Fall of Giants

Book One of the Century Trilogy

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: Dan Stevens

Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Ken Follett's World Without End was a global phenomenon, a work of grand historical sweep beloved by millions of readers and acclaimed by critics. Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic.

The first novel in The Century Trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families - American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh - as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

Thirteen-year-old Billy Williams enters a man's world in the Welsh mining pits.... Gus Dewar, an American law student rejected in love, finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson's White House.... two orphaned Russian brothers, Grigori and Lev Peshkov, embark on radically different paths half a world apart when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution.... Billy's sister, Ethel, a housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts, takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German embassy in London....

In future volumes of The Century Trilogy, subsequent generations of the same families will travel through the great events of the rest of the 20th century, changing themselves - and the century itself. With passion and the hand of a master, Follett brings us into a world we thought we knew but now will never seem the same again.

©2010 Ken Follett (P)2010 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Action-packed with blood on the battlefield and conspiracies behind closed doors, Fall of Giants brings the nuances of each character to life and shifts easily from dirty coal mines to sparkling palaces. There is so much to love here, and the good news is the end is just the beginning: Fall of Giants is the first in a planned trilogy." (Amazon.com review)

Great historical novel

As with all great novels there is a great story teller, and facts woven in to give the reader a sense, at least from the author’s point of view, of that period of history. I believe this book has accomplished those goals very well. It is worth a read. I have studied history especially wrt to war and never quit grabbed the insanity of decisions that caused 50M+ deaths of WWI and the Russian Revolution.

Excellent

This is an excellent piece of literary work. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

A Masterful Storyteller

If you could sum up Fall of Giants in three words, what would they be?

An epic tale.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lev. He is a 'survivor'.

Have you listened to any of Dan Stevens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first one. He is great!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to, but is a very LONG story.

Any additional comments?

I'll be ordering the second book of the trilogy soon.

Great Experience

If you could sum up Fall of Giants in three words, what would they be?

A long book, this Follett tome never lags. The story leaves us wanting more. The performer, Dan Stevens, manages to keep us engaged through it all, an amazing credit to his style and voice(s), which are varied, character correct, and entertaining.

Excellent Narration

I won’t get into the story itself. Just wanted to take the time to give some real credit to Dan Stevens. This project required a gigantic range of accents and tones, all of which he executed and transitioned between expertly. As someone who has listened to hundreds of audiobooks I can promise you that this is NOT the usual level of performance. As such, the excellence of the narration could not fail to provide a much enhanced listening experience... at least to someone as picky as I am.

BRAVO!

Highly recommended

Outstanding! I always enjoy the stellar performance of Dan Stevens, the narrator. I believe Ken Follett is a consummate storyteller. Although I have read a fair number of histories, I felt, at times, as if I was living through and understanding aspects of this era for the first time. Bravo. I can hardly wait to continue with the second of this trilogy.

Enjoyed the book

It's harder to follow characters in a book than it is in a movie. Ken does a great job reminding me who they are. Narrator was awesome. Enjoyed his presentation VERY much!

Dan Stevens is spectacular!

Excellent book, even though it’s abridged. I just love Dan Stevens. He absolutely created a world with his voices and intonations.

Not the full book

This isn’t the full book. There’s another longer version narrated by John Lee that is the complete book

Thanks Dan Stevens for enlivening this dreck.

As a fan of Pillars and World by Follett, I had high hopes for this series. After a strong emotional start, the text loses its way and devolves into an effort to capture too too many details about the war and the Russian revolution. The scarce really emotional passages where you deeply care about the characters just can't sustain it. Now that being said, I give the highest marks to Dan Stevens for his exceptional narration. A delight to listen to - with a fantastic ability to paint varied and true sounding characters, both male and female. I'd listen to him read a cereal box. Alas, Dan's not enough to carry me to book 2.