The title is a reference to Genesis 1:5. [3] Follett has said that he has chosen biblical quotes for the titles of all his Kingsbridge novels as he feels that they have a more powerful and epic feeling. Three distinct characters emerge, each with their own stories and hopes for the years to come. Edgar is a young boatbuilder, who lost the love of his life during a Viking raid. Ragna is a noblewoman who arrives from Normandy and seeks to make a new life for herself. Aldred is a young monk and hopes to make an ecclesiastical mark while setting up a monastery to help enrich the community. Each has a tale all their own, but their lives inch closer to being intertwined. like the other books in this series, it didn't have to be so lengthy! Some serious pruning would have been nice; and, This isn't a book for the faint hearted as it depicts many acts of sexual violence, rape, brutality and torture and I have to admit I found it hard going in places. The sexual violence against young girls and women made for uncomfortable reading and I think he could have toned it down a little and still would have got his point across without being so coarse.

We've got the typical Kingsbridge characters: Edgar the Builder, the lower-class but hardworking and lovelorn laborer (who, of course, wins the girl in the end); Ragna, the intelligent damsel-in-distress noblewoman (who gets raped at least once); and Abbot Aldred, the piously downtrodden cleric. Of course, we must have the "bad guys", topping the list with the (perennially) evil bishop, Wynstan! As with all of Follett’s works he is meticulous in his history research, and I particularly enjoyed learning how important Eels were to the British diet! He has his usual assortment of villains and in this book there are a lot of people to dislike!! A] richly told, complex story . . . Follett is a powerful storyteller . . . [whose]fans will enjoy this jaunt through the days before England was merry.” A consummate novelist, Follett might just as easily be a historian. For this reason, read the book carefully. While the story will propel you along at high speed, take a moment and answer the questions that arise:What is a “hundred court?” A thane? A minster? Follett’s research is obvious, but it is his genius for weaving the story around the spine of this history that sets him apart. There is always a character or two in the series upon whom the advancement of civilization is imposed. Edgar is the historical hinge in this book. He has no familial connections to power. He can only call upon his powers of logic, skill and intelligence to combat the prevailing ignorance and superstition. He personifies progress and a new way. With like-minded allies, he pivots England ever so slowly toward a more enlightened future. By the end of the novel, not only has Edgar changed, but England has as well.Ante este derroche de ambientación, el argumento, la historia puede quedar en algún momento algo diluida. Sin embargo, si realmente prestamos atención, nos damos cuenta que los amores, ambiciones, rivalidades, conspiraciones, etc. que el autor utiliza para crear la intriga siguen presentes. En ese mundo rígido e injusto, con grandes dificultades de progreso individual, Ken Follett apuesta siempre por la inteligencia, el ingenio y la bondad como únicas herramientas válidas para abrirse camino hacia la felicidad y el éxito. Cada escena es un reto, una negociación donde en un primer momento vencen la fuerza bruta, el poder o el abuso, pero que, finalmente, estos resultan derrotados por la astucia y la honradez. Porque al final siempre triunfa la justicia: horrible es el castigo para los malvados y espléndida la recompensa para los honestos. The Kingsbridge books . . . are swift, accessible and written in a clear, uncluttered prose that has a distinctly contemporary feel. . . . Follett presents his worlds in granular detail, but the narratives never stand still. Something dramatic, appalling or enraging happens in virtually every chapter. . . . The result is a massive entertainment that illuminates an obscure corner of British history with intelligence and great narrative energy.” Aldred is a lowly monk with high hopes for Dreng’s Ferry, seeking to make it a scholastic and religious centre in Europe where many can grow their knowledge and become better people. However, some of the local clergy have other ideas and try to destroy Aldred’s ideas and the monastery he hopes to build. Corruption abounds, leaving Aldred to turn to others for help, all while fending off those who would see him fail. He turned his head and looked around by firelight. His home was like almost every other house in the town of Combe: oak-plank walls, a thatched roof, and an earth floor partly covered with reeds from the banks of the nearby river. It had no windows. In the middle of the single room was a square of stones surrounding the hearth. Over the fire stood an iron tripod from which cooking pots could be hung, and its legs made spidery shadows on the underside of the roof. All around the walls were wooden pegs on which were hung clothes, cooking utensils, and boatbuilding tools.

There is, of course -- and I hate to say 'of course', but, well, here we are -- a rape scene. It isn't as graphic as it might be, but it's also just... wearying. I can recognize that, yes, both the rape and its context would not be unusual for the period and still be tired of the trope appearing in fiction. I wish Follett had found some other means of inflicting stress upon his heroine. Another scene, while positively framed, reminded me that I could also do without ever reading a male author trying to write a woman's perspective of her own genitalia ever again. Edgar is at the beach waiting for Sunni. They’ve been planning a escape for sometime, and... if everything goes according to plan ... tonight will be the night! Edgar was not sure how much of the night had passed, because he might have dozed off, perhaps more than once. Earlier, he had listened to the sounds of the town settling for the night: a couple of drunks singing an obscene ditty, the bitter accusations of a marital quarrel in a neighboring house, a door slamming and a dog barking and, somewhere nearby, a woman sobbing. But now there was nothing but the soft lullaby of waves on a sheltered beach. He stared in the direction of the door, looking for telltale lines of light around its edges, and saw only darkness. That meant either that the moon had set, so the night was well advanced, or that the sky was cloudy, which would tell him nothing.

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He had spread his cloak over the reeds on the floor and now he lay on it, dressed in the knee-length brown wool tunic that was all he wore in summer, day and night. In winter he would wrap the cloak around him and lie near the fire. But now the weather was warm: Midsummer Day was a week away. Now, with England at the dawn of the Middle Ages, these three people will each come into dangerous conflict with a ruthless bishop, who will do anything to increase his wealth and power, in an epic tale of ambition, rivalry, love and hate. At the same time, a beautiful French noblewoman, Ragna, is wooed and wed by one of those men of power, Wilwulf (Wilf), whose family rules the region. Wilf is the ealdorman, his brother Wynstan the corrupt bishop, and his youngest brother Wigelm a brutish thane. Ragna soon learns that her love is misplaced, and she too must figure out how to survive amid treachery and deceit. Just as transporting as [ The Pillars of the Earth] . . . A most welcome addition to the Kingsbridge series.”— The Washington Post

There are bloody scenes of warfare, torture, murder, lust and rape. There are also love affairs, devotion to family, marriage celebrations, religious ceremonies, and court deliberations. Las tinieblas y el alba es una nítida e interesante historia para disfrutar. Literatura de evasión de calidad, con un soberbio trabajo documental y unos personajes sencillos que responden a estereotipos claros y reconocibles, pero en cualquier caso entrañables. Just as transporting as [ The Pillars of the Earth] . . . A most welcome addition to the Kingsbridge series." — The Washington Post Murder, sex, and unholy ambition threaten to overwhelm the glimmers of light in Dark Ages England in this prequel to The Pillars of the Earth (1989).The most successful people in the world use world-class tools, resources, and books to perform at a high level and continue to learn. The popular Kingsbridge series began in 1989 when author Ken Follett, known for high-octane thrillers and spy mysteries, published The Pillars of the Earth, a book about the building of a 12th-century church. It became a hit, and two more books eventually followed: World Without End in 2007 and A Column of Fire in 2017. Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire. Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995. Her husband, Cyneric, was thirty. She had been fourteen when she married him. He had a small herd of milk cows, and Sunni managed the dairy. She was shrewd, and made plenty of money for her husband. They had no children.