Rating: 
Summary: Michener Redux
Review: This book can be easily classified for the reader; if you like James Michener's oeuvre this is for you. Historical fiction that makes up in detail what it lacks in heart, multiple families whose lives mysteriously repeat themselves(reincarnation?), and a heft to make you think it is more than a giant soap opera. However, Michener is not for me and this book left me cold. The history is pretty solid though, so at least it's well-researched.
Rating: 
Summary: Excelente!
Review: Al igual que wdanthemanw de Ginebra(Suiza), no conocía ningún libro de Edward Rutherford, pero siempre me ha llamado la atención la ciudad de Londres (aunque no la conozco) y cuando vi este libro, me dije: 'Puede ser interesante, teniendo en cuenta que no es tanto un libro de historia como la historia de una ciudad vista a través de los ojos de varias familias'. Este estilo lo conozco - y me gusta- . De hecho, Isaac Asimov, en su saga de "Fundación" (aunque es ciencia-ficción) describe la historia de un pequeño planeta, Términus, desde su origen como una colonia científica hasta ser el germen del Segundo Imperio Galáctico.Buen libro y lo recomiendo. No se asusten por el tamaño, el libro se deja leer y quedan atrapados en él desde el comienzo.
Rating: 
Summary: GENERATIONS
Review: I didn't know Edward Rutherfurd before buying LONDON. I was attracted by the subject - a city, heroine of a novel - and by the desire to learn something without being bored by another historical book I would surely abandon in my library after the first 50 pages. And I've certainly learned something. Now I have a notion a little bit more accurate of what is hidden behind such great names as TUDORS, STUARTS or PLANTAGENETS. It has been such an interesting experience that I've already bought RUSSKA ! Of course, it's not literature at its best, one often feels that the little stories invented by Rutherfurd are no more than a - good - pretext to present to the reader an historical fact and that they could have been more profound. In short, I don't regret the numerous hours dedicated to LONDON.
Rating:
Summary: Long but worth it!
Review: Of course all reviewers agree that this is a long book - but it's amazing that Rutherford squeezed two thousand years into one volume of work. I thought the book was very engaging, and it kept my attention most of the way through. Some parts it were a bit difficult to wade through the familial details (i.e., who had the gray patch in his hair, etc.) but I would highly recommend this book. It's also a good historical document and helps put British history into perspective. If you're an Anglophile and can't get enough of London, read this book. If you're looking for a trashy, read-on-the-beach vacation book - buy Danielle Steele.
Rating:
Summary: London
Review: I am more willing to learn about history in the form of novels than I am from non-fiction, so I bought this before visiting London. Giving myself only 2 weeks was not a good idea, however, as this is a very big book. It reminds me a bit of Mitchner, starting at year 0 and following families through time, but the stories aren't as engaging as Mitchner's. I liked it, though, and when visiting the places in London that I read about in the book, I felt I had a little insight as to what life was like for an ordinary person in one period or another of London's history. It's a very good historical novel.
Rating:
Summary: A very long but fascinating book!
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed 'London'. What a fascinating city. I found the characters in 'London' to be very interesting. I liked the way that the novel would follow several families from generation to generation. I did get confused with the number of characters in this novel, though. I had a tough time keeping track of them. Overall, an excellent read. This is the first novel of Edward Rutherford that I have read and I look forward to reading more.
Rating:
Summary: Bimillennial Odyssey
Review: Written in James Michener's epic style, this immense novel takes reader's attention from the first pages: bimillennial intertwined history of several British families gives both a lot of reading pleasure and an abundance of useful historical and cultural information. In the succession of the sundry characters you will not discover profound and brilliant ones because the sole genuine hero of the book is virtually London itself in vast variety of its history, customs, people. It is a novel for those who were, who are or who will be in this great city - to recall, to understand or to learn.
Rating: 
Summary: Long, but interesting.
Review: Somewhat interesting. It brought those famous names and events into a more personal, human perspective. I found the constant reference to genetic characteristics tiresome though, and a third of the way through the book, I quit trying to figure out who was descended from whom. Too hard trying to keep everyone straight, and it didn't really matter that much. I read this book in conjunction with Sheppard's book about London, and whereas that one was rather dry, this book was just the opposite. Reading them together gave me a good all-around picture of London.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful & Historically Accurate
Review: Those of you who have seen my other reviews probably believe that I never give less than five stars. This is true because I only review the novels I love. This novel I LOVE. You must be a patient reader, as it is 800 pages long, but you will soon lose yourself in this fascinating retrospective of one of the world's greatest cities. Seen through the eyes of two families, London grows and you become more involved in the metamorphosis from primitive to modern. though you know each charcter for little more than a chapter you will love followingf the family history through the pages and will cry for more at the end. Watch for the clever twist!
Rating:
Summary: 2,000 Years of London Life -- Long, But Worth the Effort
Review: This is a big, sprawling, initially intimidating (mainly because of its heft) but ultimately rewarding read -- a journey that follows several British families, from all walks of life, through 2,000 years of London's history. You'll start with the Druids and Caesar's crossing of the Thames, and finish with The Blitz and a bit of modern arachaeology. In between, you'll watch history come to life (each chapter revolves around a major event in British history), with the usual artistic embellishments expected of historical fiction. But it's all in the name of good fun, so don't be a stickler -- sure, modern-day English didn't come out of the mouths of the Tudors, but who cares? Rutherford is, for the most part, faithful to reporting events As They Really Happened and to Life As It Really Was. While it's the Ducket/Doggett/DuQuette family that serves as the focus of the book (keep looking for those folks with the webbed fingers and the shock of white hair as you read), it's the City of London itself (and, arguably, its architecture) which is the book's real showpiece. Be prepared to stick an extra bookmark at the front of the book where the maps are, because you're going to need it. If there was a Roman road leading out a City gate, Rutherford has marked it in the text and you're going to walk down it eventually, so get your bearings early. The cast of characters also grows exponentially through the years, as family trees are wont to do, so keep the page of the family trees marked as well. This isn't a novel (as the cover proclaims) so much as it is a series of vignettes linked by a constant (and consistent) narrative and cast of characters, and Rutherford makes the most of it. There's some laugh-out-loud bawdiness in here, a dash of The Classic Chase (a la Keystone Kops), a bit of high drama, a few nods to Shakespeare, and even a bit of the Prince and the Pauper. Rutherford makes good use of his time, but there ARE instances when things seem to get wrapped up rather too quickly and too neatly in order to clear the way for the next chapter. The middle sections of the book seem to move the fastest, which makes sense, given the historical period this portion of the book covers -- the Glorious Revolution, the Civil War, the War of the Roses, and a peek at a Henry VIII who's the biggest skunk you'll ever see this side of Richard III. There's also some real beauty in here, and Rutherford doesn't skimp on the details of British life and living that really make the book come alive. It's going to take some time to get through, and you WILL find yourself thumbing back and forth between chapters, maps, and family trees to keep everything sorted out, but it's well worth it. Set aside a week or so, put aside nitpickiness, and just enjoy watching Rutherford go to work.
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