So, I have finished the second of the lengthy tomes I have been reading of late. Winter of the World, by Ken Follett is the second book in his Century of Giants trilogy. The action centres around the families we met in the first book, which was set around the first world war. It is now 1933 and Berlin is starting to feel the impact of the far right Nazi party who are slowly tightening their grip on governing the country, sweeping all opposition aside with increasingly brutal tactics. The Von Ulrich family are caught in the middle and are clinging onto the belief that liberal democracy will prevail, but inevitably are disappointed. Meanwhile, in Britain, Ethel Leckwith is now an MP and her son, Lloyd, wants to follow in the family business. On a trip to Berlin, he sees first hand what is happening and is more determined than ever to do what he can to halt the spread of facism. In Russia, Volodya Peshkov is now a grown man and is working his way up the ranks in the Red Army, believing that Communism is the only way forward. Meanwhile, American socialite Daisy Peshkov (half sister to Volodya, though unaware of this) sets her sights on becoming accepted into the upper echelons of America's elite class. However, following a major snub, she heads to the UK and meets both Lord-in-waiting Boy Fitzherbert and Lloyd (also half-brothers of each other) at Cambridge. She, of course, is determined to seduce Boy and the fairy tale wedding soon follows. However, not much time passes before she realises that whilst she may that title she craved, life with Boy is destined for misery, and maybe she picked the wrong brother! This really is another epic novel, with characters that you care about playing out their personal dramas against the backdrop of real events. We see the build up to and outbreak of war, the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the development of the atomic bomb. There is high drama, intermingled with quiet wit and gentle caresses. All aspects of life and death are here - no holds are barred and no one is safe from a grisly end. I was often surprised by the turn of events and while it may be a glorified soap opera ... all I can say is ... what a soap opera! My only gripe would be that I think it could have benefited from a little editing - I wasn't totally convinced that all the American scenes were necessary. However, I found it gripping, entertaining, informative, unflinching ... do you need any further encouragement to give this trilogy a try? Bring on book 3!
My STAR rating: FOUR.
Length: 928 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.20 (WHAT A BARGAIN!)
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, unabridged audio CD, CD-ROM, ebook.
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