Book info

• Title Fall of Giants
• Author Ken Follett
• Year 2010
• Genre Historical

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, the Peshkovs, 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?

Thoughts

One of Ken Follett’s epic sprawling saga’s begins with many different characters and families dealing with the descent into the First World War, the horrifying action itself, and the beginnings of the aftermath. I really enjoyed the soap opera style drama, who is in love with who, and how they twist in and out of each other’s lives.

I found the politics less interesting, but do applaud Follett for making it easy to follow - global conflict can’t always be explained so succinctly and thankfully it didn’t really halt the flow of the story.

The research that must have gone into this is huge, and it was fun to have real historical characters making an appearance here and there. Ultimately, really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read the second book of the trilogy.

Rating: 5 / 5