A World At War

Fall of Giants, Ken Follett
I am a big fan of Ken Follett, both of his many WWII dramas and of Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. In Fall of Giants he manages to combine both styles of writing and I think it works wonderfully. Fall of Giants traces characters from England, Germany, Russia, and America from the lead up to World War I through the end of the war. It is a huge cast of characters but Follett manages to move between them such that the reader isn't confused but at the same time, still gets enough focus on each story to really care about the characters. For those who do read it, the characters who caught my attention most were Ethel Williams, Maud Fitzherbert, and Gus Dewar. I absolutely recommend this book for just about everyone...whether you enjoy it for the historical fiction, the characters, or just the chance to become absolutely absorbed in another world for a while. Fall of Giants is the first book of a trilogy and while I know I have years to wait for book two, I can't wait!

Note: This book is one that counts toward my efforts in the Chunkster Challenge. My goal was the "Mor-book-ly Obese" level, which requires 8 books of at least 450 pages, of which at least three are over 750 pages. So far I have read four over 450 (and reviewed two of them here and here) and this one is my first 750+. If you're interested in a long read, check out some of the other reviews!