He does move characters on, because time moves on. Things get bigger, but themes remain very similar in at least the first 3 books. Similar to your description of The Wheel of Times books, I found the Pillars of the Earth very good, but the sequels were less exciting (I still read books 2 and 3 and bought the 4th one).
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Without_End_(Follett_nov...
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Column_of_Fire
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evening_and_the_Morning
He does move characters on, because time moves on. Things get bigger, but themes remain very similar in at least the first 3 books. Similar to your description of The Wheel of Times books, I found the Pillars of the Earth very good, but the sequels were less exciting (I still read books 2 and 3 and bought the 4th one).