Night Over Water

I know Ken Follett more for his big historical medieval works. Night Over Water started off a little lightweight, but I soon got caught up in the narrative. With a couple of different storylines happening throughout, it was like watching a black & white Saturday afternoon '50s movie. By the halfway mark I was totally caught up in the buildup of tension and found myself binging to read to the end! It's historical fiction for sure, set just prior to WW2. It's got everything - British aristocracy, jewel thieves, blackmail, German spies, the FBI, a kidnapping and a wife on the run!

Disappointing. Ken Follett can do better and has done better.

Interesting premise. Strong historical ideas, with the plot around both the plane, the particular moment in time, and the fictional (but possible!) voyage. So much potential! Set up an intriguing cast of characters, with some rather exciting/suspenseful moments. But in the end falls short, with a predictable twist, and is particularly troublesome in some ways.

Biggest issues:
* How female characters are drawn. All similar in their feebleness, insecurities, and indecisiveness (generally). Follett seems to start and/or build some up as strong, only to then disappoint. Females are both over sexualized and overstereotyped. Even taking into account the period setting, it felt sexist. show more Related: references to sexual assault were too often uncomfortable and cringy. Recovery from trauma feels glossed over and not given appropriate attention.
* Sexual orientation: speculation about the orientation of secondary characters feels simultanesouly irrelevant and relevant. Irrelevant because it's not related to the plot or actions of the characters, and they are otherwise given little or no characterization much other than appearance. Feels relevant because some of the characterization presented is surface stereotype, and does not feel due to period setting or from the voice of a character, but rather the voice of the omniscient narrator, the authors' voice. Feels out-of-step and out-of-place, strange and inappropriate, awkward and homophobic.
* Romances. So many! And forming so quickly! I like a good romance, but characters developing deep feelings so rapidly felt unrealistic and unearned. Done at times for the sake of creating story and plot, one in which practically every major character (females, at least) must have someone by the end, and in a relationship (usually wrapped up with a happily-ever-after bow).
* Some characters acted out of character for the sake of the plot.
* Perhaps too many characters, or rather, too many protagonists, to the point it lost some focus. Would rather have fewer with stronger arcs and whose actions impact the course of events.
* Ending felt rushed, and fell into some unoriginal story ideas.

Barely 2 stars. Ask me on another day and I'd give it one. show less

It's always fun to read the disparate reviewers of Ken Follett here on Goodreads. Either you like his potboilers,with their elaborate plots and overstated characters, or you find it all too unconvincing and puerile.

Me, I like the guy, and found Night Over Water one of his best.

I enjoy big books with lots of interwoven plotlines, and Follett just has a way of making me sympathize with his characters. I found plenty of suspense and narrative drive to keep me turning the pages. And, while the people occasionally act a little over the top (particularly throwing themselves into sex at odd moments)-- and while the plot seemed to all tie up a little too quickly and neatly -- Well heck, it sure was fun taking the ride.

I enjoy Ken Follett novels. "Night Over Water" was no exception. The characters were engaging, the plot original, and the setting was well described. The plot of this historical fiction fit well into the 1939 timeframe. The variety and background of the various characters kept the storyline moving along. What kept this novel from a five-star rating, was the endless and useless sex scenes. This was so not necessary and really took away from the well-written story. Based on the timeframe of this novel, these scenes were very unbelievable and actually laughable. The only other negative reaction I had to this novel, was the unbelievable actions and dialogue of the mafia figures. Overall, would I recommend this novel? Yes, I would.

An assortment of characters are flying to New York from Southampton, England, during 1939, in a luxury aircraft, unaware that the aircraft is in danger of being sabotaged, and placing all of them in peril. Very exciting story, the characters were well written, and I shall be reading more from Ken Follett.

It has been a long time since I read a book by Follett. His books tend to be long but they are so worth it. He is such an amazing writer and I always learn something historical. This one, the main thing I learned was about the flying boats. Never heard of them before. WOW.

This book was about the Clipper (a flying bloat) and the people aboard. it takes place at the beginning of WWII. Most of the people aboard are fleeing England for some reason. There are a couple of love stories. A family with a father that is very controlling of his adult daughters. A woman fleeing a boring marriage with her lover. A scientist fleeing the Nazi's. A gangster being returned by the FBI. A jewel thief fleeing prosecution. It makes an interesting journey show more that gets more interesting when one of the engineers' wife has been kidnapped and the request is that he bring down the boat early.

A very good read that I did not want to put down. I easily could have stayed up all night reading this book. In fact, I stayed up way late a few nights on this one show less

Ken Follett is one of my favorite authors but on this book, he fell short. Too much gratuitous sex which is not a trademark of Mr. Follett. A bit tedious in other parts. Not his best work.