Ken Follett’s blockbuster, Fall of Giants, arrives today and is welcomed by USA Today‘s review, which captures why it is likely to be popular despite what the critics may say,

Follett, known more for his storytelling than his literary craftsmanship that can verge on the overwrought, has outdone even himself here…It’s a book that will suck you in, consume you for days or weeks, depending upon how quick a reader you are, then let you out the other side both entertained and educated.

If you prefer a bit more bile in your reviews, check Janet Maslin’s in the NYT,

[Follett’s] apparent ambition: to span the whole 20th century in blandly adequate novels so fat that they’re hard to hoist.

But, even she has to admit,

However two-dimensional these characters first seem, and however much they spout talking points rather than human conversation, they have begun to develop interesting baggage after 1,000 pages roll by. If only they had gotten off to a less plodding start.

Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy) Ken Follett Retail Price: $36.00 Hardcover: 985 pages Publisher: Dutton Adult – (2010-09-28) ISBN / EAN: 0525951652 / 9780525951650

Penguin Audio; UNABR; 9780142428276

Books on Tape Audio; UNABR; Narrator: John Lee; 9780307737380

Audio on OverDrive

Spanish-language edition; La caida de los gigantes; Random House; 9780307741189

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under 2010 - Fall, Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.