There is some coverage of the development of the atom bomb but very little on the effects of it on the Japanese people, which was disappointing (surely a minor character could have been there to give some account of the devastation). The focus is mainly on the war in Europe, with Chuck Dewar being the lone main character fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. The parts of WWII that were covered were very broad. I understand that it’s necessary to understand the motivations behind WWII, but I got very sick of reading about Fascism and Black Shirts. Everyone seems to be very politically focused or motivated and many inches are devoted to elections and political discussions. If I had to some up this book in one word it would be politics. Everyone is as intermingled as a soap opera, but that’s not a bad thing as it gets the characters to the critical points in history. We cover the German aspect with the von Ulrich family, England with the Williams’ and Fitzherberts, Russia with the Peshkovs and the USA with the (other) Peshkovs and Dewars. This time round we know the families involved (and once again, there’s a list if you’ve forgotten) and the children have grown up to fight again for freedom. Yes, the pace did pick up as the war continued and some of the preamble of the 1930s – rise of Hitler and Fascism was necessary but I felt like the book needed an edit. I was begging for World War II to start because I knew there would be action. Those of you who have read Ken Follett’s other massive chunksters (such as The Pillars of the Earth) know that he can be a real page turner. Why? Because it was quite boring in parts. It’s another heavy tome at 818 pages and it took me simply ages to read it, much longer than I had expected. Despite my vow to read the second heavy book as an eBook, that didn’t happen as I received this book for Christmas. I was really looking forward to this book after reading Fall of Giants, which I loved. Weaknesses: Long and dreary in stretches and the Holocaust is two lines. Strengths: Well researched, some gripping scenes. A quick rundown…The second book in the Century trilogy focuses on World War II, continuing the tale with the same families introduced in Fall of Giants.
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