Book Review

The most important thing you need to know about this book is that it is long. I'm talking 1000 pages. It's a very impractical book to take along to basketball practice, band concerts, etc. But it's so dang awesome that I did just that.

I loved Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. So I assumed I would like this book too. I planned to buy it for Kevin's birthday. (Yes, I buy him books that I want to read. He has accepted it. You should too.) But I noticed that the Amazon reviews were really bad. After reading them, I realized that most of the bad reviews were due to the 20 dollar price tag for the Kindle edition. The Amazon reviewers felt that the only way to vent their rage at the unfair pricing by this publisher was to give it one star reviews. This annoys me. I'm pretty sure Ken Follett (like every other author on the planet) doesn't have much control over how much his eBook costs. And, honestly people, at 1000 pages, this is like getting three really good books which makes any price a bargain.

That being said, I got my copy for free at the library. I was on the waiting list for a looong time. But it was worth the wait. Fall of Giants is the first book in a planned trilogy (ambitious, ain't he?) It is the story of the 20th century. Really. This first book centers mainly on World War I. I learned more history from reading this book than I did through all of high school. I'm not proud of that. Also, I kept describing scenarios from the book to Kevin and asking "Did that really happen?" He's a very patient man.

The book jacket contains a list of all the characters and locations. It was intimidating. I thought there was no way I would ever be able to keep so many people and places straight. But this is what Follett excels at doing. He creates these characters that are so interesting that you can't help but be sucked in. It's really the best kind of book. Even after all those pages, I hated for it to end. He ended it well so I'm looking forward to the next book but there was no big cliffhanger so I won't go nuts in anticipation.