Alternative history fiction - World War 2

Showing posts with label Nazi SS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nazi SS. Show all posts

Sunday, 8 November 2015

Himmler's War






Robert Conroy explores a fascinating “what if” in Himmler's war. What if Hitler had been accidentally killed during the latter stages of World War 2 and Himmler, the brutal head of the SS had assumed control of the Nazi war machine? How would the rest of the war – and indeed the 20th Century – have panned out?


In Himmler's war, the new Führer, Heinrich Himmler, expands Germany's search for a super weapon. The Allies consider their options. Fight to the bitter end or negotiate peace with the new, more rational, NAZI leader? (Himmler actually listens to his generals, unlike his predecessor).


This is a very readable book, however Conroy sometimes stretches the bounds of possibility. Chris Nuttall, writing in the CGN book reviews blogspot, states that “[h]istorically, the German nuclear program was unable to produce a bomb. The idea that they can jump to building a working device – and then slipping it to Moscow to blow up Stalin – is implausible, to say the least”.


Conroy, Robert. Himmler’s war, Riverdale, NY: Baen Books, 2011.

References:



SS-GB Nazi-occupied Britain, 1941



Prolific English writer Len Deighton's SS-GB: Nazi occupied Britain 1941 is one of the earlier titles in this genre with the title referring to the branch of the Nazi SS that controls Britain.

Published in 1978 it depicts London in 1941 suffering under German rule nine months after Britain's surrender to the Nazis. Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer is investigating the murder of a prominent nuclear physicist involved in the resistance against Nazi rule.

In this novel King George VI is imprisoned in the Tower of London and his daughters have sought exile in New Zealand. Winston Churchill has been arrested and executed by the Nazis.

Archer battles a power struggle between his Nazi SS overlords as he attempts to solve the crime. He discovers the Resistance is attempting to free the King.

British author Graeme Shimmin writes in his blog that “SS-GB is a convoluted and downbeat story with no heroes and no easy answers, but Deighton’s skill keeps the reader engrossed and creates an entirely believable world. It is one of the key novels of alternate history, and a must read for all alternate history fans.”


Deighton, Len. SS-GB: Nazi occupied Britain 1941, London: Book Club Associates, 1978.

References:

Graeme Shimmin's Review 
Existential Ennui Blog Review 
SS-GB Wiki 
Goodreads Reader reviews
Len Deighton's Website