You’ve seen the book. It’s that massive, spine-cracking "doorstopper" sitting on the shelf of every airport bookstore and library in the country. Weighing in at nearly a thousand pages, Ken Follett Fall of Giants isn't just a novel. It’s a beast. Most people see the size and assume it’s a dry, academic slog through the trenches of World War I. Honestly? They couldn’t be more wrong.
Basically, Follett decided to take the entire early 20th century—the wars, the revolutions, the dirty politics—and turn it into a high-stakes soap opera. It’s the first leg of his Century Trilogy, and while it’s anchored in heavy history, the engine running this thing is pure drama. We’re talking secret marriages, backstabbing aristocrats, and miners who end up in Parliament.
The Families You’ll Actually Care About
Follett doesn't just lecture you on the Treaty of Versailles. He makes you watch it happen through the eyes of five families who are all, somehow, messy and interconnected. It’s a bit of a trick, really. He takes these huge, abstract historical forces and pins them to people you actually give a damn about.
🔗 Read more: Celebrimbor Lord of the Rings: Why the Greatest Elven Smith Was Actually a Tragic Figure
First, you’ve got the Williams family in Wales. Billy Williams is just thirteen when he goes down into the coal mines for the first time. It’s grim. It’s claustrophobic. His sister, Ethel, is a housekeeper for the local Earl, and she’s got a fire in her that the upper class isn't ready for. Then there are the Fitzherberts—the aristocrats. Earl "Fitz" is your classic conservative snob, but his sister, Lady Maud, is a suffragette who falls for a German spy.
Across the ocean, Gus Dewar is a law student working in Woodrow Wilson’s White House. He’s the bridge to the American perspective. Then you’ve got the Peshkov brothers in Russia, Grigori and Lev. One is a hardworking revolutionary; the other is a total scoundrel trying to flee to America. Finally, there’s Walter von Ulrich in Germany, a diplomat caught between his love for an Englishwoman and his loyalty to a Kaiser who is slowly losing his mind.
Why Ken Follett Fall of Giants Still Matters
It’s easy to dismiss historical fiction as "dad books," but this story hits differently because it explains why the world looks the way it does now.
Follett is obsessed with the "fall" part of the title. He’s showing the moment the old world died. Before 1914, everyone thought the "Giants"—the Kings, the Tsars, the Emperors—would rule forever. This book tracks the exact moment those pillars crumbled. It’s about the rise of the working class and the brutal, bloody birth of the modern era.
One thing people often miss is how much space Follett gives to the women’s suffrage movement. It’s not just a side plot. The fight for the vote in Britain is treated with the same weight as the Battle of the Somme. Ethel and Maud aren't just "love interests"; they are political actors who are arguably more competent than the men running the war.
The Accuracy Check
Is it 100% accurate? Kinda.
Follett is famous for his research. He hires historians to fact-check his drafts. If he says King George V was at a certain party on a certain Tuesday, the King was probably there. But—and this is a big but—he’s still writing a page-turner. He uses "plot armor" for his main characters. They happen to be in the room for every major historical conversation. It’s a little convenient, sure, but it makes for a better story than following a random foot soldier who dies in the first ten pages.
What Most Readers Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that this is a "war book."
If you’re looking for a blow-by-blow military strategy manual, you might be disappointed. The war is the backdrop, but the heart of the book is social mobility. It's about how a kid from a Welsh coal mine can end up changing the laws of a nation. It's about how the Russian Revolution wasn't just a political shift, but a desperate, violent explosion from people who had been treated like dirt for centuries.
Critics sometimes complain that Follett’s writing is too "simple." He doesn't do flowery metaphors. He writes clean, direct prose. Some people call it shallow. I’d argue it’s why a 900-page book feels like it’s only 200 pages long. You don't get stuck on a paragraph for ten minutes; you just keep moving.
Moving Past the Giants
Once you finish the last page, you realize you've just lived through 13 years of absolute chaos. The story ends in 1924, leaving the world in a fragile, uneasy peace. The "Giants" have fallen, but as we know from history, the monsters that replace them in the next book (Winter of the World) are much worse.
If you’re ready to dive in, here is how to handle this massive series:
- Don't try to memorize the character list. Follett provides one at the start, but honestly, the families are distinct enough that you’ll recognize them within a few chapters.
- Pay attention to the dates. The chapters are dated, and following the timeline helps you realize just how fast things escalated toward the Great War.
- Look for the connections. The way a character in St. Petersburg influences a character in Washington is the best part of the "interconnected" gimmick.
Start with the first chapter—Billy’s first day in the mine. It’s a brutal introduction to a world that doesn't exist anymore, and it sets the stage for everything that follows. After you finish, move directly to Winter of the World to see what happens to the children of these characters during WWII. The history is heavy, but the storytelling makes it feel light.
👉 See also: How Many Episodes are in Apples Never Fall? What to Expect from the Delaney Family Drama
Practical Next Steps
- Check your library's digital app (Libby/Hoopla): Because of its length, the audiobook version of Fall of Giants is over 30 hours long. It’s a great way to "read" it during commutes without carrying a literal brick in your bag.
- Compare the fictional "Fitz" to the real-life Earls of the time: Research the history of South Wales mining strikes to see just how closely Follett mirrored the actual labor struggles of 1910-1912.
- Map the families: If you’re a visual person, sketch a quick family tree as you go. It helps when the narrative jumps from the Russian front back to the halls of London.