-breaking Century Trilogy, Fall of Giants is a captivating novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women. A WORLD IN CHAOS1911, a thirteen-year-old boy, Billy Williams, begins working down the mines as George V is crowned king. The escalating arms race between the empire nations will put not only the king but this young boy in grave danger. A TERRIBLE WARBilly’s family is inextricably linked with the Fitzherberts, the aristocratic owners of the coal mine where he works. And when Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German embassy in London, their destiny also becomes entangled with that of Gus Dewar, an ambitious young aide to Woodrow Wilson, and two orphaned Russian brothers, the Peshkovs, whose plan to emigrate to America falls foul of conscription, revolution and imminent war. A REVOLUTION THAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHINGWhen Russia convulses in bloody revolution and the Great War unfolds, the five families’ futures are entwined forever, love bringing them closer even as conflict takes them further apart. What seeds will be sown for further tragedy in the twentieth century and what role will each play in what is to come? Continue the captivating Century Trilogy with Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity.*Ken Follett’s Column of Fire was an instant Sunday Times HB bestseller when it published in 2017

Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett’s uniquely ambitious Century trilogy. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants and Edge of Eternity, this is a gripping epic of global conflict and personal drama. A BATTLE OF IDEALS1933, and at Cambridge, Lloyd Williams is drawn to irresistible socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything that his left-wing family despise, but Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert, a leading light of the British Union of Fascists. AN EVIL UPRISINGBerlin is in turmoil. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Many are resolved to oppose Hitler’s brutal regime – but are they willing to betray their country? A GLOBAL CONFLICT ON A SCALE NEVER SEEN BEFOREShaken by the tyranny and the prospect of war, five interconnected families’ lives become ever more enmeshed. An international clash of military power and personal beliefs is sweeping the world, but what will this new war mean for those who must live through it?*Ken Follett’s Column of Fire was an instant Sunday Times HB bestseller when it published in 2017

U Sakhari dvoje elitnikh agentiv rozvidki vijshli na slid potuzhnoji bandi narkotorgivtsiv, tozh povsjakchas rizikujut vlasnimi zhittjami, a zakokhavshis do nestjami, - sche j kar'jerami. Tim chasom moloda krasunja-vdova namagajetsja vrjatuvatisja z polonu suchasnikh rabovlasnikiv na shljakhu do Jevropi, a suprovodzhuje jiji tajemnichij neznajomets, jakij, skhozhe, zovsim ne toj, za kogo sebe vidaje. U Kitaji zh ambitnij urjadovets, scho plekaje nadiji na gidne majbutnje svojeji batkivschini, boretsja proti staroji gvardiji komunistiv, jaki shtovkhajut Kitaj, a razom iz nim i jogo najblizhchogo sojuznika - Pivnichnu Koreju, do tochki nepovernennja. Na inshomu kintsi svitu, u SSHA, Polin Grin, persha zhinka na posadi prezidenta krajini, z neabijakoju diplomatichnoju majsternistju protistojit teroristichnim atakam, nelegalnij torgivli zbrojeju, a takozh kampanijam iz chornogo piaru, jaki vlashtovuje jiji golovnij politichnij oponent. Polin bud-scho pragne uniknuti vijni - i robit zaradi tsogo vse vid neji zalezhne. Prote odin akt agresiji tjagne za soboju inshij, i os uzhe najmogutnishi derzhavi svitu opinjajutsja v pavutinni vzajemnikh zobov'jazan, z jakogo nemozhlivo viplutatisja. I koli vsi chastinki zlovisnogo pazla stanut na svoji mistsja, chi zmozhe khocha b toj, khto maje najschirishi namiri ta neperesichnij diplomatichnij talant, zupiniti nevidvorotne?" Nikoli" - epichnij roman vid viznanogo majstra slova Kena Folletta. Tse drama svitovogo masshtabu, nadzvichajnij triler pro gerojin i likhodijiv, falshivikh prorokiv i spravzhnikh vojiniv, pomirkovanikh politikiv i revoljutsioneriv-oportunistiv. Povnij zasterezhnoji mudrosti dlja nashogo chasu, tsej zakhoplivij roman perenese chitacha na samisinku mezhu nejmovirnogo.

El autor n mero uno en ventas, Ken Follett, cuenta la inspiradora historia real de la crisis de rehenes en Medio Oriente que comenz en 1978 y de los medios poco convencionales que utiliz un estadounidense para salvar a sus compatriotas. . . . A finales de la d cada de los 80, el sentimiento antinorteamericano afloraba en las calles del Teher n revolucionario de Jomeini, y los estadounidenses residentes eran forzados a abandonar el pa s. Algunos, sin embargo, fueron detenidos sin acusaciones concretas y ante la impasividad de las autoridades. Frente a esta situaci n, el multimillonario Ross Perot encarga a Bull Simons, coronel retirado de los Boinas Verdes y veterano de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y de Vietnam, que rescate a dos importantes directivos de su compa a injustamente encarcelados. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION #1 bestselling author Ken Follett tells the inspiring true story of the Middle East hostage crisis that began in 1978, and of the unconventional means one American used to save his countrymen. . . . When two of his employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, handpicked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared. . . .

Bok 5 i den populære Kingsbridge-serien av Ken FollettEngland 1770. Oppfinnelsen av «spinning Jenny» varsler en ny æra innen produksjon og industri. I løpet av bare én generasjon endret vevemaskinen menneskers liv fundamentalt. Verden er i opprør, inkludert i Kingsbridge. Maskiner gjør det tradisjonelle manuelle arbeidet til veverne overflødig – og farlig. En arbeider dør i en arbeidsulykke forårsaket av uaktsomhet, og etterlater seg enke og barn. En ung kvinne sliter med å finansiere skolen hun driver for barn fra fattige familier. En velvillig ung mann får en uventet arv. En annen beskytter hensynsløst sin rikdom, uansett hva det koster. Samtidig som Englands herskere forsøker å forme kongeriket til en dominerende handelsmakt, legger Napoleon Bonaparte en storslått plan for å ta over verden. Plutselig er det krig i Europa, og alt er i forandring. Vil folk være i stand til å finne veien i den nye verden og reise seg fra krigens aske? For over tretti år siden ga Ken Follett ut sin mest populære roman, Stormenes tid. Den femte boken i den banebrytende Kingsbridge-serien tar deg nok en gang rett til hjertet av historien. Det er Ken Folletts mest ambisiøse verk til nå, og skildrer på en mesterlig måte de omfattende endringene som rystet Europa på 1800-tallet.

Los pilares de la Tierra El gran maestro de la narrativa de acci n y suspense nos transporta a la Edad Media, a un fascinante mundo de reyes, damas, caballeros, pugnas feudales, castillos y ciudades amuralladas. El amor y la muerte se entrecruzan vibrantemente en este magistral tapiz cuyo centro es la construcci n de una catedral g tica. La historia se inicia con el ahorcamiento p blico de un inocente y finaliza con la humillaci n de un rey. Un mundo sin fin En Un mundo sin fin Ken Follett vuelve al fascinante mundo de Kingsbridge dos siglos despu s de la construcci n de su majestuoso templo g tico. La catedral y el priorato ocupan de nuevo el centro de una encrucijada de amor y de odio, orgullo y codicia. En un mundo en que defensores a ultranza de las viejas costumbres luchan con encono con las mentes m s progresistas, la intriga y la tensi n llegan r pidamente a l mites insoportables con el devastador tel n de fondo de la Peste Negra, que aniquil a la mitad de la poblaci n europea. Una columna de fuego Una columna de fuego arranca cuando el joven Ned Willard regresa a su hogar en Kingsbridge por Navidad. Las antiguas piedras de la catedral de Kingsbridge contemplan una ciudad dividida por el odio religioso. Los principios elevados chocan con la amistad, la lealtad y el amor, y provocan derramamientos de sangre. Ned se encuentra de pronto en el bando contrario al de la muchacha con quien anhela casarse, Margery Fitzgerald. Las tinieblas y el alba (precuela) A o 997, finales de la Edad Oscura. Inglaterra se enfrenta a los ataques de los galeses por el oeste y de los vikingos por el este. La vida es dif cil y aquellos que ostentan algo de poder lo ejercen con pu o de hierro y, a menudo, en conflicto con el propio rey. En estos tiempos turbulentos, tres vidas se entrecruzan: el joven constructor de barcos Edgar, a punto de fugarse con la mujer a la que ama, comprende que su futuro ser muy diferente a lo que hab a imaginado cuando su hogar es arrasado por los vikingos; Ragna, la rebelde hija de un noble normando, acompa a a su marido a una nueva tierra al otro lado del mar solo para descubrir que las costumbres all son peligrosamente distintas; y Aldred, un monje idealista, sue a con transformar su humilde abad a en un centro de saber admirado en toda Europa. Los tres se ver n abocados a un enfrentamiento con el despiadado obispo Wynstan, decidido a aumentar su poder a cualquier precio. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Kingsbridge Novels Collection, 4 Books Set by Ken Follett: The Evening and the Morning A TIME OF CONFLICT: It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. The king's grip on the country is fragile and chaos reigns. A young boat builder dreams of a better future after a devastating Viking raid shatters the life he hoped for. The Pillars of the Earth A MASON WITH A DREAM: 1135 and civil war, famine, and religious strife abound. With his family on the verge of starvation, mason Tom Builder dreams of the day that he can use his talents to create and build a cathedral like no other. World Without End On the day after Halloween, in the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. They are a thief, a bully, a boy genius, and a girl who wants to be a doctor. In the forest they see two men killed. As adults, their lives will be braided together by ambition, love, greed, and revenge. They will see prosperity and famine, plague and war. A Column of Fire 1558, and Europe is in revolt as religious hatred sweeps the continent. Elizabeth Tudor has ascended to the throne, but she is not safe in this dangerous new world. There are many who would see her removed, not least Mary Queens of Scots, who lies in waiting in Paris.

Salajuonia ja vakoojia 1500-luvun Englannissa. Keskiaikaisen Englannin historia herää eloon Ken Follettin teoksessa Tulipatsas. Tulipatsas on itsenäinen jatko-osa bestsellereille Taivaan pilarit ja Maailma vailla loppua. Nyt eletään jo 1500-lukua, Kingsbridgen katedraalin paljon nähneet kivet saavat todistaa uutta aikaa. Katoliset ja protestantit taistelevat keskenään, ja riidan keskelle joutuvat nuoret rakastavaiset, Ned Willard ja katolinen Margery Fitzgerald. Kun kuningatar Elisabet I perustaa historian ensimmäisen tiedustelupalvelun estämään hallintoaan vaikeuttavia salajuonia, Ned astuu kuningattaren palvelukseen. Ned Willardista tulee 1500-luvun agentti, hänen majesteettinsa salaisen palvelun vakooja. Mutta suurimpia vihollisia toisilleen eivät tuolloinkaan olleet taistelevat uskonsuunnat. Perimmäistä taistelua käytiin silloinkin yhden aatteen tyranniaa vastaan ja niiden puolesta, jotka uskoivat suvaitsevaisuuteen ja sopimuksiin. Ken Follett (s. 1949) on yksi maailman menestyneimmistä kirjailijoista: teoksia on myyty yli 170 miljoonaa kappaletta yli 80 maassa. Jännäreillä läpimurtonsa tehnyt Follett siirtyi historiallisiin seikkailuromaaneihin kirjassaan Taivaan pilarit (1989), joka sijoittuu 1100-luvun Englantiin, kuvitteelliseen, elämää vilisevään Kingsbridgen kaupunkiin. Kingsbridgestä kertoo lisäksi kolme itsenäistä suurromaania: Maailma vailla loppua, joka tapahtuu 1300-luvulla, 1500-luvulle sijoittuva Tulipatsas sekä sarjan tuoreimpana ilmestynyt teos, Tuli ilta ja tuli aamu, joka harppaa Kingsbridgen syntyaikaan 900-luvun lopulle. Ennen kirjailijanuraansa Ken Follett toimi lehtimiehenä ja kustantajana. Hän asuu vaimonsa Barbaran kanssa Stevenagessa Lontoon lähistöllä. Monia palkintoja ja kunniamerkkejä saanut Follett harrastaa musiikkia ja hyväntekeväisyyttä.

Taivaan pilareitten itsenäinen jatko-osa Kingsbridge-sarjassa. Uuden ajan lähestyessä Englantia uhkaa sota Ranskaa vastaan ja mustaksi surmaksi kutsuttu paiserutto. Pyhäinmiestenpäivänä vuonna 1327 neljä lasta pujahtaa Kingsbridgen katedraalikaupungista lainsuojattomia kuhisevaan metsään. Kesken villin jousipyssyleikin he joutuvat todistamaan, kuinka nuori takaa-ajettu ritari valmistautuu kohtaamaan kuolemansa. Ritari Thomas Langley uskoo lapsille salaisuuden, joka yhdistää aatelisveljesten, villakauppiaan tyttären ja nälkiintyneen näpistelijän kohtalonlangat ainiaaksi – verivalan voimalla.1300-luvun Englanti ajautuu väistämättömästi sotaan mahtavaa Ranskaa vastaan. Lääketiede, kaupankäynti, arkkitehtuuri ja oikeuslaitos ottavat ennakkoluulottomia edistysaskeleita uuden ajan kynnyksellä, mutta vauras luostarilaitos vastustaa kiivaasti kaikkia muutoksia. Kohta saarivaltakuntaa uhkaa sotaakin hirveämpi onnettomuus, mustaksi surmaksi kutsuttu paiserutto…Taivaan pilareista tuttu, valtavin inhimillisin uhrauksin syntynyt Kingsbridgen tuomiokirkko on jälleen kaupungin asukkaiden rakkauden ja vihan, ahneuden ja ylpeyden, kunnianhimon ja koston keskipisteenä. Ken Follett (s. 1949) on yksi maailman menestyneimmistä kirjailijoista: teoksia on myyty yli 170 miljoonaa kappaletta yli 80 maassa. Jännäreillä läpimurtonsa tehnyt Follett siirtyi historiallisiin seikkailuromaaneihin kirjassaan Taivaan pilarit (1989), joka sijoittuu 1100-luvun Englantiin, kuvitteelliseen, elämää vilisevään Kingsbridgen kaupunkiin. Kingsbridgestä kertoo lisäksi kolme itsenäistä suurromaania: Maailma vailla loppua, joka tapahtuu 1300-luvulla, 1500-luvulle sijoittuva Tulipatsas sekä sarjan tuoreimpana (2020) ilmestynyt teos Tuli ilta ja tuli aamu, joka harppaa Kingsbridgen syntyaikaan 900-luvun lopulle. Ennen kirjailijanuraansa Ken Follett toimi lehtimiehenä ja kustantajana. Hän asuu vaimonsa Barbaran kanssa Stevenagessa Lontoon lähistöllä. Monia palkintoja ja kunniamerkkejä saanut Follett harrastaa musiikkia ja hyväntekeväisyyttä.