If you haven't read the book, then you'll likely view it differently, but if you have read and enjoyed the book, be a bit wary. This adaptation boasts a spectacular cast but it utterly mangles Ken Follet's story. Most of the raw plot elements are there but the depth is replaced by a lot of superfluous drama and sex. The story obviously needed to be simplified to be scaled down to a mini-series, but why add a weird oedipal element to an already complicated story? Many of the changes are so strange that they seem to simply get things wrong in addition to making necessary omissions.
All that aside, the most disappointing thing is that the novel's driving theme of architectural advancement is totally botched. If you're a fan of the book, the fact that Alfred builds a rib-vaulted ceiling is almost insulting!
All that aside, the most disappointing thing is that the novel's driving theme of architectural advancement is totally botched. If you're a fan of the book, the fact that Alfred builds a rib-vaulted ceiling is almost insulting!