I'm a huge fan of Pillars of the Earth, but this was not comparable. This felt much smaller in scope (covering roughly 6-7 years from 997 - 1004 CE), and the lack of written history from the era pinches the book a little.

I read the author calling out Wynstan as their best villians - the most shrewd/cunning/evil, and unfortunately he didn't feel real. While his motivations were dealt with nicely, his portrayal felt like an evil caricature.

And there's far too good things happening to the protagonists for a book of this length. It is still very much a quick fast-paced read, and hard to put down.

I would recommend this to fans of the series - some of my favourite moments while reading this were figuring out the connections to the next book.