Ken Follett: 5 Novels You Should Read
Created: 06/03/2022Updated: 06/07/2022 09:46
By: Sven Trautwein
Ken Follett is a guarantee for exciting novels.
He made his breakthrough in this country with historical novels.
You should read these five bestsellers.
For many, "The Pillars of the Earth" or "The Gates of the World" are considered the most exciting novels by Ken Follett.
My entry into the world of Follett was also laid with "The Pillars of the Earth".
However, his international breakthrough came with the spy novel “The Needle” (Order here).
It feels like a new novel by the Welsh author appears almost every year.
If you want to get to know the novels of Ken Follett and don't have enough space for your own shelf with over 30 titles, you can't avoid these five titles.
Especially his latest work, "Never - The Last Decision", could hardly be more up-to-date.
On June 5th, Ken Follett celebrates his birthday.
We congratulate!
Ken Follet: "Never: The Final Decision"
Cover of "Never - The Final Decision" by Ken Follett © Lübbe
In the Sahara, two secret service agents follow the trail of powerful drug smugglers.
You are risking your life - and your career.
Not far away, a young widow makes her way to Europe with the help of smugglers.
When she has to defend herself against attacks, a fellow passenger helps her.
But he doesn't seem to be what he says he is either.
In China, a senior government official is fighting the communist hardliners.
He has ambitious plans, and he suspects that the warmongering of his adversaries is leading the country and its close allies North Korea down a path from which there is no turning back.
In the United States, Pauline Green, the country's first female president, conducts her official business with poise and prudence - despite terrorist attacks, illegal arms trafficking and her political opponent's smear campaign.
she will do everything
what is in their power to prevent the US from having to enter an unnecessary war.
But when one act of aggression leads to another, even the world's most powerful countries are caught in the web of their alliances.
And when all diplomatic means have been exhausted and the final decision has been made - who can then prevent the inevitable?
blurb, Lübbe
"Never" was released in November 2021.
The current world situation has changed since then.
But what Follett describes in this novel could hardly be more relevant.
Therefore a clear reading recommendation.
Ken Follett "Never: The Final Decision"
2021 Lübbe, ISBN 978-3-785-72777-5
Price: Hardcover €32, e-book €19.99, 876 pages (varies in format) Order here!
Ken Follet: "The Needle"
Cover of "The Needle" by Ken Follett © Lübbe
April 1944. The invasion is imminent.
In order to suggest a landing near Calais to the Germans, the British staged the greatest deception of all time in south-east England using rubber armor, cardboard airplanes and Potemkin barracks.
This army of ghosts is so adeptly woven into the Allied forces' communications and signaling systems that even Canaris's defenses believe they are genuine.
Because what Canaris doesn't know is that his spies in England are behind bars and only transmit game material - except for one: Henry Faber, known as "the needle". Smuggled into England long before the war, he knew how to remain undiscovered.
And he succeeds in the impossible: He finds out what the English are doing and unmasks the "Fortitude" company.
But the hardest part is yet to come:
He must get his evidence into the hands of the German General Staff.
His escape route across Britain becomes a bloody trail...
blurb, Lübbe
This post-war novel, which was published in 1978, is considered by many critics to be one of the most exciting of this genre.
With him, the Welsh author Ken Follett achieved his international breakthrough.
In 1981 the film of the same name was released, starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan.
Ken Follett "The Needle"
2001 Lübbe (65th edition), ISBN 978-3-404-10026-2
Price: paperback €12.99, e-book €7.99, 416 pages (different format) Order here!
Ken Follett: "The Pillars of the Earth"
Cover of "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett © Lübbe
Even as a simple stonemason, Tom Builder dreams of building a cathedral.
It is the beginning of the Gothic era, when the new domes, flooded with light, soar gracefully into the sky.
The earthly world in the shadow of the cathedrals, on the other hand, is marked by merciless battles between the nobility, the clergy and the common people.
Philip, Prior of Kingsbridge, is also in danger of being crushed in the bloody clashes - just like Tom, his stepson Jack and the beautiful, intelligent Earl's daughter Aliena.
If they want to survive, they have to assert themselves against their adversaries.
Not even when the enemy seems to be gaining the upper hand.
blurb, Lübbe
The prelude to the "Kingsbridge" series is a dense historical novel.
As with many of Ken Follett's books, he pulls the reader right into the action with vivid descriptions and great character studies.
It's hard to put the book down and is definitely one of the top 5 novels that you should definitely read.
Ken Follett "The Pillars of the Earth"
2018, Lübbe, ISBN 978-3-785-72638-9
Price: Hardcover, €30, E-Book €9.99, 1376 pages (different format) Order here!
Ken Follett: "The Third Twin"
When the police arrest Steve and accuse him of rape, he initially believes there is a misunderstanding.
But the victim clearly identifies him, and the DNA test is also positive.
No one seems to believe Steve - only Jeannie Ferrami, a dedicated young twins researcher who suspects Steve may have a double.
But the more Jeannie finds out about Steve's mysterious origins, the more pressure she gets.
More shadowy figures appear behind Steve and his doppelganger.
Each one of them could be her enemy or her friend, her lover - or her killer...
blurb, Lübbe
In 1996 the clone sheep Dolly is in the media.
A year later, Ken Follett's novel "The Third Twin" was published, in which he dealt with the effects of genetic engineering.
The intensive ethical debate about genetic engineering that began back then continues to this day.
A year after Dolly, Follett showed a sure instinct for topics that should be topical for a long time.
Ken Follett "The Third Twin"
2017 (3rd edition), Lübbe, ISBN 978-3-404-17648-9
Price: paperback 11 €, 541 pages - order here!
Ken Follett: "The Century Saga"
Cover to "The Century Saga" EBook by Ken Follett © Lübbe
For the first time the great trilogy of the century in an eBook!
Fall of the Titans.
England.
Ethel Williams, the son of a Welsh miner, is a maid in the home of Earl Fitzherbert.
Expecting a child from him, she is dismissed in disgrace.
But Ethel is not discouraged and begins to fight for women's rights.
Russia.
Grigori and Lev Peshkov grow up as orphans.
While Grigori becomes a revolutionary, his brother becomes rich in America - until he has to enlist in the army and return home as a soldier.
Germany.
Unlike his father, Walter von Ulrich longs for a democratic Germany.
In London he falls head over heels in love with the emancipated Lady Maud.
They secretly marry the day before Germany declares war on Russia.
But the conflict that begins tears the lovers apart.
winter of the world.
A new generation has grown up since the First World War.
Now the situation in Europe is getting dangerous again.
In this dramatic time, three young people heroically try to master their fate.
The Englishman Lloyd Williams witnesses the seizure of power by Hitler and the National Socialists.
He decides to fight against fascism and volunteers as a soldier in the Spanish Civil War.
The German noblewoman Carla von Ulrich is appalled by the injustice being done in the name of the people.
She joins the resistance and thereby puts herself and her family in great danger.
The life-hungry American Daisy, on the other hand, only dreams of social advancement.
She marries an English lord - but her husband is on the side of the fascists... children of liberty.
The war is over, but the world is still in turmoil.
A wall is being built in Berlin, separating East and West and destroying millions of families.
Not everyone accepts it - despite the danger to life and limb.
At the same time, black Americans are fighting for their civil rights, and the United States and the Soviet Union are engaged in a confrontation that is bringing the world to the brink of disaster.
Who can still be trusted in this time when the world is on the brink more than once?
Not everyone accepts it - despite the danger to life and limb.
At the same time, black Americans are fighting for their civil rights, and the United States and the Soviet Union are engaged in a confrontation that is bringing the world to the brink of disaster.
Who can still be trusted in this time when the world is on the brink more than once?
Not everyone accepts it - despite the danger to life and limb.
At the same time, black Americans are fighting for their civil rights, and the United States and the Soviet Union are engaged in a confrontation that is bringing the world to the brink of disaster.
Who can still be trusted in this time when the world is on the brink more than once?
blurb, Lübbe
The trilogy "The Century Saga" consists of the three volumes "Fall of the Titans", "Winter of the World" and "Children of Freedom".
In terms of content, the volumes revolve around the fates of three families in the time frame from the beginning of the First World War to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The small individual parts form a skilful picture of the most important global political events over the 80 years.
Ken Follett "The Century Saga"
2016, Lübbe, ISBN 978-3-732-53790-7
All three parts in one e-book, €24.99, 3098 pages (different format) - Order here!
Ken Follet
Ken Follett - One of Britain's most successful authors brings a new thriller with 'Never'.
© Photo booth/Suhr/Imago
Born in Wales on June 5, 1949, he quickly excelled with historical novels.
His parents were very religious and forbade cinema, television or radio.
Ken Follett only absorbed his mother's stories.
After leaving school, Follett studied philosophy.
In 1970 he began a three-month journalism course that would pave the way for him to become a writer.