Ken Follet is known worldwide for many of his works. But if we had to cite a book that would give him even greater fame, it would undoubtedly be The Pillars of the Earth. In 2021 he arrived at the bookstores Never, by Ken Follet, his latest book.
But what is it about? Is he as good as others? What genre does he fall into? If you have not yet given this book a chance and are thinking about doing so, we will talk about it below.
A brief overview of the life and literary career of Ken Follet
Before we focus directly on Ken Follet's latest book to date, we want to tell you a little about the author.
Ken Follet is one of the best known British writers in the world. He was born in 1949 and from a young age he developed a great passion for books (especially since his parents forbade him from movies and television).
He studied philosophy at the University of London and when he finished he enrolled in a journalism course, with which he got a job as a reporter, first in the South Wales Echo, and later in the Evening Standard.
However, it was when he saw that one of his co-workers had written a book and that he had been paid money in advance (something he needed at the time), he made him quit his job to become a writer.
His first book was published in 1974, The Big Apple, hiding his own name, since he used a pseudonym, that of Simon Myles.
In fact, throughout his career he has used different names such as Simon Myles, Martin Martinsen, Bernard L. Ross or Zachary Stone.
His latest book, released in 2021, is Never.
What is the book Never about
As is usual in Ken Follet's books, the author once again spins a story with all the plots very well closed and at the same time interwoven so that everything fits together perfectly.
Of course, as often happens in many books, the first part can be more complex and makes you not finish getting into the story, being too slow at first, which forces you to continue reading so that, in a moment, you begin to really see the plot it has created, with characters and settings that create tension until they finally hook the reader.
We are talking about a political thriller in which the threat of war is the axis by which the whole story is governed. Although it introduces us to high positions, such as a president of the United States, or various politicians, it is still something that we relate to current politics and internal struggles, powers and conspiracies between them and even between other countries. In other words, we move in history with the best and worst of the rulers of any country (Although it is set in the United States, many times you can think of your own politicians).
Here is the synopsis:
"Avoid war. That is the objective of the president of the United States when a global crisis and the pressure of the political opposition put her on the ropes. An end similar to that of a senior Chinese government official, who tries in the most subtle way possible to stop the Party's most veteran politicians, determined to push the country towards conflict. The two of them, together with a couple of intelligence agents who watch a terrorist group in the Sahara desert, will find themselves immersed in a threatening race against time to avoid what seems inevitable: that the world will break into a thousand pieces.
How many pages does Never have, by Ken Follet
One of the questions that many ask about the book Never, by Ken Follet, is its number of pages.
It must be taken into account that the pages of the book will depend on whether it is the original version, that is, in English, or whether they are translations such as they are in Spanish, German, French, Italian...
In the case of the book in Spanish, it has eight hundred and thirty-two pages. However, in the case of the original version, it was only eight hundred and thirteen pages.
Characters from Never, by Ken Follet
One of the most important points of Ken Follet's novels are his characters. In some books we have seen how he was able to deal with several dozen, all of them with his own history and weight in history.
In the case of Never, Ken Follet already said in an interview that all the characters that appear in it are fictitious. However, he also assures that many of the decisions that are made in the novel would be made in real life by high officials.
In this case we will not have so many, but there is a small group that stands out and has the "singing voice" of the whole story.
- Pauline. President of the United States. Yes, a woman. Consistent, that she tries to do everything she can to fulfill the promises that she made to her country, a fighter, although with that feeling that she must prove that she deserves the position. She not only tells us about her professional life, but also about her personal life and how it influences her.
- Abdul. He is a CIA agent and tries to fight against African terrorism. He is undercover as a human smuggling refugee.
- Kiah. Abdul's partner, refugee on that trip Abdul is on, and mother of a son. Together with her, the author gives voice to the situation of absolute poverty that exists in the country and how people take advantage with false promises of the innocence of others to introduce them into human trafficking.
- Tamara. He's a lower level agent. He works at the US embassy. However, despite his position, he does not stop trying to change things, even facing his superiors.
- Tab. French service agent, in this case located in Chad. Its mission is to collect all possible information about the terrorists of the Sahara.
- Changkai. He is the director of a Chinese secret agency. Married to a famous actress, he fights so that the war does not come to pass, since it would be the end of everything.
Do you have a second part?
Finally, and because you may be wondering, It never has a second part. In fact, Ken Follet has warned that it will not have a second part.
Of course, it is not closed to having a film adaptation or television series.
Have you read Never by Ken Follet? What do you think? Would you dare to read it if you haven't already?