Yeah you're right, I've read one book of the Cycle and I couldn't tell you what it's about. Right now I'm reading The Pillars of the Earth and it has a similar feeling to it. With that book Ken Follet is cleverly using the building of a cathedral as the center piece, even though it's not actually about that. Like the Cycle it's all about the struggle of the characters to exist and get by. And same here: envy envy envy :)