Authors · NYT Hardcover Fiction

Ken Follett

Charting Jul 9, 1978 → Oct 19, 2025 · 338 weeks with chart power

Peak Power: 11.08%; week of Feb 15, 1981
Career Power: 2,344; share-weeks
Weeks at #1: 15; weeks as the top author

Peak Year: 317; April 1980 – April 1981
Peak Five Years: 868; August 1977 – October 1982
Top-five weeks: 131; weeks ranked 1–5
Longevity: 338; weeks with chart power
Dominance: 14.53%; week of Dec 9, 1979
Comebacks: 9; February 1986, October 1989, November 1991, November 2007, November 2010, October 2012, October 2014, October 2017, November 2020

Comebacks (thresholds from `config/scoring.json`)
Kind	Trough began	Returned	Trough weeks	Longest absence	Prior peak	Return share
After absence	Dec 12, 1982	Feb 23, 1986	167	164	11.08%	4.80%
After absence	Aug 17, 1986	Oct 8, 1989	164	161	11.08%	3.92%
After decline	Feb 18, 1990	Nov 3, 1991	89	85	11.08%	3.98%
After absence	Mar 22, 1992	Nov 25, 2007	815	142	11.08%	3.91%
After absence	May 25, 2008	Nov 7, 2010	128	125	11.08%	4.35%
After decline	Feb 20, 2011	Oct 28, 2012	88	85	11.08%	4.34%
After decline	Jan 27, 2013	Oct 19, 2014	90	88	11.08%	4.05%
After absence	Feb 15, 2015	Oct 22, 2017	138	135	11.08%	4.19%
After absence	Jan 28, 2018	Nov 1, 2020	142	138	11.08%	4.46%

Ranked by weekly Power Share, part of the ChartReign Power model — not the list's own positions (config version 4, Sep 22, 2026). How it works →

Exponentially smoothed share of the week's total power (the primary metric).

Titles on the NYT Hardcover Fiction

25 books · 2,344 share-weeks of Career Power

Power contributed is what each book earned this author: their weekly Power Share, split across their books (a featured credit takes its reduced share). Book Power is the book's own figure, the same for every author on it. Bar length compares books within this list.

Title	Peak	Weeks	On chart	Power contributedPower	Book Power
The Key to Rebecca	#1October 1980	30	September 1980 – April 1981	312.6	312.6
Triple	#1December 1979	34	September 1979 – May 1980	290.6	290.6
The Man from St. Petersburg	#1June 1982	23	May 1982 – October 1982	205.9	205.9
Lie Down with Lions	#1February 1986	24	February 1986 – July 1986	184.3	184.3
World Without End	#1October 2007	26	October 2007 – April 2008	181.2	181.2
Night Over Water	#4October 1991	19	October 1991 – February 1992	135.4	135.4
Edge of Eternity	#1October 2014	15	October 2014 – January 2015	114.1	114.1
Fall of Giants	#1October 2010	14	October 2010 – January 2011	96.0	96.0
A Column of Fire	#1October 2017	15	October 2017 – January 2018	93.6	93.6
Winter of the World	#1October 2012	14	October 2012 – January 2013	86.8	86.7
The Evening and the Morning	#1October 2020	12	October 2020 – January 2021	80.0	80.0
Pillars of the Earth	#2October 1989	6	October 1989 – November 1989	72.8	72.8
A Dangerous Fortune	#5November 1993	14	October 1993 – January 1994	68.8	66.0
Eye of the Needle	#8July 1978	17	July 1978 – February 1979	58.7	58.7
The Pillars of the Earth	#2September 1989	12	September 1989 – January 1990	56.3	56.3
Code to Zero	#3December 2000	8	December 2000 – February 2001	48.0	47.9
Hornet Flight	#5January 2003	8	December 2002 – February 2003	47.9	47.9
The Third Twin	#6December 1996	10	November 1996 – January 1997	40.5	40.5
A Place Called Freedom	#6October 1995	8	September 1995 – November 1995	36.4	36.4
Jackdaws	#7January 2002	8	December 2001 – February 2002	34.3	34.3
The Armor of Light	#3October 2023	6	October 2023 – November 2023	32.6	32.6
Whiteout	#9December 2004	6	December 2004 – January 2005	26.5	26.5
The Hammer of Eden	#7November 1998	5	November 1998 – December 1998	19.5	19.5
Never	#5November 2021	2	November 2021 – December 2021	12.0	12.0
Circle of Days	#8October 2025	2	October 2025 – October 2025	9.6	9.1