Fiction

Never

Never

  • Downloads：8642
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-09-23 05:51:34
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ken Follett
  • ISBN：1529076986
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

New York Times Bestseller

The new must-read epic from master storyteller Ken Follett: more than a thriller， it's an action-packed， globe-spanning drama set in the present day。

"A compelling story， and only too realistic。" --Lawrence H。 Summers， former U。S。 Treasury Secretary

"Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn't get fixed。" So says Pauline Green， president of the United States， in Follett's nerve-racking drama of international tension。

A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country's secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis。

Struggling to prevent the outbreak of world war are a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant Chinese spymaster; and Pauline herself， beleaguered by a populist rival for the next president election。

Never is an extraordinary novel， full of heroines and villains， false prophets and elite warriors， jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries。 It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times， and delivers a visceral， heart-pounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable。

Download

Reviews

Susan Sayewich ，

Story had some good spots unfortunately could have been shorten， found book a little too close home replace North Korea with Russia。

Sarah Koehler ，

I really liked this， even though it took me a month to finish it！ Sheesh。 It really begs the question， “what would it take to start World War 3？” And sadly， it may not be that much。 This was compelling and fiercely realistic in many ways。

Barbara ，

Very real scenario of how nuclear weapons can get into the wrong hands and what can happen。 Very thought provoking and sad。 Usually with a Ken Follett book， I can’t put it down - this book I had to force myself to finish。

Jeff Beeton ，

I have loved all Follett's books prior to Never。 What I found disappointing is the very shallow character development。 Yes， the world leaders who were women was somewhat novel but I never felt engaged by their personalities or the plot。 The ending was disappointing and the work did not even seem to me to be even a modest imitation of Follett's previous work。 Lengthy though it was， I did finish this disatisfying work by an author I previously enjoyed。 I have loved all Follett's books prior to Never。 What I found disappointing is the very shallow character development。 Yes， the world leaders who were women was somewhat novel but I never felt engaged by their personalities or the plot。 The ending was disappointing and the work did not even seem to me to be even a modest imitation of Follett's previous work。 Lengthy though it was， I did finish this disatisfying work by an author I previously enjoyed。 。。。more

Lizzie Worrall ，

The best book I've read in a while。 Not my genre but the plot and characters were gripping！ Highly recommended！ The best book I've read in a while。 Not my genre but the plot and characters were gripping！ Highly recommended！ 。。。more

Dina Tempere ，

An exceptionally tense， edge-of-your-seat whirlwind of a thriller。 Utterly terrifying， as it is completely believable。 Shame about the ending， but it's hard to imagine any ending that could do a book this good justice。 An exceptionally tense， edge-of-your-seat whirlwind of a thriller。 Utterly terrifying， as it is completely believable。 Shame about the ending， but it's hard to imagine any ending that could do a book this good justice。 。。。more

Elena ，

Tiene attaccati alle pagine， non riuscivo a staccarmi。 Alcuni problemi ci sono ma non influiscono sul piacere della lettura。

Lara Stackonis ，

This book scared the crap out of me over nuclear war！ Dang！ It was really interesting to follow the characters through their individual parts。

Barbara Mayers ，

I am not sure that Follett will ever produce a book of the same standard as Pillars of the Earth so I find there is always a feeling of slight disappointment when I read one of his books。 Having said that this was a very readable book which I couldn't put down at the end。 I am not sure that Follett will ever produce a book of the same standard as Pillars of the Earth so I find there is always a feeling of slight disappointment when I read one of his books。 Having said that this was a very readable book which I couldn't put down at the end。 。。。more

Claudio ，

décevant Je suis définitivement déçu de ce livre。 J’ai déjà lu deux trilogies de Follett， mais « pour rien au monde » a été le pire。 C’est la première fois que j’ai eu du mal à finir un livre de Follett。Il y a des points intéressants， mais en général j’ai trouvé le rythme trop lent。 Il donne une bonne idée de ce que sont les problèmes d’aujourd’hui。 Mais c’est tout。 Les histoires individuelles semblent ne pas avoir un but。 J’espère sincèrement que le prochain soit meilleur。

Michael D ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It was so bad。 I’ve enjoyed Follets historical fiction and that is stay。 The book was very disjointed 。 The north Africa story line was engaging but forgotten at a critical point。 The comedy of errors leading to the denouement was very difficult to hang onto even in a place of firm suspension of disbelief。 Honestly this book was garbage。

Jeff Scatena ，

Not a big fan of books like this with sprawling storylines and lots of characters that you are made to care about with little payoff。 2/3 of the book is centered around characters who have no effect on the climax。 This should have been at least 200 pages shorter， when a strong editor excised the plot lines that in the end went nowhere。I have been a huge fan of other Follett novels/series。 But it was clear with about 5 chapters to go that dominant story line of this book was going to have no payo Not a big fan of books like this with sprawling storylines and lots of characters that you are made to care about with little payoff。 2/3 of the book is centered around characters who have no effect on the climax。 This should have been at least 200 pages shorter， when a strong editor excised the plot lines that in the end went nowhere。I have been a huge fan of other Follett novels/series。 But it was clear with about 5 chapters to go that dominant story line of this book was going to have no payoff。 。。。more

Toni ，

En el desierto del Sáhara， dos agentes de inteligencia siguen la pista a un poderoso grupo terrorista arriesgando sus vidas -y， cuando se enamoran perdidamente， sus carreras- a cada paso。En China， un alto cargo del gobierno con grandes ambiciones batalla contra los viejos halcones del ala dura del Partido que amenazan con empujar al país a un punto de no retorno。Y en Estados Unidos， la presidenta se enfrenta a una crisis global y al asedio de sus implacables oponentes políticos。 Está dispuesta a En el desierto del Sáhara， dos agentes de inteligencia siguen la pista a un poderoso grupo terrorista arriesgando sus vidas -y， cuando se enamoran perdidamente， sus carreras- a cada paso。En China， un alto cargo del gobierno con grandes ambiciones batalla contra los viejos halcones del ala dura del Partido que amenazan con empujar al país a un punto de no retorno。Y en Estados Unidos， la presidenta se enfrenta a una crisis global y al asedio de sus implacables oponentes políticos。 Está dispuesta a todo para evitar una guerra innecesaria。Pero cuando un acto de agresión conduce a otro y las potencias más poderosas del mundo se ven atrapadas en una compleja red de alianzas de la que no pueden escapar， comienza una frenética carrera contrarreloj。 ¿Podrá alguien， incluso con las mejores intenciones y las más excepcionales habilidades， detener lo inevitable？Nunca es un thriller extraordinario， lleno de heroínas y villanos， falsos profetas， agentes de élite， políticos desencantados y cínicos revolucionarios。 Follett envía un mensaje de advertencia para nuestros tiempos en una historia intensa y trepidante que transporta a los lectores hasta el filo del abismo。 «Cuando me documentaba para La caída de los gigantes， me impactó darme cuenta de que la Primera Guerra Mundial fue una guerra que nadie quería。 Ningún líder europeo de ninguno de los dos bandos tenía intención de que sucediera。 Pero， uno por uno， los emperadores y primeros ministros tomaron decisiones -decisiones lógicas y moderadas- que nos acercaron un pasito más al conflicto más terrible que el mundo ha conocido。 Llegué a creer que todo fue un trágico accidente。Y me pregunté: ¿podría volver a ocurrir？ 。。。more

Colin Kernan ，

Must say that this is not on the top of my Follett list。 I almost seems like there were two books working and a decision was made to mash them into one。 The Chad portion reads like it was written by someone other than Follett。 Very different voice。 The only connection between the two stories were tenuous; a CIA agent who once volunteered on a future USA President’s campaign and an evil empire providing weapons to terrorists。 Very glad this is over…。

Christine ，

Though the story could one day be more reality than fiction， due to rulers egos and national vanities， I could not believe it was written by Ken Follet， it was often redondant， repetitive and somewhat superficial despite the gravity of the subject。 And why call it “Never” ？ When the whole story leads to it。 Or is the book meant to be a warning of a possible world disaster which we are all aware of since the Cuban crisis。

Rory ，

Bloody hell

Warren Courtney ，

Follett starts off the book with a short belief resulting from his research into the origins of the First World War。 He concludes that no one actually wanted the war， and it was nothing more than a tragic accident。 My response is his research must have been very thinly grounded and his conclusion unsupported。I have read all of his previous books including Paper Money （a very early work I am surprised anyone would publish） and I enjoyed most。 What I found most annoying in this book was his patter Follett starts off the book with a short belief resulting from his research into the origins of the First World War。 He concludes that no one actually wanted the war， and it was nothing more than a tragic accident。 My response is his research must have been very thinly grounded and his conclusion unsupported。I have read all of his previous books including Paper Money （a very early work I am surprised anyone would publish） and I enjoyed most。 What I found most annoying in this book was his pattern of having two characters have a brief interaction then describing how each character thought about the interaction or thought about each other。 Follett seems to think his readers cannot form their own opinions， or perhaps he is concerned readers may form different opinions and his barely credible characters and story line might be lost。The first few hundred pages remind me of a box of old photos each with a comment on the back to remind a viewer what was happening in the picture。 Because each little story is self contained it is difficult if not impossible to see the development of the characters and their changing relationships。 In one chapter people are constantly reminding the President that she is "the leader of the free world" or "the hardest working person in America"。 Does Follett think the President does not know， or is he trying to convince the readers？ Ironically， the president wishes her husband would "cut to the chase"。 I had the same feeling about the author。The first four hundred or so pages of the book are slow and it would take real determination to get to the part of the book which has some stronger action and interest。 In writing a book many authors include details and scenes which contribute little to the over all story。 In my opinion these should be edited out before publication; however they seems to be included in this book。 It does not improve the story to spend pages reading about what people are wearing at the office， where they buy their clothes， the President's eleven year old daughter thinks of her history lessons。I will not be buying any more books written by Ken Follett。 。。。more

Heather ，

Over the way the intricacies of politics was woven together。 Didn’t like the ending。

Sue Allison ，

Bit Gripping this one…。Should be compulsory reading for all top military personnel as well as politicians， and translated into Russian， Chinese， Japanese and Korean。 Good story。

Allison ，

I love everything Ken Follett writes and this is no exception。 There is obviously going to be a bother book after this one which I’m super excited for already。 His books are long， but always amazing。 800 pages flew by and I could have kept going。 I don’t ever give 5 stars， but this is truly deserving。 Great book！

Janet ，

Ken Follett does it again！ An 800 page book that kept me up resting every night。 Highly recommend this book！！

Hector Quezada ，

Nunca – Ken Follet - 4。5/5Nunca es la novela más reciente del famoso autor de Los Pilares de la Tierra （libro que intente leer pero no logré terminar， por más que lo intenté）。 Como sea， en una de las visitas más recientes que hice a la librería， vi este libro y me llamó la atención el nombre; sinceramente， creo que es una palabra poderosa y la descripción o resumen en la solapa me convenció de leerlo。 ¿De que va “Nunca”？ Justamente de algo que esperemos nunca suceda: una tercera guerra mundial y Nunca – Ken Follet - 4。5/5Nunca es la novela más reciente del famoso autor de Los Pilares de la Tierra （libro que intente leer pero no logré terminar， por más que lo intenté）。 Como sea， en una de las visitas más recientes que hice a la librería， vi este libro y me llamó la atención el nombre; sinceramente， creo que es una palabra poderosa y la descripción o resumen en la solapa me convenció de leerlo。 ¿De que va “Nunca”？ Justamente de algo que esperemos nunca suceda: una tercera guerra mundial y， más específicamente， una guerra nuclear。A través de diferentes frentes， como son medio oriente， Estados Unidos， China， Corea del Norte， Follet desarrolla una historia política en la cual pequeños actos cotidianos van dando paso a una escalada de tensiones entre los países y zonas mencionadas。 Desde la página inicial， el autor hace referencia a como la Primera Guerra Mundial fue una que ninguno de los países implicados deseaba， sin embargo， la secuencia de eventos que fue tomando lugar termina por iniciar el conflicto pese a la mejor de las intenciones que cada nación pudo tener para no entrar en este。 Bajo ese mismo principio es que el autor nos va llevando de la mano por una serie de eventos que， aun cuando aislados， pudieran parecer intrascendentes， van inclinando la balanza hasta el punto de no retorno。 Resulta evidente la intención de Follet para empujar al lector a preguntarse: ¿Qué tan lejos estamos de que algo así suceda？ La verdad es que mientras devoraba este libro no dejaba de pensar: maldición， que esto ya está pasando。 Y eso resulta aterrador。Aunque no puedo decir que esta novela haya sida agradable de leer， sobretodo hacia el último tercio， reconozco que ritmo de esta está muy bien manejado。 Las primeras doscientas páginas pueden ser un poco lentas， sin embargo， creo que son necesarias para dar contexto al libro y， digamos que permite al lector entender la función e interconexión entre cada uno de los personajes e historias del libro。 Una vez superado este punto， el libro empieza a avanzar a un ritmo trepidantes y， justo el último tercio es una bomba en todo el sentido de la palabra。Me Ha gustado mucho que el autor se da el tiempo de dar una personalidad bien definida a cada uno de los personajes de la historia。 Dentro del contexto político las motivaciones de cada persona son sumamente relevantes y entenderlas y conocerlas hace que el libro funcione bastante bien。 Sin importar el bando， corriente política， nacionalidad， como sea que queramos llamarlo， considero que hay un interés y empatía genuina poa la mayoría de los personajes y el lector puede compartir el pesar de cada una de las decisiones que tienen que tomar a lo largo de la historia。 Este es un gran acierto del libro， de lo contrario， pudiera haber resultado solo un largo documental pero sin peso emocional para el lector。Algo que puedo criticar es que hay un par de líneas argumentales （principalmente las dos que se desarrollan en África y Medio Oriente） que siento pudieron quedar fuera del libro al tener una conexión un tanto forzada o tal vez no tan relevante dentro del contexto principal de la trama， sin embargo， dada la tensión del libro， al menos a mi me ayudaron a tener un breve respiro de todo el estrés que se vive en otros frentes。 No obstante， si soy objetivo creo que narrativamente quedan bastante inconclusas y son hasta irrelevantes en el desenlace del libro。Debo aceptar también que el final del libro no fue lo que esperaba。 No puedo dar detalles de este， pero si puedo decir que es un final atrevido y totalmente desesperanzador。 Aunque puedo entender que refuerza completamente la intención del autor de pintar un escenario de lo que nunca debe de pasar。 Me sorprendió bastante y， al momento de escribir estas líneas aun me queda el sabor amargo。 Como sea， debo de reconocer que es un final efectivo y adecuado para un libro de esta magnitud。Como buen aficionado del terror， he comentado con anterioridad que los libros que más miedo me han dado son aquellos que nos presentan situaciones reales， situaciones que pueden llegar a pasar y， en ese sentido， creo Nunca es fácilmente el libro más aterrador que he leído en muchos años。 Nos presenta algo que puede pasar en cualquier momento， para lo cual no tendremos control alguno y que el resultado final puede ser catastrófico en todos los aspectos posibles。 Si eso lo contextualizamos en nuestra actualidad， pues vaya， que pasada。Nunca es un libro intenso， real， actual， efectivo， relevante。 Sinceramente creo que es un libro que todos deberíamos de leer para tomar conciencia del delicado balance político en el cual vivimos y de la relevancia que tenemos como ciudadanos para escoger líderes sensatos， preparados y que sean capaces de moverse de manera inteligente y adecuada en el panorama internacional。 El mundo en que vivimos no puede permitirse que las pasiones e ideologías obsoletas manden， más bien， debemos de tener la sensatez de trabajar en común y construir a partir de nuestras diferencias。 Nunca es un libro tremendo para leer， como lector considero que no lo puedes soltar una vez que comienzas。 Si a eso le añadimos que es de esos libros que nos mueve， nos hace cuestionar y nos incita a pensar， definitivamente se vuelve en uno de los mejores libros de la actualidad y uno que no me cansaré de recomendar。 Y en verdad， ojalá nunca pase nada de lo que en el se cuenta。 。。。more

Nancy ，

Fiction about the lead up to and beginning of World War III

Susan ，

A Multi layered story about how a nuclear war could happen。 Tensions start in a minor way in Sudan but then escalate to neighboring countries or their alliances。 Sides are taken， actions are taken， insecure leaders feel disrespected or threatened， throw in a couple of war-mongers on each side， one or two dictators with nothing to lose， and soon rational people in rational countries are considering the irrational。 The story starts with the CIA in Sudan trying to stop a drug trafficking ring which A Multi layered story about how a nuclear war could happen。 Tensions start in a minor way in Sudan but then escalate to neighboring countries or their alliances。 Sides are taken， actions are taken， insecure leaders feel disrespected or threatened， throw in a couple of war-mongers on each side， one or two dictators with nothing to lose， and soon rational people in rational countries are considering the irrational。 The story starts with the CIA in Sudan trying to stop a drug trafficking ring which leads to a human trafficking issue。 A stolen weaponized U。S。 drone in Sudan， used by terrorists to attack a port， increases the def-con level。 Insecure leaders in North and South Korea who have alliances with China and the US， respectively， push matters with a coup in North Korea。 Small issues and blown up harbors， aircraft carriers， increase the def-con level。 Scattered throughout the story are the human tales。 Tales of a CIA agent falling in love with someone who spies for another country; insecure diplomats， a hawkish presidential wannabe with a platform to criticize， an undercover CIA agent who forms a relationship with a women who doesn't know he is not who he appears to be， a President and her husband on different wavelengths about how to raise their daughter and manage their lives， a Chinese political analyst trying to walk the fine line between old line communist leaders， including those in this own family， and the more open minded， moderate political leaders， as well as the internal back stabbing and power grabs that are used to manipulate in every country。 It is a long winding story fold from different points of view over the course of months。 It shows how seemingly disconnected events effect people all over the world and how sometimes political actions are impacted by on personal issues。 At first I wondered why the author chose the name， and as I continued to read， I realized it was his hope that this would NEVER happen。 。。。more

Stephen Gorvel ，

Story ok。 A lot like a Clive Cussler book。Not what I was expecting from a Ken Follet book。Some of the characters I found questionable。

Sarah Pauley ，

The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because it took me a little bit to get into it， but that happens a lot for me。 Once you get to page 150， it is game over。 This book is phenomenal。 Ken Follett does it again。 Connecting people with different stories to give you a jaw dropping experience。 Follow President Green and her choice of nuclear war of not。 The end made me feel every emotion。 You will not be disappointed。

Sara Stetz ，

Wow， a web of diplomacy， spies， treaties and egos collide in this book about the fragile balance of it all。 One loose cannon mixed with egos such as “supreme leader” of North Korea or the staunch traditionalism of China who both take disrespect as acts of aggression。 It’s about how small military strikes prevent large nuclear wars。 I found it fascinating and gave me more respect for the military and intelligence personnel throughout the world。 Which is the lesser wrong？ They deal with that regul Wow， a web of diplomacy， spies， treaties and egos collide in this book about the fragile balance of it all。 One loose cannon mixed with egos such as “supreme leader” of North Korea or the staunch traditionalism of China who both take disrespect as acts of aggression。 It’s about how small military strikes prevent large nuclear wars。 I found it fascinating and gave me more respect for the military and intelligence personnel throughout the world。 Which is the lesser wrong？ They deal with that regularly with high stakes。 。。。more

Burcu Yıldırım ，

https://www。hemengeliriz。com https://www。hemengeliriz。com 。。。more

Cherie ，

NEVER is probably one of the most frightening books I have ever read。 Frightening because it supposes a worldwide catastrophe that could happen any day！ Small events happen in several obscure places in the world。 These events trigger something a bit bigger; some other players join in， and soon world leaders are facing each other with nuclear threats。 I loved and hated the way Follett ended the book。 The reader is left at the end， without an ending！ The book was full of very interesting people， NEVER is probably one of the most frightening books I have ever read。 Frightening because it supposes a worldwide catastrophe that could happen any day！ Small events happen in several obscure places in the world。 These events trigger something a bit bigger; some other players join in， and soon world leaders are facing each other with nuclear threats。 I loved and hated the way Follett ended the book。 The reader is left at the end， without an ending！ The book was full of very interesting people， both world leaders and people only important to a certain place at a certain time。 It was amazing to me how a small event can be so unimportant on a global scale and yet so very important in the unfolding of what will ultimately be the biggest crisis the world has ever known！ This book grabbed me at the first page and never let up！ 。。。more

JAMES A。 DOAK ，

Snow Woman's journalThis book had an outstanding plot and grabbed my attention from the very first page。 However， I couldn't give it more than a three due to the number of errors in the text。 It was riddled with incorrect grammar usage， wrong words and typographical errors。 All of these issues wrecked what could be an excellent read。 Snow Woman's journalThis book had an outstanding plot and grabbed my attention from the very first page。 However， I couldn't give it more than a three due to the number of errors in the text。 It was riddled with incorrect grammar usage， wrong words and typographical errors。 All of these issues wrecked what could be an excellent read。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Never

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Never&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Never&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0