Fall of Giants

The groundbreaking novel from the number one bestseller

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

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.

Critic reviews

Few works set out with such a grand concept as Ken Follett’s new Century trilogy, but part one suggests that the series will be one of the literary masterpieces of our time

He’s pulled it off again with Fall of Giants: it’s classic Follett with the brewing cataclysm of war given a human angle

Follett is masterly in conveying so much drama and historical information so vividly

The master storyteller Ken Follett knits together British, American, German and Russian points of view from the start to the end of the First World War into a fascinating and remarkably fertile tapestry of society and politics

An epic saga on a grand scale. Spiked with romance and intrigue . . . This involving historical saga is the perfect read for long winter evenings

An extraordinary achievement

Follett has managed to write an accessible and fascinating page turner that leaves the reader wanting more, at the same time as staying true to history

History and Entertainment...

Awesome story online and outstanding performance of John Lee. This is the first time I rate an audiobook with five stars.

Excellent and thrilling!

As always, John Lee's performance is incredible! Especially in this book with all the many different accents. If they awarded Oscars for Audible, he would get one!
The story is intensely interesting, wonderfully packed with historical timelines and scenarios. Lovely how Ken weaves the ways of life of that era I to the story and colours in the picture so well. Excellent, really!

Another superb Ken Follet

The integration of real historical figures and events with the totally engaging fictional characters is done brilliantly. the way the way that the apparently disparate lives of these characters weave in and out of each other is done masterfully.

Very good

Brilhant work! John Lee is a great storyteller! Ken follet's book is Very well written

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.