Best in series

If you could sum up Edge of Eternity in three words, what would they be?

Satisfying, engrossing, awesome

What was one of the most memorable moments of Edge of Eternity?

Perhaps early on, when George's freedom bus is attacked. It's quite visceral and brings to life the base malice of Southern white violence that somehow got left out of Gone With The Wind. It sets the stage for the struggle the "negros" face in the decades to come.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Yes, nearly 200 hours of Ken Follett books alone! This trilogy plus his middle ages books, Pillars Of The Earth and World Without End. There's a character in this book called John Lee, and I'd dearly love to confirm if he was named after Follett's prolific narrator.

How does it compare? Well, I listened to the earlier installments again recently, and I can say that the narration and character voices remain perfectly aligned, as if they'd come from one, excruciatingly long recording session.

The one negative thing I'd say is that poor Lee got thrown a curveball with this book. If he'd known he'd have to impersonate John and Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Richard Nixon, he might have turned it down. But by the third book, it was too late!

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A lot can change in half a century.

Any additional comments?

I finished the nearly 37 hour book in 9 days, which is probably why I'm the first to leave a review! I hope that speaks for how compelling I found it.

11 people found this helpful

An enthralling final part to the trilogy

I was hooked by the first part of this trilogy, was further entranced by the second and eagerly awaited this final part. The creation of fictional characters followed through successive generations of families in the USA, USSR, East and West Germany and the UK vividly brings to life the impact of two World Wars on people’s lives during the 20th century. The sheer length of these books allows the fictional characters to become so real that I felt sad when their lives were blighted, delighted when things went well and focused my mind on the injustices of segregation in the USA, the helplessness of ordinary people in totalitarian regimes and how unrestrained power corrupts.

This third part of the trilogy was for me the best maybe because it covered my lifetime and reminded me of the momentous events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of Kennedy and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Though most of the events were familiar this didn’t detract from the power of the narrative to keep me listening wanting to know how the lives of the characters were affected. Though these are fictional one can see that some are lightly-veiled facsimiles of actual people such as Solzhenitsyn.

John Lee has done a magnificent job narrating the trilogy comprising over 100 hours of compelling history, which I recommend listening to in chronological order.

15 people found this helpful

Had to finish the Trilogy!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, I would want the ending to be less of a sprint. As with his other novels he likes to cover a large number of years and towards the beginning the pace is well set, yet towards the end the years flow by too quickly and you lose all grounding.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked learning about a period in history that I hadn't much interest in before.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Probably the majority of chapters revolving around the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Did Edge of Eternity inspire you to do anything?

Learn more about the Cold War, but not much other than that.

Any additional comments?

If you've read the first two you will want to finish the series but I can think of plenty better books!

4 people found this helpful

compulsive

What made the experience of listening to Edge of Eternity the most enjoyable?

The combination of historical facts interwoven with a clever and imaginative storyline, together with brilliant narration make this series one of the best I have ever read/listened to.
Excellent.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Edge of Eternity?

The series of desperate escapes from East Germany.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favourite?

George Jakes

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Injustice in the world

3 people found this helpful

Century Trilogy

I have loved the entire Century trilogy. Beautifully researched, set out and narrated. Wonderful.

2 people found this helpful

A history lesson in a novel

I have listen to all three of these tomes and thoroughly enjoyed all of them.
It follows several families of varying nationalities through the generations and I have learnt quite a lot about historical events that are re-lived in this storytelling. It's very long, but it's entertaining, and brilliantly narrated.

2 people found this helpful

GMA

Just Fabulous! I thought at the beginning how was this to compare with the two previous epic stories. I enjoyed just like the previous two, perhaps even a little more.

2 people found this helpful

Historical enlightenment

A book with depth. And a walk in history and others shoes. I felt awed that people endured these tribulations. Freedom, a priceless essential.

Good read, good lessons: great job!

2 people found this helpful

Superb from start to finish

This trilogy has it all. Superb. Gutted it has ended after 100+ hours of listening!

1 person found this helpful

Exceĺlent. I learnt the lessons of history .

Well worth a listen. It put things in context for me in respect of the events that I witnessed as a young man. It was educational whilst at the same time thoroughly entertaining.

1 person found this helpful