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A review by ricksilva
Winter of the World by Ken Follett
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The sequel to Fall of Giants brings in a new generation of characters, many of them the children of the main characters of the first book, as it covers the Second World War and the years preceding and following it.
As with the first volume in the series, Follett does a great job with the historical details, and he continues to be very clever in his ability to bring characters together from different backgrounds and to place them in the midst of historical events.
The soap-opera elements include some good drama and some interesting plot twists, although a few of the instances of star-crossed lovers begin to feel a bit repetitive. Still, there is enough variety to keep things engaging.
The horrors of the war are certainly not glossed over, although different characters experience them in different ways. There is a lot of war violence, and frequent references to torture, and I did find a particularly horrifying rape scene late in the story to be questionable in terms of plot necessity while it followed some tropes that are better left by the wayside.
I think the character arcs in this story didn't quite live up to those of the first book, but this story made up for that with more surprises, and a more global scope of events.
As with the first volume in the series, Follett does a great job with the historical details, and he continues to be very clever in his ability to bring characters together from different backgrounds and to place them in the midst of historical events.
The soap-opera elements include some good drama and some interesting plot twists, although a few of the instances of star-crossed lovers begin to feel a bit repetitive. Still, there is enough variety to keep things engaging.
The horrors of the war are certainly not glossed over, although different characters experience them in different ways. There is a lot of war violence, and frequent references to torture, and I did find a particularly horrifying rape scene late in the story to be questionable in terms of plot necessity while it followed some tropes that are better left by the wayside.
I think the character arcs in this story didn't quite live up to those of the first book, but this story made up for that with more surprises, and a more global scope of events.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War