Winter of the World

Century Trilogy, Book 2

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 31 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett's uniquely ambitious Century trilogy. On its own or consumed in sequence with Fall of Giants and Edge of Eternity, this is a spellbinding epic of global conflict and personal drama.

A Battle of Ideals

It is 1933 and, at Cambridge, Lloyd Williams is drawn to irresistible socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything that his left-wing family despise. But Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert, a leader in the British Union of Fascists.

An Evil Uprising

Berlin is in turmoil. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Many are resolved to oppose Hitler’s brutal regime – but are they willing to betray their country?

A Global Conflict on a Scale Never Seen Before

Shaken by the tyranny and the prospect of war, the lives of five families become ever more enmeshed. As an international clash of military power and personal beliefs sweeps the world, what will this new war mean for those who must live through it?

©2012 Ken Follett (P)2012 Penguin US/Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic reviews

"This book is peopled by excellent characters, both lovable and detestable, and I , along with millions of other Follett fans I’m sure – can’t wait for the third instalment of his Century trilogy to appear." (Shropshire Star)

not half as good as the first one. too bad

struggled myself tô the end. so sad about the drop of quality if compared to Fall Of Giants

Interesting story, boring presentation

What did you like best about this story?

Cast of thousands, story of the century, excellent use of idiom. It doesn't matter which characters you latch onto, the others are capable of holding your attention as well.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

When the narrator describes the torture and murder of a character, the birth of a baby and the love of a man for his lady (or of lady to man) with the same impersonal description he'd use for describing the parts of a washing machine, you know he shouldn't be reading. Remember when you were five and wanted everyone to "do the voices"? Well, this narrator wouldn't know what the voices were. So insensitive that it's almost laughable.

Just as good as the first

Upon finishing "Fall of Giants" and checking out other books by Ken Follett I was thrilled to discover that there was a sequel! I downloaded it instantly and listened in every available moment until I finished.

Building on the background of Fall of Giants, Winter of the World picks up a fair few years after Fall of Giants finishes, and focuses on the children of the characters from Fall of Giants. I found this a refreshing way to go about writing a sequel; it had the perfect combination of familiarity and novelty.

While I recommend listening to/reading Fall of Giants first, that is by no means essential, with the two books complementing each other rather than requiring each other.

There are some scenes in this book that I think will stick in my brain forever. I enjoyed it just as much as the first and cannot wait for the third book to be published.

WWII History at its best

Wonderful way to learn WWII history
Narrator is amazing, voices and accents makes time fly

How does he do it?

When you have a book of four or more 'discs' you have a long tale. Migrating a positive army of characters through time and place and keeping them working is a masterful skill and Follett is indeed a master. John Lee takes a bit of getting used to but when you get into his idiosyncratic delivery it works and works well. If you are a 'boomer' from this period it will have extra resonances bringing things into focus often not explored in period specific books. If you like modern history that is tweeked with a reasonable amount of literary spice licence then put this on your list.

Cant wait to get into the 3rd book!

Would you consider the audio edition of Winter of the World to be better than the print version?

Yes to me the dramatisation is brilliant and adds so much. Also I always listen while commuting and it makes the miles slip away.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to pick - his characters are so plausible and varied.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

His accents - truly amazing

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

Good grief no!

Enjoyable and addictive Ken Follett epic

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

Yes. It's a stand alone, although nice if you have read the first one. It draws you in following all the interwoven characters.

What other book might you compare Winter of the World to and why?

I'm not sure anything can compare to Pillars of the Earth but it is similar.

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

John Lee always does a great job. It wouldn't be the same to listen to anyone else read a Ken Follett!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I certainly laughed and had a tear in my eye at times, but now its finished I'm missing it! Looking forward to the next instalment

GRIPPING

I cannot rate this entire trilogy, the story nor the narrator John Lee highly enough. The stories are epic accounts of history recounted with exquisite detail so you are transported directly into the lives of the characters - but the narrator makes them come alive - oh my - John Lee is astounding, his accents and story telling ability is remarkable. I don’t want it to end. Standing ovation for this masterful rendition. And again. And again. And again.

Another rip-snorter from Ken Follett

I read Ken Follett's two mediaeval England books and they were riveting. Tremendous stories that kept me transfixed throughout. Next I read his World War I book and I have just finished listening to 'Winter of the World', the second book of this 20th century trilogy - the story of World War II.

Like the above-mentioned three books, this was a good entertaining story and very enjoyable. The only trouble is that Follett has to manufacture the plot so that every major character from his two basic families (Russian and Welsh) appears at key moments in the war and intervenes to change the whole course of the conflict: inventing the atom bomb, stopping Hitler from systematically killing disabled people, forming the united nations, passing the Nazi invasion plans to the Russians etc, etc.

Unfortunately, this stretches the credulity of the listener and it is always in the back of your mind that two families couldn't have had such an impact. This wasn't a problem with the mediaeval novels, because they were based in a small country with a small population , so it wasn't as far-fetched that the key characters could have such an influence on major historical events.

As for the narrator, he was generally pretty good, but he struggled a bit with some of the accents. At one point I wasn't sure if his Welshman was a Geordie or an Indian!

These were the only blemishes on what was otherwise a great listen.

An excellent follow up to Bk 1

What did you love best about Winter of the World?

I found it quite confronting but having a rough idea what was coming next , found I could not stop listening. it was compelling and the interweaving of characters was clever rather than annoying

What other book might you compare Winter of the World to and why?

Fall of GIants

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

John Lees narration was excellent , being able to maintain character was amazing , I may search him as a narrator an excellent fit for Ken Follets Books!

Who was the most memorable character of Winter of the World and why?

Lloyd Williams but just a touch naïve

Any additional comments?

worth a listen