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Quick answer: If you loved Century Trilogy, read Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, then Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance, then Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong, and Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. All are sweeping 20th-century sagas.
Ken Follett's Century Trilogy begins with Fall of Giants (2010). These picks share its scale.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall of Giants | Ken Follett | Adult | the Century Trilogy |
| The Pillars of the Earth | Ken Follett | Adult | readers who like epics |
| World Without End | Ken Follett | Adult | the sequel |
| A Column of Fire | Ken Follett | Adult | Elizabethan spies |
| The Eye of the Needle | Ken Follett | Adult | readers who like WWII thrillers |
| A Woman of Substance | Barbara Taylor Bradford | Adult | rise of a tycoon |
| Birdsong | Sebastian Faulks | Adult | readers who like historical fiction |
| The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah | Adult | readers who want a big emotional story |
| Doctor Zhivago | Boris Pasternak | Adult | Russian epics |
| The Forsyte Saga | John Galsworthy | Adult | family chronicle |
| The Thorn Birds | Colleen McCullough | Adult | classic sagas |
| Cold Mountain | Charles Frazier | Adult | literary historical fiction |
| Sarum | Edward Rutherfurd | Adult | epic of a place |
| The Power of One | Bryce Courtenay | Adult | coming of age |
| Shōgun | James Clavell | Adult | readers who like long sagas |
1. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Five families live through the First World War and the Russian Revolution. Sweeping and fast.
Best for: the Century Trilogy.
2. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
A master builder, a monk and a noble family struggle over a cathedral in 12th-century England. Long, gripping and emotional.
Best for: readers who like epics.
3. World Without End by Ken Follett
The story returns to Kingsbridge two centuries later, as plague approaches. Another big, gripping saga.
Best for: the sequel.
4. A Column of Fire by Ken Follett
A young woman and a spy navigate Elizabethan England. Tense and long.
Best for: Elizabethan spies.
5. The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
A German spy in WWII Britain tries to send secret information to Hitler. Fast and tense.
Best for: readers who like WWII thrillers.
6. A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Emma Harte rises from servant girl to business tycoon. A long and satisfying saga.
Best for: rise of a tycoon.
7. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Stephen Wraysford falls in love before the war and fights in the trenches of the Somme. Intense and romantic.
Best for: readers who like historical fiction.
8. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Two sisters in occupied France take different paths of resistance. A moving bestseller.
Best for: readers who want a big emotional story.
9. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
A doctor and poet is swept up in the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, torn between two women. A sweeping classic.
Best for: Russian epics.
10. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
A wealthy English family over generations. A classic of the saga form.
Best for: family chronicle.
11. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
An epic family saga set in the Australian outback. Long, romantic and dramatic.
Best for: classic sagas.
12. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate soldier walks home to his love. Slow, lyrical and rooted in landscape.
Best for: literary historical fiction.
13. Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
The story of Salisbury Plain from the Ice Age to modern times. Sprawling and rich.
Best for: epic of a place.
14. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
A boy in South Africa learns boxing and survival. Long, popular and inspiring.
Best for: coming of age.
15. Shōgun by James Clavell
An English pilot arrives in feudal Japan and gets caught in a power struggle among warlords. Epic in scale and detail.
Best for: readers who like long sagas.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Century Trilogy: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Century Trilogy. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For sagas, read The Pillars of the Earth. For history, try A Woman of Substance. For war, pick Birdsong.
Related: Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote the Century Trilogy?
Ken Follett.
What are its books?
Fall of Giants, Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity.
Is it long?
Yes, each is about 900 pages.
Which book here is best for readers who like long sagas?
Try Shōgun by James Clavell, which suits readers looking for readers who like long sagas.
Which book here is best for coming of age?
Try The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, which suits readers looking for coming of age.
Which book here is best for epic of a place?
Try Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, which suits readers looking for epic of a place.
Which book here is best for literary historical fiction?
Try Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, which suits readers looking for literary historical fiction.
Which book here is best for classic sagas?
Try The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, which suits readers looking for classic sagas.