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 . . . while grand events and themes are at the core of the novel, it is the richness of the characters and the intertwining of their often disparate stories that steal the showHe‰۪s pulled it off again with
Fall of Giants: it‰۪s classic Follett with the brewing cataclysm of war given a human angleFollett is masterly in conveying so much drama and historical information so vividlyThe 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 politicsAn epic saga on a grand scale. Spiked with romance and intrigue . . . This involving historical saga is the perfect read for long winter eveningsAn extraordinary achievementFollett has managed to write an accessible and fascinating page turner that leaves the reader wanting more, at the same time as staying true to historyFrom master storyteller Ken Follett,
Fall of Giants is an epic of love, hatred, revolution at the beginning of the Great War, as the lives of five families become entwined forever.
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.
Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama
Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold over 10 million copies. He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel,
The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books, including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy, have sold more than 178 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can.Ken Follett's number one bestselling Century trilogy of novels follows the fate of five intertwined families from across the globe - American, German, Russian, English and Welsh - throughout the twentieth century. The historical trilogy begins with
Fall of Giants, which encompasses the Russian revolution, the suffragette movement and the First World War, with richly portrayed characters. The second novel,
Winter of the World, continues the journey through the Spanish Civil War, the rise of the Nazis and the ensuing tragedy of the Second World War. The story concludes in
Edge of Eternity where the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis bring the world to the brink of oblivion - sweeping from the 1960s to the 1980s, the families experience the enormous social, political and economic turmoil of the era through the Civil Rights movement, the construction of the Berlin Wall and the Vietnam War. Ken Follett is also the author of the phenomenally popular Kingsbridge novels, including
The Pillars of the Earth and
World Without End.
