Ken Follett's "A Place Called Freedom": A Journey to a Land of Liberty

Amazon Customer: Ken Follett is my favourite author. He combines history and chronicles of the lives of both powerful and ordinary people. Entertaining and informative.

United Kingdom on Sep 18, 2023

Glen Manchester: Probably the smallest cast I’ve known for a Ken Follett book but still a really enjoyable read.
Great ending but I’m intrigued by what happens next

United Kingdom on Aug 28, 2023

Gary Salazar: This was a fast read with interesting twists and turns. Relationships could have been probed a little deeper. I thought the ending could have been more comprehensive. Nonetheless i enjoy the author's writing.

United States on Aug 12, 2023

Joyce Galloway: If you love historical fiction…. you will love this book. I have read several of Ken Follett’s novels and loved them all. This is a story you don’t want to put down from the first page to the last. I read this in a few days even though it is 568 pages! Enjoy!

United States on Jun 29, 2023

VT: I've read quite a few of Mr. Follett's books and have enjoyed every one of them. Learning about other places and history while consuming a story is so enjoyable. Now, I'm on to the next adventure, Mr. Follett has in store for me. I plan to read them all!

United States on May 23, 2023

coldwater kayaker: I usually like Ken Follett books for the historical detail and this one provides good detail of various locations and societies of the time. But.....

There’s a classic photograph of a desert road in America which is so long, straight and featureless that you can see your destination so far ahead that you know what you’re coming to before you reach it. Every mile you pass just takes you on to the next mile and you know what it’s going to be like long before you get there. In this book the plot devices are just like that journey; you anticipate just what is going to happen next long before you ever get there!

I did get a bit frustrated with one ridiculous plot device (I won’t spoil the detail) which allowed two characters to continually meet at the same critical events at the same time and come to the aid of one or the other to allow each to survive and move the story along.

I’m only glad this was not the first Ken Follett book I ever read as it would have been enough to put me off reading some of his really good ones.

United Kingdom on May 19, 2023

Ian Barker: The latter half of the 18th century was a time of social and political upheaval. Increasing demands for workers’ rights in Britain and a growing separatist movement in America. Against this background we have a tale of two parallel lives – Lizzie the daughter of a landowner and Malachi a coalminer. Each in their own way driven by a desire for freedom – she from the strictures of a male-dominated society and he from a life of indentured servitude.

The story takes us from Scotland to London and across the Atlantic to Virginia. It’s fast paced, though it relies a bit too much on coincidences for my liking, and doesn’t shy away from the brutal nature of life at the time. Follett also works in historical figures like the reforming politician John Wilkes and future president George Washington.

As with Follett’s other historical sagas you can be sure that good will eventually triumph over evil, but not without a good few obstacles to overcome along the way.

United Kingdom on Apr 12, 2023

Annette S.: J'ai acheté ce livre après avoir lu d'autres du même auteur, mais je ne l'ai pas encore lu. Je ne peux donc pas encore me prononcer sur l'histoire.
L'article a été livré rapidement et en excellent état.

France on Mar 25, 2023

M D Tuch: Ken Follett seems to have dialed in plots, characters and locale to come up with an epic tale of 18th century Scottish, English and finally, the American struggles of slaves and indentured servants. The book grabs your attention right away. Mack McAsh (everyone loves an underdog) is determined to escape the inhumane drudgery and servitude of the coal mines. Lizzie Hallim (everyone loves a spirited, beautiful young woman that says what’s on her mind and is a crack shot). Jay Jamisson (everyone loves a rich young man who gets the stiff from his fat, rich, overbearing father). With these and an assortment of very rich as well as very poor supporting characters, Follett has produced another historical gem.
The book doesn’t go in the direction the reader is initially led. There are some surprises along the way, a shock or two, and a satisfying, if not entirely accurate, conclusion.
Follett excels at adventure, and his writing zooms the reader through action scenes. Even when the pace bogs down a bit with historical details, you are quickly thrust into a new direction with more action. I am sure there will be some grumbling about the sex scenes, which were more explicit than I...

United States on Oct 19, 2020

Nix: A Place Called Freedom by Ken Follett is a fast-paced story spanning 18th century Scotland, London, and Virginia. We follow Mack McAsh and Lizzie Hallim, both strong-willed, independent people from differing socioeconomic classes. Mack has been born to the harsh life of coal mining; young men often yolked to a mine and landlord for life in something akin to slavery (*more on that later.) Lizzie, on the other hand, is a would-be heiress who must marry rich in order to save her heavily mortgaged family estate of High Glen.

Mack is a working class hero; he has a strong sense of justice, even at the expense of his own safety and well-being. Mack yearns from freedom for those of his class, and wishes to break the strict socioeconomic classes in favor of equality. Mack is likable because of his sense of always doing what is right–to a fault, which kind of got annoying at some points (like when he would suddenly show up in a scene to rescue Lizzie. Bit of a tired trope.) As themes go, I did like the examination of class politics.

Lizzie gave me way more mixed feelings. Perhaps I am more critical of a female character written by a male more than I would be if a woman had...

United States on Oct 16, 2017