What Circle of Days is about, what works in the book, and where it falls short
Table of Contents
Introduction
Ken Follett is a name synonymous with sweeping historical epics and unforgettable characters. That reputation makes Circle of Days all the more puzzling. This short historical piece, while competently written, lacks the emotional depth, narrative tension, and ambition readers expect from the master of the genre. Instead of leaving a lasting impression, it quietly fades—an unusual outcome for a Follett work. Truly disappointing to see this coming from someone like Ken Follett, who has given us masterpieces like Eye of the Needle and The Pillars of the Earth.
This novel reads amateurish, and like a beginner author’s journal entry, polished and finished by an accomplished editor. It’s over 700 pages, and many times it reads like a stretch and loses the reader from time to time. Ken Follett, the man known for furiously paced and gripping novels, has churned out a docile, sedate, and unexciting novel, which, if you don’t read it now, you won’t be missing much. There seems to be a second one in the works, and I fervently hope that with that, he can go back to his usual lovable author self.
Plotline
It starts around 2500 BCE, in the great plains of England, where people are divided into tribes based on what they do for a living. e.g., farmers, herders, wood people, and all seem to live in relative harmony and acceptance of each other. Religion meant a rudimentary form of nature worship, with the Sun God being the primary deity and considered the most powerful (note the equivalence with the Egyptian civilization here). The names here seem to have no meaning today, or none that we can identify, and sound more like utterances and natural sounds!
Seft, Troon, Ani, Pia, Neen, etc. are names of some of the characters here, and they are mostly two syllables – and they do sound authentic. Their lives mostly revolve around survival activities, foraging, planting seeds, harvesting, and herding cattle, etc., eating, mating, and moving on to the next day. There are some priestesses, such as Joia, Soo, and Ella, who serve as examples, singing and dancing in worship of the Sun God, but they are not part of any rigid cult. They have this wooden monument – which is the precursor of the Stonehenge as we know it now.
When this monument gets sabotaged and destroyed by various forces, Joia decides to get it rebuilt in stone so that it never gets destroyed again. But remember, this is the prehistoric time, there are hardly any implements or tools to achieve this monumental task! Depending only on initiative and human enterprise, the entire populace comes together to rebuild the monument. This is no mean feat, bringing these huge stones from miles away to the site and arranging them in such a manner that they stand together for millennia to come.
This is not without its challenges, which go beyond the practical difficulties of moving gigantic stones over large distances. The other communities and some villainous characters are loath to allow the attention be cornered by one community, and they plot and scheme against it. That, in a nutshell, is the core of the story. For a longtime Ken Follett fan, that just feels like he didn’t entirely write it and somebody ghostwrote it. The storyline is thin, has little depth, and the characters mostly seem wooden and lifeless. The events are damp squibs, and one continues reading in the hope that something interesting will now happen, but alas, nothing does!
My Verdict – 2.5 out of 5
For the sake of Ken Follett’s legacy, I hope that either there is no second book after this, or it takes a more imaginative and exciting route. This is the man who wrote the Pillars of the Earth series; there is no way this wet blanket of a novel cannot be improved vastly. Hopefully, that will happen. Circle of Days is an addition to Ken Follett’s glittering literary shelf that best be forgotten. Though to its credit, there are a few patches where the old touch of Ken Follett shines through, but that’s very rare in this book.
The other thing that I wanted to make readers aware of is the level of smut in this novel. References to it abound, though the actual acts are not as graphically explained (except one), and mentions of it are liberally sprinkled. He himself has done worse (Night Over Water comes to mind), and compared to that, this is clean! This is just to make you aware of what you can expect to find/read, and not to sound judgmental or prudish. Moralities, those days were far more fluid than they are now, and in the absence of other forms of entertainment, this had to do.
Conclusion
Circle of Days stands as a reminder that even literary giants can occasionally miss the mark. While Ken Follett’s signature polish and historical accuracy are present, the story lacks the scale, emotional weight, and narrative urgency that define his best work. The plot feels more like an outline than a fully realized story, leaving readers waiting for a turning point that never truly arrives.
For new readers, this is not the ideal entry point into Follett’s body of work. For longtime fans, it may feel like a footnote rather than a meaningful addition to his legacy. The themes of routine, faith, and survival are quietly observed but never deeply explored, making the reading experience feel flat rather than profound.
Ultimately, Circle of Days is not a bad story—it’s simply an unremarkable one. In an era where historical fiction thrives on emotional immersion and complex characters, this book settles for adequacy. If you’re seeking the brilliance of The Pillars of the Earth, you won’t find it here—but you will find a brief, subdued glimpse of medieval life that passes quickly and lingers even less.
