Review: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

I decided to start this blog off with a bang – so the first book I’m reviewing is Fall of Giants, Ken Follett’s epic 864-page first novel in The Century Trilogy. The story centres around the First World War, recounting the events of the war from multiple characters’ perspectives.

This story definitely works well told from multiple points of view. It follows a number of families from countries including Wales, Germany, Russia and America, giving us a wide perspective of the First World War. The narrators’ stories all intertwine at various points throughout the novel, which is done very cleverly, without seeming contrived, and I always admire authors who manage to successfully pull this off.

Not only are the characters from different countries, but they also span a variety of social classes, from aristocracy to working class. The social dynamic is one of the best aspects of the book; it’s really interesting to see how the war affected all classes of society in different, and sometimes unexpected ways.

The chapters which stood out for me were those describing battles on the front line – they were beautifully written, and so moving. These scenes in particular highlighted the high level of historical detail and accuracy present throughout the novel, which is one of the most important things for me in reading historical fiction.

My main criticism of the book is that the ending felt as though it dragged on – which, for a book already so long, felt a little unnecessary. One issue with having so many narrators is that each character’s story had to be tied up at the end of this novel, with lots of set-up for Winter of the World, the second novel of the trilogy, also included.

The final note I’d like to add is that I would 100% recommend downloading the audiobook for Fall of Giants, if audiobooks are something you enjoy. Hats off to narrator John Lee, who manages to authentically replicate the multitude of accents required for this story!

That’s all for my first review! If you decide to read Fall of Giants, do let me know – I’d love to hear what you thought.