Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy
Written by Ken Follett
Narrated by John Lee
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, the first novel in his extraordinary new historical epic, The Century Trilogy, was an international sensation, acclaimed as "sweeping and fascinating, a book that will consume you for days or weeks" (USA Today) and "grippingly told and readable to the end" (The New York Times Book Review). "If the next two volumes are as lively and entertaining as Fall of Giants," said The Washington Post, "they should be well worth waiting for."
Winter of the World picks up right where the first book left off, as its five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, Welsh—enter a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil War and the great dramas of World War II, up to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombs.
Carla von Ulrich, born of German and English parents, finds her life engulfed by the Nazi tide until she commits a deed of great courage and heartbreak. . . . American brothers Woody and Chuck Dewar, each with a secret, take separate paths to momentous events, one in Washington, the other in the bloody jungles of the Pacific. . . . English student Lloyd Williams discovers in the crucible of the Spanish Civil War that he must fight Communism just as hard as Fascism. . . . Daisy Peshkov, a driven American social climber, cares only for popularity and the fast set, until the war transforms her life, not just once but twice, while her cousin Volodya carves out a position in Soviet intelligence that will affect not only this war—but the war to come.
These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as their experiences illuminate the cataclysms that marked the century. From the drawing rooms of the rich to the blood and smoke of battle, their lives intertwine, propelling the reader into dramas of ever-increasing complexity.
As always with Ken Follett, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. With passion and the hand of a master, he brings us into a world we thought we knew, but now will never seem the same again.
Read by John Lee
Ken Follett
Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold over 10 million copies. He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel, The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy - a body of work which together chronicles over a thousand years of history - and his latest novel Never - which envisages how World War III could happen - have sold more than 188 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can.
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Reviews for Winter of the World
54 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In an era in which humanity has been pushed back to a semi-medieval tech level (though the most advanced culture has radio, among other items), a empire based in what used to be Mexico which recently conquered an ancient city state on the site of New Orleans is pushing up the the Jugular (Mississippi) River to try to conquer a semi-nomadic and notoriously fiercely independent culture in the plains. Despite the North American setting, one of the cultures seem at all North American (unlike, say, "No Truce with Kings"). The empire (Rahid) was itself conquered by a nomadic cavalry culture (Baromm) a few generations earlier, and the feel of the story is more like Manchu China invading Dzungaria than, say, the wars of US Cavalry against the Plains Indians. The POV shifts among Lady Donya of the quasi-libertarian Rogaviki, Josserek of the technlogically sophisticated Seafolk based in Australia, (rather like the Pacific confederation Anderson used in some early stories) and Sidir, the commander of the Barommian army. Anderson's sympathies are obviously with Donya and Josserek, but as often with his "villains" Sidir also has an understandable point of view. Rogaviki women have a reputation for being sexually irresistible to non-Rogaviki men, and both Josserek and SIrdir become Donya's lovers at different points in the story. Eventually Josserek develops a theory of why there is this attraction --and why Rogaviki literally cannot bear living in large groups for long. However, this is only revealed in a postscript after Sidir and his army have perished in a battle on the frozen river sightly reminiscent of the Russian defeat of the Teutonic Knights at Lake Piepus.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed it. I like learning about history upclose. nicely read. Many thanks
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Muito bem narrado. Não exclui as partes fundamentais do livro.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Very upsetting that this an abridged version, even if it doesn't say so.
I own this book and I simply love re-reading it. This trilogy was the reason I even subscribed to this service. Having read it as many times as I have, you can tell what pieces are missing, especially the one's with notable confrontations. Ken Follet produced an excellent story with compelling characters. While the narration is enthusiastic and immersive, both story and characters are incomplete without every detail the author sought to include.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5On Audible the running time is 31 hours and 47 minutes, on the Scribd app it's only 13 hours. No mention of this being an abridged version in the scribd library though. Thus the one star.
Listening to the unabridged version on audible now, excellent book. Easily four stars.3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I seem to have liked this 1976 Poul Anderson novel more than most. I’ve read several of his novels in the past six months or so, and he tends to be a bit of a hit or miss author for me. This one, which is built around solidly science fiction premises, but in many ways reads more like a fantasy, was a hit.At his best Anderson brings a sad poetic sensibility to his storytelling, and I certainly felt that here. While I can’t really argue that the characters and the societies they inhabit are particularly plausible, I found them complicated and interesting. Somehow he makes a story about a matriarchal society led by strangely attractive, pheromaniacal (I know that’s not really a word, but if it were it would be the right one to use here), and fiercely independent women (who are every bit as interested in a romp in the sack with a random stranger as your average adolescent male science fiction reader) not feel gratuitous.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is pretty much a standard post-apocalypse story, except that Anderson presents the idea that idealized native americas have developed. They have very close ties to the land, almost no sense of ownership, and are extremely protective of the animals that live there. When threatened by a 'civilized' Empire with overwhelming force, they have to react, but that would require cooperation and strategy, two things they do not do well. A very interesting take on this theme.