The Armour of Light: Ken Follett (The Kingsbridge Novels, 5)
£10.50£23.80 (-56%)
The grand master of gripping fiction is back. International No.1 bestseller Ken Follett returns to Kingsbridge with an epic tale of revolution and a cast of unforgettable characters.
Revolution is in the air
1792. 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 edge
Unprecedented 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 horizon
Now, 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’ – The Sunday Times
‘The plague scenes are expertly handled. Where Follett excels is in telling a yarn’ – Independent
More than 175 million copies sold worldwide. Published in over eighty territories and thirty-seven languages. The international no.1 bestselling phenomenon returns.
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Macmillan, Main Market edition (26 Sept. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 752 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1447278836 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1447278832 |
| Reading age | 18 years and up |
| Dimensions | 16.5 x 5.2 x 24.2 cm |
by Ella
I love Follett’s Kingsbridge novels, not because he’s a particularly adept wordsmith, there are no poetic prose here. But because of the depth of research that so clearly goes into each novel and the love and care that he pours into his characters. The plots span decades and you the reader get to watch your characters grow up, have children, die, and their children grow and so on. Their love, hates, passions, trials and tribulations all open up to you. The Armour of Light is truly fascinating, I learned so much, not only about the Napoleonic Wars but also about the brutality of the dawn of the Industrial age. The characters are well developed and Follett takes care not to repeat the same love stories and tribulations as in past Kingsbridge novels, though there are lovely little echoes of them throughout the novel. Wonderful read!
by Nelly
I great book, not anywhere near as fabulous as PotE but to be honest I doubt very much that anything can live up that. Took me one month, sluggish a bit every now and again, in places it just felt a bit flat. There is always a meanie and always a good handful of beautiful well rounded characters in KF books. I love how we always have the privilege of being with characters from a young to old age, and witness their lives. If you are a fan of the Kingsbridge novels you can’t skip this book.
by Portlander
The earlier books were a revelation. This is a good insight into life in the counties of England during the late C18. It is not an easy read and sometimes feels like a history lesson rather that a fictional story. That saiud, the characters are believable. Te author always does extensive research and his books are well reviewed and assessed by his historians. A very good insight into life across the classes and the church at this pivotal time in England as The Terror rips France apart and the aristicracy, merchants and judiciary try and keep the working class firmly in their place. I recommend it not oinly as the continuation of an excellent series but also an insight into why things went the way they did.
by Grandad bob
Really enjoyed the full series this one is set in the 1700 but when you read it you would think it was today , good author who pulls no punches a very good historical read would recommend to fellow readers.
by Bowler
Good historical story, violent war story with many sad events. Events tell of how the commoner had no rights in those days and struggled to live in dreadful conditions.
by Jane
…all you have to do is read the Kingsbridge series followed by The Century Trilogy. What a remarkable achievement. How does Ken think up the characters and plot lines and weave it all together? It is just phenomenal.
I now have a much understanding of how our systems of religious freedom and governance came to be. When you think of other European countries that are so affected and characterised by their predominant religion, ours is a very lucky legacy. I often watch programmes like Motorway Cops and reflect on how lucky foreign drivers are to know that if they have to go to the police station in this country, they’re not going to get beaten up, or starved. I have a friend whose son knocked over and killed a pedestrian (who walked out in front of him) in ……. and the system there is that you have to prove your innocence from inside jail. It was a terrifying experience for the family. In this book, our current legal system of fairness finds its beginnings.
Ken’s other great skill is to refer back to massive events without any need to include them (I’m thinking particularly of the reign of King Henry VIII). He’s quite simply a genius!
The only thing that is missing is the occasional piece of humour. If you read Winston Graham’s Poldark series (there are 12 of them), Jud is the character that gives that. (And don’t be put off by the latest TV series which did not characterise the books at all, even some of the casting was so off, it was almost unwatchable to a proper fan).
I digress… the book is brilliant and Ken even makes us feel a little bit sorry for one of his villains in the end! Overall, my favourite and most respected author.
by clayderman
the story continues the story of Kingsbridge which started with Pillars of the Earth and continues from the French Revolution up to the Battle of Waterloo, I
have read them all and are all worth reading for social history and politics. Well worth reading
by PH-LFC
A really really well put together story of late 17th and 18th Century England. Not quite the best of the Kingsbridge sagas, but still excellent.
Gives a perspective on how we very nearly became French, and how history can turn on the events of a single day.
Follett exposes the tough working conditions at the time; the near slavery of daily life for the majority of people in England – How things have changed in 200 years.