书名：World Without End无尽世界

作者：Ken Follett

出版社名称：Penguin Books

出版时间：2010

语种：英文

ISBN：9780451228376

商品尺寸：10.6 x 3.8 x 17.1 cm

包装：简装

页数：1046

★中世纪传奇史诗《圣殿春秋》的续篇，“中世纪三部曲”的第二部；

★比利时畅销书、《纽约时报》、《出版商周刊》、《华尔街日报》、英国《泰晤士报》畅销书排行榜； ★《巨人的陨落》作者，爱伦·坡终身大师奖得主、英国皇家文学学会会员、英国历史小说大师肯·福莱特； ★黑死病引发新旧价值观念的对立冲突，百年战争时期惊心动魄的历史画卷。 肯·福莱特（Ken Follett）是英国当代的历史小说大师。自1989年《圣殿春秋》问世后，在读者中引起了很大的反响，不断有人催促福莱特撰写这部小说的续篇。18年之后，终于诞生了这本World Without End《无尽世界》。 英王爱德华二世是生是死？ 知晓秘密的人为何一一遇害？ …… 这是一部荡气回肠的历史惊悚悬疑小说。无尽黑暗后，便可望得见星光！ 这本书让每个人知道，我们有能力越过世俗，触及永恒。媒体评论：“《无尽世界》是一部可以打满分的小说！”——《纽约时报》 “肯·福莱特塑造出了一种紧张的平衡，在这其中还蕴藏了许多悬念、动作、阴谋和激情，简直无可挑剔！”——《今日美国》 “在这本书中，浓缩了所有的人类生活和情感。肯·福莱特从来不会让人失望！”——《科克斯书评》 “你会真的关心这个故事中的人们会发生什么事情：有时候，你似乎成为了书中的人物：你的成长、你的每一次呼吸，和你一直隐藏着的秘密。”——《每日快报》 “从未有一部小说像《无尽世界》这样，如此生动有趣，又如此意味深长。”——《华盛顿邮报》#1 New York Times BestsellerIn 1989, Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed--"it will hold you, fascinate you, surround you" (Chicago Tribune)--and readers everywhere hoped for a sequel. Look out for the next book in this series, A Column of Fire, available now. World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroads of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death. Three years in the writing and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End breathes new life into the epic historical novel and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft. Praise for World Without End:"Follett tells a story that runs the gamut of life in the Middle Ages, and he does so in such a way that we are not only captivated but also educated. What else could you ask for?" --The Denver Post "So if historical fiction is your meat, here's a rare treat. A feast of conflicts and struggles among religious authority, royal governance, the powerful unions (or guilds) of the day, and the peasantry . . . With World Without End, Follett proves his Pillars may be a rarity, but it wasn't a fluke." --New York Post "A work that stands as something of a triumph of industry and professionalism."--The Guardian (UK) "The four well-drawn central characters will captivate readers as they prove to be heroic, depraved, resourceful, or mean. Fans of Follett's previous medieval epic will be well rewarded." --The Union (CA) "Populated with an immense cast of truly remarkable characters… this is not a book to be devoured in one sitting, tempting though that might be, but one to savor for its drama, depth, and richness." --Library Journal "Readers will be captivated." --Publishers Weekly

故事依然发生王桥。1327年万圣节的前一天，四个小镇的孩子悄悄溜进森林，并在那里亲眼目睹了灭绝人寰的杀人场景。长大成人之后，他们的生活中交织着野心、爱情、贪婪和复仇。他们将见证繁荣和饥荒，瘟疫和战争。其中一个男孩将会环游世界，并回到王桥；另一个则成为了位高权重却腐败堕落的贵族。一个女孩将挑战中世纪教会的威严；而另一个则执着地追求一段毫无希望的爱情。无论怎样，他们的生活始终笼罩在童年目睹的谋杀的阴影下。

与此同时，你争我夺、尔虞我诈的闹剧也仍然频繁地在小镇上演。人们处在爱与恨、贪婪与骄傲、欲念与仇恨编织的网中。于是有人开始质疑无所不能的天主是否真正存在…… 小说延续前篇，继续讲述中世纪英格兰宗教、政治等利益勾结的黑暗阴谋。

肯·福莱特（Ken Follett，1949-），当代惊险小说大师。1949年6月5日生于英国威尔斯，在伦敦念完大学后曾任新闻记者，后专职写作。1978年以《针眼》一书荣获美国侦探作家俱乐部长篇小说奖后，立刻蜚声国际，年仅27岁。之后又有《圣彼得堡来客》、《与狮同眠》等多部小说畅销全世界，奠定了不可动摇的大师地位。

福莱特的作品特色是内容都有史实根据。历史上的真实人物与小说中的虚构角色，天衣无缝地融合在一起。其栩栩如生的人物刻画、高潮迭起的情节铺陈、精致准确的细部描绘，让读者在亦真亦幻之中，与历史时代共浮沉，和历史人物同悲喜，而得到无比的乐趣。福莱特还擅长描写爱情，用纤细动人的笔触，捕捉男女间微妙的感情变化，使他的惊险小说同时也是很好的爱情小说。 Ken Follett is one of the world's best-loved authors, selling more than 160 million copies of his thirty books. Follett's first bestseller was Eye of the Needle, a spy story set in the Second World War. In 1989 The Pillars of the Earth was published, and has since become the author's most successful novel. It reached number one on bestseller lists around the world and was an Oprah's Book Club pick. Follett lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife Barbara. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren, and three Labradors.

Gwenda was eight years old, but she was not afraid of the dark.

When she opened her eyes she could see nothing, but that was not what scared her. She knew where she was. She was lying on the floor in a bed of straw at Kingsbridge Priory, in the long stone building they called the hospital. Her mother lay next to her, and Gwenda could tell, by the warm milky smell, that Ma was feeding the new baby, who did not yet have a name. Beside Ma was Pa. and next to him Gwenda’s older brother, Philernon, who was twelve. The hospital was crowded, and though she could not see the other families lying along the floor, squashed together like sheep in a pen, she could smell the rank odor of their warm bodies. When dawn broke it would be All Hallows, a Sunday this year and therefore an especially holy day. By the same token the night before was All Hallows Eve, a dangerous time when evil spirits roamed freely. Hundreds of people had come to Kingsbridge from the surrounding villages, as Gwenda’s family had, to spend Halloween in the sanctified precincts of the priory, and to attend the All Hallows service at daybreak. Gwenda was wary of evil spirits, like every sensible person; but she was more scared of what she had to do during the service. She stared into the gloom, trying not to think about what frightened her. She knew that the wall opposite her had an arched window. There was no glass—only the most important buildings had glass windows—but a linen blind kept out the cold autumn air. However, she could not even see a faint patch of gray where the window should be. She was glad. She did not want the morning to come. She could see nothing, but there was plenty to listen to. The straw that covered the floor whispered constantly as people stirred and shifted in their sleep. A child cried out, as if woken by a dream. and was quickly silenced by a murmured endearment. Now and again someone spoke, uttering the half-formed words of sleep talk. Somewhere there was the sound of two people doing the thing parents did but never spoke of—the thing Gwenda called grunting because she had no other word for it. Too soon, there was a light. At the eastern end of the long room. behind the altar, a monk came through the door carrying a single candle. He put the candle down on the altar, lit a taper from it, and went around touching the flame to the wall lamps, his long shadow reaching up the wall each time like a reflection, his taper meeting the shadow taper at the wick of the lamp. The strengthening light illuminated on the floor rows of humped figures, wrapped in their drab cloaks or huddled up to their neighbors for warmth. Sick people occupied the cots near the altar, where they could get the maximum benefit from the holiness of the place. At the opposite end, a staircase led to the upper floor, where there were rooms for aristocratic visitors: the earl of Shiring was there now with some of his family. The monk leaned over Gwenda to light the lamp above her head. He caught her eye and smiled. She studied his face in the shifting light of the flame and recognized him as Brother Godwyn. He was young and handsome, and last night he had spoken kindly to Philemon.