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spacewhombus 's review for:
Fall of Giants
by Ken Follett
Hmm so this one is kind of hard to review. I will start by saying this is my first Ken Follett book, and that I don't usually enjoy pure historical fiction, so take that as you will.
The writing itself was pretty good, and for the most part, I was motivated to keep reading, but it got suddenly really dry and boring around the 70 percent mark compared to the rest of the book. By 90 percent it was better again, but still.
If you are a history buff and already know everything about WWI, then this will bore you to no end, as it is primarily a play-by-play of WWI in Europe and the USA, with a few characters imagined to help tell the story. I think that was why I liked it a bit more than other historical fiction novels, because it often reads more like pure nonfiction. I don't think there was any special insight gained from his retelling, though- it was like listening to your super old uncle tell you all about how great "The West" is, while you listen and nod and roll your eyes because it's not even worth bringing up another viewpoint.
That being said, I did enjoy the multiple viewpoints of each chapter and the complex web of characters he created, across both sides of the conflict. It was interesting to think about the ties that bound everyone together and how the war complicated it all. Some characters were really horrible, like Earl Fitzherbert, and some were much more interesting, like Lady Maud. I wish there had been a bit more drama or plot twists or something, because you already know how the war will end so you kind of know what the characterts' story will turn out to be like.
Anyways, if you like basic (as in, nothing new) history and a huge web of characters then you would probably like this a lot. It had enough to keep me reading but I wouldn't read more of the series.
The writing itself was pretty good, and for the most part, I was motivated to keep reading, but it got suddenly really dry and boring around the 70 percent mark compared to the rest of the book. By 90 percent it was better again, but still.
If you are a history buff and already know everything about WWI, then this will bore you to no end, as it is primarily a play-by-play of WWI in Europe and the USA, with a few characters imagined to help tell the story. I think that was why I liked it a bit more than other historical fiction novels, because it often reads more like pure nonfiction. I don't think there was any special insight gained from his retelling, though- it was like listening to your super old uncle tell you all about how great "The West" is, while you listen and nod and roll your eyes because it's not even worth bringing up another viewpoint.
That being said, I did enjoy the multiple viewpoints of each chapter and the complex web of characters he created, across both sides of the conflict. It was interesting to think about the ties that bound everyone together and how the war complicated it all. Some characters were really horrible, like Earl Fitzherbert, and some were much more interesting, like Lady Maud. I wish there had been a bit more drama or plot twists or something, because you already know how the war will end so you kind of know what the characterts' story will turn out to be like.
Anyways, if you like basic (as in, nothing new) history and a huge web of characters then you would probably like this a lot. It had enough to keep me reading but I wouldn't read more of the series.