Fall of Giants

Century Trilogy, Book 1

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 30 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

The first in Ken Follett's breathtaking Century Trilogy, Fall of Giants is a captivating novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women.

A World in Chaos

1911, a thirteen-year-old boy, Billy Williams, begins working down the mines as George V is crowned king. The escalating arms race between the empire nations will put not only the king but this young boy in grave danger.

A Terrible War

Billy’s family is inextricably linked with the Fitzherberts, the aristocratic owners of the coal mine where he works. And when Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German embassy in London, their destiny also becomes entangled with that of Gus Dewar, an ambitious young aide to Woodrow Wilson, and two orphaned Russian brothers whose plan to emigrate to America falls foul of conscription, revolution and imminent war.

A Revolution That Will Change Everything

When Russia convulses in bloody revolution and the Great War unfolds, the five families’ futures are entwined forever, love bringing them closer even as conflict takes them further apart. What seeds will be sown for further tragedy in the twentieth century and what role will each play in what is to come?

Continue the captivating Century Trilogy with Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity.

©2010 Ken Follett (P)2010 Penguin Audio

I love this kind of book!

Any additional comments?

I liked so much this book! I am looking foward to listen to the others of the trilogy!

Great book to learn our history

The combination of real and fictional characters is perfect to take us to the great historic happenings of the world.

Love a good historical fiction book

It does us well to recall the sheer stupidity of the 1st world war, which seems to achieved nothing for the advancement of humanity. The characters were lifelike and believable. If not their precise story, than one very close I am sure. The book is beautifully narrated in my view. I really enjoyed it and am so pleased this is a series. Assume the next one will be the events leading to the 2nd world war and beyond - not that I relish this era of history but it does me well to remember the huge sacrifices that were given by men and women to ensure a free world

What a history!

Once more, I have no words to describe how glad I am by hearing our world history so gracefully told. Amazing. Of course I have to go on. The narrator, by the way, is out of standard. I recommend both.

Words cannot do Fall of Giants justice

I downloaded this audiobook somewhat on a whim. Four and a half stars from a few hundred ratings, sounds like it will be a good book, and then over 30 hours, how's that for value for money?!

Then I started listening... and I basically didn't stop. I was hooked from the first chapter. The writing is brilliant, and the characters even better. I usually struggle with books with heaps of characters, but Ken Follett introduces all the characters gradually and in a logical order so I didn't struggle even once.

As well as really enjoying the specifics of each characters story and becoming really invested in how their lives will turn out, the historical context of this book was fantastic for me. I'm ashamed to admit that my history knowledge is shockingly bad; I'd like to blame my schooling but that only takes me so far. So now, my favourite way to learn about history is like this; by reading (or more commonly listening to) a well researched historical fiction book, where the story keeps me listening but I learn all sorts about that period in history at the same time.

This book had me laughing out loud, and at one point tears running down my cheeks. John Lee did an amazing job at narrating an even more amazing story. I could not recommend this enough.

Great!

Would you consider the audio edition of Fall of Giants to be better than the print version?

Yes, the reader uses accents which helps realize who is speaking (there are a lot of characters so very useful).

What did you like best about this story?

A lot of characters, The plot, etc.
I looked forward to commuting to listen to the story!

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

The different accents for the characters

Totally Engrossing Epoch

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

John Lee is one of my favorite readers. He has a compelling voice and mimics a wide variety of accents without making it too theatrical. I have selected books based on the fact that he is the performer...and I haven't been dissappointed yet.

Any additional comments?

The characters, of which there are many, are totally real and they way their lives intertwine believable. The backdrop of WWI and the Russian revolution are so interesting, I find myself on the internet doing research on events and persons described in this book.

GREAT!!!

What did you love best about Fall of Giants?

Great book. A story that will keep you wanting to listen to "just one more chapter". Great reading also. John Lee makes it perfect by his use of accents and the perfect pitch in his voice. I just love Ken Follet and now John Lee. If you liked Pillars of the Earth this book is for you. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequels.

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

This is the first. I hope he does the sequels.

Who was the most memorable character of Fall of Giants and why?

That's a hard one. Billy, Ethel, Maude... all of them.

John Lee's performance, as usual, is phenomenal!

John Lee's performance, as usual, is phenomenal! The story is great, too. I am looking forward listening to the next 2 books in the series.

Ken Follett - Fall of Giants

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this Audio book to anybody, it is an amazing book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fall of Giants?

The understanding I got from the history of the 20th Century, the motivations of actions that shook the world of my grandparents, described in a way that I could believe and understand.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

I would choose another book read by John Lee, if it was a choice between him and anyone else. Some less than kind comments have been made previously. They are not what I have found.

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

This is a huge book, as are most of Ken Folletts books, which are particularly suited to audiobooks, due to the size, reading of a book of this length would take forever, and I probably would get sidetracked by something else before i finished.