Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy

I can listen to the century trilogy over and over it never gets old.

Excellent book with great historical references and settings. Very well read as well. Just sit back and enjoy!

Enjoyed the mixture of history and fiction.

Great read

Being a true Ken Follett fan, I was in no way disappointed. His pen continues to keep history alive.

very engaging

Love Ken Follett and the way he weaves fictional characters with historical events. The story and characters are deep. The narrator is FANTASTIC! Looking forward to book #2.

Absolutely riveting. Wonderful book, superbly read. The narrator has an amazing command of accents and voices, and pulled me into the story in the first few minutes. My understanding of WW1 and the Russian Revolution was deeply enriched, too. I thoroughly enjoyed it (and immediately purchased book 2 in the series!)

John Lee does such an amazing way of bringing the characters to life. Just started book two+

Another excellent work of Ken Follett. The history of the probable causes of WWI, the discrimination of classes, the well developed characters all coming together to provide a thoughtful and entertaining listen. WELL DONE!!!

Really enjoyed the abridged version! Rich with history, totally kept my attention while driving, and the narrator was excellent. I'll definitely be checking out the unabridged version next time I want to listen to this series.

What a wonderful audio book! I enjoyed absolutely everything about this story. I felt as though I learned so much while being captivated by the heart of these characters. The narrative was some of the best I've ever heard. His talent with accents is unmatched. Please give this book a try!!!

Ken Follett is an excellent author of historical fiction. His research is thorough and his story telling is mesmerizing and addictive. The narrator of this book is filled with talent. I really enjoyed his style. He is a great talent and is a pleasure to listen to.

Excellent book. The narrator does a fabulous job! It is well worth your time!

Excellent! I rarely read historical novels, but was enthralled by the rich historical tapestry woven by the intertwined perspectives of characters in France, UK, Russia, Germany and US, prior, during and after WWI. Fascinating, captivating, will continue with remainder of trilogy.

Another great book by Ken Follett, with excellent narration ,

Huge fan of the book and the series as a whole. Gone through them several times now and still find them very enjoyable. I appreciate the author's style and he does an excellent job of conveying the feeling and sentiment of the events. I feel the narrator did about as good of a job as anyone person can be expected to do trying to portray more than a dozen different characters with any sense of variation. Overall a very enjoyable piece and I highly recommend it.

Slightly slow to start, but within a couple of chapters the Follet Magic kicked in and gripped me the rest of the way through!

I love historical fiction, however I like plots to be interestingly unpredictable (like life) and relatively clean. This book was neither. All the key characters are amazingly handsome/beautiful and god-like and the rich lord predictably falls for the housemaid, etc, etc. Ho Hum. Also there were interspersed sex scenes which became increasingly graphic, not what I am looking for in a good read at all.

Wonderful book!!!! Worth the time! Definitely listen to the unabridged version!

The narrator is fantastic!! He helped bring this book to life! Great accents of both male and female. I'm looking forward to the next book in the trilogy!

I’m not really a history kinda’ person but this book kept me engaged to the very last second. Yes, there is a lot of history, but the way the author accounts for the personal effects that the war is causing was very interesting. Hey, I even learned some history along the way. I will definitely be looking into more titles by this author.

This may be a very good book if you read it to yourself. We have read many of Ken Follett's books and enjoyed them. However, the reader used for this book just ruined it for us and I don't think we even exceeded and hour of listening. It was unbearable. I now have a note taped to my screen the reads, "No books read by John Lee". Sorry, Mr. Lee but your just not our cup of tea.

I usually don't read historical fiction, but "The Fall of the Giants" got me hooked! James Lee is a wonderful narrator and makes you feel right there in the story. Ken Follett knows how to develop characters so that you feel you really know them. He also knows how to use suspense in a story. I couldn't wait to get to the next CD to hear what would happen next. This is a wonderful way to learn history. Marilyn

Not Pillars of Earth but a good read. A little to close to Dowington Abbey

A fresh look at the different attitudes of the nobility and the common citizens of that era. How a few arrogant minds created one of the greatest calamities in human history, World War I. Very well written.

Excellent historically based story that interweaves five families. I was thoroughly consumed by the intersecting plot lines and the fascinating way he drew on true historical events.

Because I accidentally ordered the abridged version, I felt I missed out on part of the stories. Still very interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed the hearing of this book. I became completely captivated by the characters in the book. And I learned so many interesting facts about WWI that I never knew. I enjoyed the spirits of the people in the book and enjoyed how they were woven into historical events. The only negative aspect was the length of the novel but even though it was long, it was never boring.

Ken Follett's writing comes to life spectacularly with John Lee's multiple accents and sensitive handling of situation through the length of this fabulous history of World War I from the perspective of rich and poor folks in Russia, Germany, England and America at the turn of the last century. I highly recommend this book, without even finishing the second half.

This was a terrific book; even through the second unabridged volume (Part 2) I wanted it to continue. The characters are beautifully drawn. I look forward to the next book of the trilogy.

I am a Ken Follett fan but I found "Fall of Giants" to be the most tedious and boring listen. Didn't even finish it and believe me, I tried!! I loved "Pillars of the Earth" and "World without End" but Giants is not Ken's best.

Deeply ponderous and tedious. I got through a couple of discs and decided it wasn't worth it.

For the past 5 months I have been reading books about WW1. This is a great historical novel about WW1. It follows a Welsh family, a Russian family and a German family. The historical information is correct and Follett winds family stories around the events. I understand this is the first book of a trilogy. The next book Winter of the World is due out in 2012. You will enjoy this book about a time that had the most profound effect upon the world and future events.

Excellent reader - accents were superb, especially the Welsh. Most characters were well developed, some were rather flat. As historical fiction Fall of Giants portrayed an astonishing depth of historical accuracy. A thoroughly excellent listening experience.

I've always enjoyed Ken Follett's writing -- particulary his early fiction -- but this piece of historical fiction lacked all vitality; I've read many actual histories that were more compelling. Only my need to finish any book I start kept me reading.

I absolutely loved this story and couldn't get enough of it. I actually learned a lot about WWI from this book that I wasn't aware of. It brought the war to a personal level and it became more than just a war factoid. It was a personal story of many characters. I truly enjoyed it!

1000+ pages. Each one a work of art. Follett NEVER disappoints. When you finish his novels, you almost need a vacation to comprehend what you read and how it fits in with history. You learn from Follett and thats not something you get outta most fiction writers. The five family combo was going to be too much I thought, but Follett took time, developed each character and then delivered an unbelieveable and unpredictable series of events that I cant yet even go forward with. I, too am gleely awaiting the 2nd installment.

I am anxiously awaiting to get Part 2 of this fascinating, interesting and involving story. It is historical and incredibly interesting.