Winter of the World

I really looked forward to this book. I'm not disappointed.

I must say that the most annoying thing about this audio book is that I personally really didn't enjoy the fact that John Lee makes voices - especially because it means that large parts of it is spoken in a German accent - sort of. I much prefer the reader to just READ the book aloud. I really think making voices are not suitable for a book for adults.

But I do see that other reviewers like it so I guess it's just a matter of preference.

The first novel in the series, "Fall of Giants" was a bit better, in my opinion, and compared to Herman Wouk's epic novel "The Winds of War", Ken Follett's book could have gone a lot deeper.Having just listened to Herman Wouk's World War II novels (very similar approach with fictional characters and real contemporaries mixed), Ken Follett's book just falls short.

Nevertheless, it's a very good effort to bring the horrors of war closer to today's audience.

See above - "The Winds of War" by Herman Wouk.

Solid, reliable performance.

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.

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

Fall of GIants

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!

Lloyd Williams but just a touch naïve

worth a listen

Yes, follet is a great writer, it is a pity the recording is not well produced.

All the book is great

no, he is great

It does, in fact I believe it is a trilogy, we are missing one last book, it should be published late this year.

I have always enjoyed Ken Follett and he didn't let me down with this book. He once more had me confused for a while with keeping up with the different characters as he zig zagged round the world, but then all of a sudden everything fell into place... great historical story teller...

Great follow on and looking forward to book 3. Well told story and if you have watched Downton Abbey then it gives some idea of the other lives

Maud - Complex and difficult choices she made

I find listening I get more out than reading and remember far more. Reading I do to relax whilst listening is more entertainment. This was more of a mini series of the mind.

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.

Absolutely i will read this book again when the next instalment is getting close to release. i have really enjoyed all of Ken work and this was no disappointment.

The character development and attention to detail for the period was superb, i really can’t wait for the final instalment in the millennium series and i am sure i will be left feeling hollow and wanting more when it is finished as I have with Ken’s other great series.

They were all great and i have enjopyed all of Johns work on Ken's books, John kept the characters voices consistent throughout the book, if i had to pick a faviourite it would be Ethel Leckwith

Not really the whole book was emotional up and down

Cetainly a must read

Definitely. It is an interesting tale, woven thru WWII history, told thru the eyes of very real and vivid characters.

I learned so much about the facts behind the facts of WWII.

I usually prefer to hear a man reading; I don't know why, but there it is. John Lee has a strong easy to listen to voice.