Fall of Giants by Ken Follett is historical fiction set in early 20th century Europe and America. Follett is very good at giving us a sense of time and place. From its opening sentences, Fall of Giants begins showing us what life was like for its principal characters, whether they are rich or poor, male or female; whether they live in Petrograd, Wales or Buffalo, New York. We learn, by osmosis, that, as bad as life was for poor people in Wales, it was much worse in Russia.
In Fall of Giants Ken Follett displays other skills that writers of historical fiction need: The ability to weave fictional characters and events into real history and to show historical characters acting in ways they might have acted. Reading Fall of Giants we learn that World War I began and continued because of the “honor” of less than a dozen men who couldn’t compromise and that millions of people died, led by often incompetent officers who were selected by birth, not merit. We also learn about the start of the Russian Revolution, and get some idea why it happened there and not in France, England or America.
Most of the characters in Fall of Giants are realistic in the sense that they are neither saints nor totally without value; while some are clearly cads or idiots, none are utterly without appeal. This makes reading the novel more interesting.
Follett’s writing in Fall of Giants is not without flaw. The principal one is that he too often tells us what the characters are feeling instead of showing us. Despite this, I would recommend Fall of Giants to any fans of historical fiction, especially if you want to learn more about this period in history.