The second in Ken Follett's bestselling Century Trilogy, Winter of the World is also a hugely ambitious novel "a magnificent, spellbinding epic of global conflict and personal drama."

It covers everything from the burning of the Reichstag to the T4 Euthanesia program under the Nazis, to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the battle of Midway to the development of the atomic bomb is covered -yet still follows the same five families (and their descendents) to give it a really personal touch.

A consistently compelling portrait of a world in crisis. "The Washington Post"

This was just a tad disappointing. The second generation characters don't come alive as much as in the first part of the trilogy (Fall of Giants) ... and it felt that Ken Follett had rushed their creation without his usual flair for intriguing character building and an interesting plot. The five families were a lot less interwoven ... and sometimes some events felt contrived.

Towards the end of the book however THEIR offspring (third generation) sparked more interest in me. Clara (in Germany) is perhaps the most interesting and complex character.

I wonder what part 3 of the trilogy will bring ...