Does it ever end?

Right. I've just finished reading Ken Follett's one thousand plus page tome 'World without End' and for some reason it's left me feeling uneasy. It's not the writing itself, which is of course of excellent quality and in the same vein as its prequel 'Pillars of the Earth', however I wasn't immediately hooked like I usually am with KF books. It only got marginally interesting after the first three hundred pages or so...
Basically I was missing cohesion; the main characters seemed to be stumbling from one more or less dramatic disaster to the next, and the endless succession of sexual assaults on the female characters I found irritating in its repetition.
I dearly hope KF will return to writing modern thrillers, as I feel he's really exhausted this topic (middle ages). Well, not wanting to end this post on a sour note, the story line does pick up in speed later on and there are a few unexpected twists and turns to keep everyone on their toes, plus it's really well researched, giving the reader insight to surprising facts about medieval life.
Anyway, for fans it's worth a read. Buy in when it comes out in paperback!