Fall Of Giants
Ken Follet
MacMillan
Fall Of Giants is both wonderful and disappointing at the same time. An epic novel, it has a cast of characters with intertwining lives, whose stories traverse across a sweeping world stage.
What makes 'Fall Of Giants' wonderful is its vast historic content. With an army of historians at his disposal, Follet weaves a tale on a massive scale, taking care to illustrate all view points. I particularly enjoyed the Russian revolution and Follet's close attention to detail which had me absorbed throughout the second half of the book.
What let the book down for me is Follet's writing. Historical facts are drummed in with patronizing regularity. Follet has a habit of drawing the readers' attention to obvious points. As the result the narrative comes across coerced and details that may have been better served left subtly for the reader to decipher are force fed.
Another issue I have with this book is the two main characters Ethel and her brother Billy. Despite their very limited schooling, both possess superior oratory talents. Follet explains this rather unlikely skill (several times as if trying to convince not just the reader but also himself) by the family's minister father's habit of encouraging his children to debate around the dinner table.
Overall, Fall Of Giants is an ambitious and enjoyable read. Heavily researched, it makes for an entertaining saga filled with war, love, betrayal and intrigue. 3 stars
Ken Follet
MacMillan
Fall Of Giants is both wonderful and disappointing at the same time. An epic novel, it has a cast of characters with intertwining lives, whose stories traverse across a sweeping world stage.
What makes 'Fall Of Giants' wonderful is its vast historic content. With an army of historians at his disposal, Follet weaves a tale on a massive scale, taking care to illustrate all view points. I particularly enjoyed the Russian revolution and Follet's close attention to detail which had me absorbed throughout the second half of the book.
What let the book down for me is Follet's writing. Historical facts are drummed in with patronizing regularity. Follet has a habit of drawing the readers' attention to obvious points. As the result the narrative comes across coerced and details that may have been better served left subtly for the reader to decipher are force fed.
Another issue I have with this book is the two main characters Ethel and her brother Billy. Despite their very limited schooling, both possess superior oratory talents. Follet explains this rather unlikely skill (several times as if trying to convince not just the reader but also himself) by the family's minister father's habit of encouraging his children to debate around the dinner table.
Overall, Fall Of Giants is an ambitious and enjoyable read. Heavily researched, it makes for an entertaining saga filled with war, love, betrayal and intrigue. 3 stars
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