A Place Called Freedom

Expected better than a historical romance

Well. I had higher expectations for this book/ past experience with Ken Follett left me waiting for a sweeping saga; instead I found some sappy romance and an obsession with "sexy" scenes. Not that I'm against sex scenes, but this was a little much. I found myself groaning and eye rolling - ugh. Not again. Also, this story should have been narrated by someone like Davina Porter, who always delivers a great Scottish accent. Entertaining enough, but the ending was predictable and it was definitely not the Ken Follett I've come to expect over the years.

45 of 45 people found this review helpful

WORTH THE CREDIT AND THEM SOME!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I could not quit listening. It's just another GREAT book by this author.

What did you like best about this story?

The ending. I love justice and I love a book that HAS an ending.

Which character – as performed by Simon Prebble – was your favorite?

This narrator is not just a narrator ... he's an actor that gives you a performance that receives a standing ovation from me. This was the first time I've had a book narrated by him and he is one of my favorites now! Each character comes to life and with Follett's descriptive vocabulary, you can see each character in your mind. Of course, the main characters, Mack, Lizzie, Robert, Lenox, were my favorite (didn't like them all, but Prebble did a first-class job!)

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Epic Adventure ... From Scotland to England to Virginia and beyond ...

Any additional comments?

Go ahead and spend your credit, you will not be disappointed. This is an older book from Follett and I saw some relatively negative reviews ... I am so happy I went with the ones who were saying, "Must Read!" ... I'm very happy I didn't miss this great book!

93 of 96 people found this review helpful

an abridged feeling ...

i have read all of ken follett's books and have enjoyed every last one.i especially enjoy his 30 and 40 hour epics. these longer stories are packed with information a tribute to the research he must put into each . i find his shorter stories just as engrossing and enjoyable.
which brings me to "freedom" .things happen so quickly in this magnificent novel that the book almost had an abridged feeling about it. i would have loved it, if the author had expanded the story a little. there certainly was ample opportunity to do so . It stands alongside his best efforts , i selfishly wanted more.

109 of 113 people found this review helpful

Compelling

I have always enjoyed reading Ken Follett’s books. According to my records I read “A Place Called Freedom” in 1996 but I cannot recall it, so decided to reread it. The book takes place in the 1770s in Scotland. It was customary for a father to pledge his young male child to work in the Lord’s mines for as long as he is able or until death. The protagonist of the story is Malachi (Mack) McAsh who rebels against this practice calling it illegal. In his early twenties he escapes and flees to London, where he gets a job unloading coal from ships. He tries to break the monopoly of the companies that furnish the work crews but is arrested and sentence to travel to the colonies. Mack was sent to Virginia and the government sold him as an indentured servant to the Jamison Mock jock Hall Plantation. Our other protagonist is Lassie Hallim, daughter of an improvised Lord. Lizzie is being forced to marry Jay Jamison from a wealthy aristocratic family. Jay and Lizzie move to Virginia to the Jamison family’s tobacco plantation called Mock Jock Hall. Lizzie, Mack, and Peg run away fleeing to the wilderness to seek freedom.

Follett describes the brutal working conditions of the common man of that age not only in the mines, coal heavers but on the tobacco plantations of the new world. Follett describes their lives as slaves both in Scotland, England but also Virginia. This is a story of social and political realities with a little romance tossed in. The book is well written and researched. The plot twists and turns with intrigue, brutality and some suspense. As far as I am concerned Follett could have toned down the sex a bit. This is a most interesting historical novel that reminds me that we had more than just African slaves working the plantations of the south. Simon Prebble does his usual magnificent job narrating the book. In 2010 Prebble won the coveted Audie Award and over the years he has won 23 Earphone awards for narration of audiobooks.

74 of 78 people found this review helpful

Not his best work

As soon as the book started to get interesting...it ended. It was entertaining enough, but nothing compared to Ken Follett's other books.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Think of it as Ken Follett light

First, I thoroughly enjoy Ken Follett trilogies. They are among my favorite books. I love how he weave in so much great history around his fictional characters. This is a good book, but not on the same level as his major works. Some of it felt a little too predictable. Some of the coincidences were a stretch. Still, if you like Follett, you'll like this book.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Typically good Follett

A little slow to get going as Follett developed characters through their actions as opposed to using narratives.

It's an older novel, 1995, but even an average Follett novel is better than most available out there. Good narration and overall recommended.

29 of 33 people found this review helpful

A grab-bag of over-used cliche's

Loved Pillars of the Earth. Loved other books by Follett. This, unfortunately is a bag of cliche'd characters who behave with unerring predictability. As a result, there are no points in the story where the reader is surprised or, for that matter inspired to any emotion at all. Follett must have been having an off week, a week because it simply could not have taken any longer to write this clunker.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Not Exactly New

Would you consider the audio edition of A Place Called Freedom to be better than the print version?

I don't know whether I would or not, but I do consider it a bit disingenuous to promote this as a "featured pre-order" when it was written almost 20 years ago. Nonetheless, the second I saw it I pre-ordered it as I would any book by Ken Follett. I did not realize, until the day I actually received it, that it was written in 1996. After listening to it, I can understand why it had not been previously released as an audio book, namely because it is not up to Follett's standards; however, despite being one of his least impressive books, it was still very, very good. In fact had it been written by another author I might have given it five stars.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Place Called Freedom?

Discovering that my "new, just released" Ken Follett audio book was written in 1996.

What about Simon Prebble’s performance did you like?

This is the first book I have listened to that was read by Simon Prebble, but like all of Follett's other audio books, it was extremely well done. Pleasant voice with no egregious mispronunciations.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I suppose it was that good; however I also think that this could have easily been lengthened into a multi-part series some of Follett's other works.

Any additional comments?

Ken Follett is one of the best fiction writers of his generation. He is an excellent story teller and most of his historical fiction is factual, despite evincing an unmistakable liberal bias.

64 of 76 people found this review helpful

I tried to like it.

Follett is not really my cup of tea. Well I think he did his research on 18th-century Scotland England and America, I wasn't really impressed with his historical writing. He seem to miss the mark by portraying characters that seemed out of the 20th century but with 18th-century facts. The worst part was his portrayal of passion. His writing left a lot to be desired. "when first she saw his penis . . . a wrinkled tube"!!! Really - a wrinkled tube??? All in all I did like the story, even though the ending was a bit flat.

30 of 36 people found this review helpful