Book · Historical fiction
A Column of Fire
by Ken Follett
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start A Column of Fire, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 900
- Reading time
- ≈ 16 h 20 min
- Checkpoints
- 30
- Genre
- Historical
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read A Column of Fire?
At 900 pages, A Column of Fire is a doorstopper. Expect about 16 hours 20 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.
At 30 minutes a day, that is about 33 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 13 reading days. For a book of this length (600 pages or more), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 6.4 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day33 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)13 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 30 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 30
- Checkpoint 2, page 60
- Checkpoint 3, page 90
- Checkpoint 4, page 120
- Checkpoint 5, page 150
- Checkpoint 6, page 180
- Checkpoint 7, page 210
- Checkpoint 8, page 240
- Checkpoint 9, page 270
- Checkpoint 10, page 300
- Checkpoint 11, page 330
- Checkpoint 12, page 360
- Checkpoint 13, page 390
- Checkpoint 14, page 420
- Checkpoint 15, page 450
- Checkpoint 16, page 480
- Checkpoint 17, page 510
- Checkpoint 18, page 540
- Checkpoint 19, page 570
- Checkpoint 20, page 600
- Checkpoint 21, page 630
- Checkpoint 22, page 660
- Checkpoint 23, page 690
- Checkpoint 24, page 720
- Checkpoint 25, page 750
- Checkpoint 26, page 780
- Checkpoint 27, page 810
- Checkpoint 28, page 840
- Checkpoint 29, page 870
- Checkpoint 30, page 900
In Vread, A Column of Fire is split into 30 checkpoints, one every 30 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.
The challenge: validate all 30 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.
Also available in French on Vread.
Illustrative example
What a checkpoint looks like
A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.
The answer is in the text: reply in the app.
This is not a question from A Column of Fire: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.
Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.
Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions
How many pages is A Column of Fire?
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Read A Column of Fire with Vread
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