Fall of Giants cover art

Fall of Giants

Century Trilogy (abridged), Book 1

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Fall of Giants

By: Ken Follett
Narrated by: Dan Stevens
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About this listen

Abridged edition, read by Dan Stevens (Legion, Downton Abbey)

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 2010 (P)2010 Macmillan Digital Audio
Historical Fiction War Fiction King Imperialism Royalty
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What listeners say about Fall of Giants

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fall of Giants

Very enjoyable.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent book and narration

Enjoy learning about a complex history. I much prefer this narration to the unabridged version.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

not bad at all

over all, I thought this was a pretty good book. Some of the historical detail may bore some readers (if some of the reviews on amazon are anything to go by) but I found them fascinating and, you'll learn a lot reading this book. all Folletts usual plot devices are here, love, loss betrail and separation. my only sadness about the book is how abridged it is. its nearly 13 hours long but probably only captures a third of the text. this is really apparent at some points where the abridgement seems to be very clunky and charictors jump whole continents (e.g. from Cardiff to New York) with little or no explanation of how they got there... I doubt the master story teller Follett would have made this mistake.

so, to sum up, a good book but suffers for its abridgement and I hope audible will get an unabridged version some day.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

pleasant story well narrated

Ken Follet as always did not disappoint me. I found intersting to read today references to historical events that still have something to teach us. The narrative ability of Dan Stevens is manifested in a particular way in this book where in addition to bringing the characters to life, he expresses great skills in reproducing dialectal and foreign accents.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Fall Of Giants

This is obviously a good book, like all Ken Follet's work. I feel that with the extended historical saga he has found his metier. Like another reviewer I have to comment on the abridgement however. I was left wondering if I'd somehow missed a volume. All the scene setting had been done; all the characters had been introduced; the table was laid for the feast, but in the end the meal failed to satisfy. 'Please sir, can I have some more?'
I mustn't close without a comment on Dan Stevens narration, which was really excellent - his range of voices, accents, intonation and expression was extremely impressive and I will look out for his name when choosing other titles.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Ken Follett - Fall of Giants

Once again, Ken Follett has not disappointed!! This is an amazing story and well worth taking the time to listen to it - thanks.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story brilliantly told

I love Ken Folletts books and can greatly recommend them for reading! All of them!!!
This audiobook was wonderfully read out, very animated. Cant wait to listen to the next one, hopefully by the same narrator.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful story and history lesson

This is now one of my favourite books. It is impressive how such a well told and well read story can be constructed around a historry lesson. It is a captivating listen that I will defunitely listen to again.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great read!

Great riveting read; an interesting array of characters and account of a period of history!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Fall of Giants

I was very disappointed that this was abridged. The best bits of the book were left out.

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3 people found this helpful