Fall of Giants by Ken Follett or as I’d call it: Fall of a Giant

With this novel, you see the fall of a great writer. I enjoy Follett’s books but with this one he has fallen way short of his lofty goals. The problem is with the main characters.  They are WWI, socialism and a woman’s right to vote. These are the main characters not Fitzherbert, Maude, Ethel, Walter, Gus, Bernie, Grigori, Lev etc. These characters exist only to spout the platitudes of socialism or the reasons for or reasons against a woman’s right to vote. There is some gratuitous sex thrown in but then it’s yada yada yada with men   debating strategies for battles or Lenin pontificating or lengthy sermons on the beauty of socialism. The human characters are caricatures, Fitz, the pompous vain Lord of the manor, Ethel, the servant girl who is very smart but still falls for Fitz and of course finds herself pregnant, Maud, the strong willed woman who gives as good as she gets and Billy, the uneducated coal minor who outsmarts his colonels and generals. If you are into WWI and are also interested in the beginnings of socialism, this book is for you.  This is not Pillars of the Earth or World without End where you actually learn to care about the characters.   Unfortunately there are two more of these tomes coming out.  No sir re bob.  I’m not buying them.   Of the 340 reviews on Amazon, 229, like me, gave it a single star*…