Never - by Ken Follett

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

Urgent and fiercely compelling . . . Never is first-rate entertainment that has something important to say. It deserves the popular success it will almost certainly achieve.
--The Washington Post

Ken Follett can't write a bad book, and Never is his best. It's terrifying. I defy anyone to put it down once the last 150 pages are reached.
--Stephen King

Superstar novelist Ken Follett's what-if political thriller . . . is so exciting--and so plausible--you won't want to look away.
--Apple Books (Best Book of the Month)

Settle in for a thrilling ride.
--CNN.com

Terrific . . . A powerful, commanding performance from one of the top writers in the genre.
--Publishers Weekly (starred)

A complex, scary thriller that feels too plausible for comfort. You'll be so absorbed in the story threads that you'll follow them anywhere--and you'll suddenly realize you've read hundreds of pages. . . . On one level, it's great entertainment; on another, a window into a sobering possibility.
--Kirkus (starred)

Absolutely compelling . . . A smart, scary, and all-too-plausible thriller.
--Booklist

About the Author

Ken Follett is one of the world's best-loved authors, selling more than 178 million copies of his thirty-six books. Follett's first bestseller was Eye of the Needle, a spy story set in the Second World War. In 1989, The Pillars of the Earth was published and has since become Follett's most popular novel. It reached number one on bestseller lists around the world and was an Oprah's Book Club pick. Its sequels, World Without End and A Column of Fire, proved equally popular, and the Kingsbridge series has sold more than forty-seven million copies worldwide. Follett lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife, Barbara. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren, and two Labradors.