SS-GB

I picked this up on a whim, having heard Deighton described as a master of the understated spy thriller. This is all that, and more. Even in alt-hist Nazi occupied England, people are shot and murders have to be investigated. But this being an espionage novel, nothing is simple, and our protagonist, Douglas Archer, finds himself drawn into a deadly web of intrigue between factions in the SS, Wehrmacht, and the struggling British Resistance.

The characters and plot are nothing that stands out, but that's all part of the subtle English charm of the book. It is a very, very gray novel. Even the Nazis refuse to be cast as genocidal monsters; merely self-interested conquerors who are taking advantage of the moment to loot everything not show more nailed down. And of course, there is little honor or glory in collaboration--even collaboration which might soften the iron grip of the Third Reich.

And as for the setting, it's great alternate history. It skips the part when Operation Sea Lion works (military history consensus: lol, nope), to focus on the bitter aftermath of life under occupation, and trying to salvage some sort of dignity from the wreckage of defeat. Great book, lots of fun, if that level of grimness is your thing. show less

A very nice thriller, set in a Britain occupied by the Nazis. Len Deighton is not only good at building a sharp plot -a murder investigation linked to one of the most crucial scientific discovery of the time- he also displays a great understanding of how was the Nazi system, using the rivalries between Wehrmacht, SD and SS to fit them all like magic in his very clever story. The puzzle thus being built is a thrilling achievement that, his constant play with human psychology and motivations in such a context makes even more remarkable. I am not usually keen on detective nor spy story but, such an intelligent and intricate plot truly deserves a hat off.

I love alternative histories, and this thriller is set in 1940s England, but in a world where the Germans won the war in 1941. What would life have been like? This is GB, but with POW camps, British Jewish citizens wearing stars and the SS in control of Scotland Yard.

The Yard's finest, Superintendant Archer is called in on a murder trial which has both national and political ramifications. The case is multi-layered, bringing together the resistance, the in-fighting between the SS and the army, as well as a defeated king in the Tower of London.

Archer is under a lot of pressure, seen as a collaborator by his own people, he justifies his working for the the authorities as still working for justice. This is not to say that Archer is happy show more with his lot, while he accepts his new masters, he resists sending his own son to a school with the children of his overlords.

Interesting, but the plot got overcomplicated by the end. One thing that I did like was the fact that there is no real hero, rather people coping with the new reality, much more realistic and human. show less

What happens when one's commitment to their duty conflicts with their loyalty to their country? That is the dilemma facing Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer in Len Deighton's alternate history thriller. A leading member of Scotland Yard's Murder Squad, he finds himself working for the German occupation in the aftermath of their conquest of Great Britain. This tension becomes unavoidable when Archer is called upon to investigate the murder of a man found in an apartment in Shepherd Market. Though initially unremarkable, the case quickly draws attention from the highest circles of the German government, as Archer finds himself pulled into a dangerous world of political intrigue that forces him to resolve his priorities and take a show more side - no matter what the cost.

Deighton's book is an dramatic story of intrigue in a world that might have been. He does not explain up front how Britain was defeated or what the point of divergence was, leaving details to trickle out naturally as they would in a normal conversation, without any of the clunky exposition too many writers adopt when explaining the worlds they have constructed. Instead his focus is on the plot and characters, as he constructs a grim yet plausible world in which a depressed population is still coming to terms with their defeat. The mystery itself unfolds gradually, and while some readers may figure out the particulars fairly quickly Deighton still puts together an ending that is difficult to forecast before getting there. Taken together, it makes for one of the best alternate history novels ever written, as well as a suspenseful tale that readers who are not familiar with the genre will enjoy nonetheless. show less

I think reading a classic Len Deighton must be like watching one of the old master painters in action. There's the preparation, the background, the deft brushstrokes, building up layer on layer of colours and nuance in perfect harmony. And then you finally take a step back, reveals a masterpiece.

Or maybe it's like watching a master magician? There's slight of hand, deception, concealment and finally slapping of the forehead 'oh, you got me!'

That apart...

SS-GB is set in 1941 and the book opens with a 'copy' of an 'official' German document. OK so far. It's just that it is in fact 'the instrument of surrender…of all English armed forces in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland including all islands.' This happened in show more February 1941. It's now November. Churchill has been executed. King George VI is in the Tower of London - and not as a visitor. The SS are now running the province of England. And to make matters worse…there's suddenly a murder case for Superintendent Douglas Archer of Scotland Yard to solve. A routine one, a black-marketeer murdered in London, of the open and shut kind, it would seem. But if the case is so routine, why have the Germans, Himmler himself no less, sent an SS Standartenführer Huth over from Berlin to take control? Huth is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, confident to arrogance and especially irritating if you're the nice General Kellerman, with a taste for all the trappings of the English aristocracy and are trying to run Scotland Yard as your own little fiefdom. But as the story progresses, one begins to wonder who is outmanoeuvring who here. It all boils down to a trial of strength between the German Army and the up-starts, as they see them, at the SS and SD. And Archer, a thoroughly able and professional Policeman, gets caught in the middle. His professionalism means he will solve the case, no matter who does or doesn't want him to. And the 'doesn't' doesn't always come from where you might expect it to.

SS-GB builds up with matter of fact, nothing unusual about this, description of how things are in the wrong kind of post-war Britain. Deighton has created a thoroughly believable world here, with all the sights and sounds - and smells - brought vividly to alternate life. He describes a horrendously war-torn Britain, its population bombed and blitzed into submission and run (rings round) by the Germans. As it would have been, had it been that way. But, look under the surface, as Archer with the help of his rather more typical, flat-footed colleague Harry Woods is forced to do as the investigation progresses, and we find that perhaps not everyone has actually surrendered. What Len Deighton has created here is not just a look at how things might have been, a simple description of the situation - as he imagines it - would suffice there. He has created a rather more subtle, layered and nuanced look at both the German's inner power struggles and the British attitude to 'getting on with it' no matter what. It is a world that I found myself so taken in by, that I sometimes had to almost tell myself it didn't really happen this way.

If I had to try really hard and pick a nit (and it really feels like telling Leonardo Ms Lisa's smile should be a little brighter), it would be that the main man Douglas Archer does seem to have got used to working for Germans and integrated into all things German, very quickly, given that this novel takes place only a matter of nine months after their victory. I could well have missed the bit that said he was (previous to being a Policeman) a German scholar or spent his formative years in Germany, but it was one little thing that bugged me (see the link with 'nit' there?)

Other than that, SS-GB is a classic partly because it is a great idea well executed and partly because (published first in 1980) I think you could probably argue, that this one kicked off the whole range of 'what if…' novels of the 'what if the Germans HADN'T lost?' variety. I stand to be corrected on that one of course, but even if SS-GB wasn't the first, in my opinion it's certainly the best. show less

After losing the Battle of Britain, Britain is now an occupied country, with the Germans assuming superior roles in all offices of influence, including the police. Detective Inspector Douglas Archer of Scotland Yard is not happy with the state of affairs but he keeps his head down, only wanting to do his job, which causes some of his colleagues to accuse him of being a collaborator. One day he is called to investigate the shooting of an art dealer in Shepherd Market, which at first looks like a routine murder inquiry but quickly turns into anything but. When the Resistance begins to take an interest in Archer, he must decide once and for all where his loyalties lie.

Surely one of the earliest alternative history novels, it surprised me show more to find out that it was written nearly 40 years ago, as the writing and the plot have barely dated. It is a political thriller with a superb evocation of Britain as it would have been had the Germans not lost the Battle of Britain – the fear and suspicion, and the internal conflict between resisting the Germans and allowing some degree of cooperation are explored convincingly and in great detail. Unfortunately some of the characters' motivations become heavily muddled so that it's not always easy to understand what's going on. (I'm hoping that the current BBC TV series will partially illuminate this side of the novel. - Alas, it didn't.) The beginning is quite slow but then the book picks up pace, and there are some genuine surprises in store for the reader. Almost uniquely, the murderer isn't revealed until the very last page, and the solution wouldn't have occurred to me, though whether that's the author's ingenuity or just the result of a muddled plot, I don't know.

The author has clearly researched the hierarchy of the German command structure very well, to the extent that the plot was slightly neglected, in my opinion. A glossary in the appendix would have been of enormous benefit to understand some of the power struggles that lie at the heart of the novel. show less

My first Len Deighton — very enjoyable, though feels a division below my favourite, John Le Carré (even in his weaker works). The setting is occupied London, in the aftermath of a shorter World War Two where the Nazis won, and the protagonist is a conflicted but professional Scotland Yard detective. It starts as a normal-enough murder investigation, but with inevitably more significant implications and repercussions. The story is solid, and enjoyable, though slightly overly convoluted at times, mystery. Motivations get very muddied, though there is some realism in that. My worst complaint is that some of the characters — particularly our hero — are a bit wooden. He is described as unemotional by others, but it felt like that was show more a smokescreen for him not having been written more convincingly. The less said of the unnecessary romance the better. Minor gripes, though. I enjoyed the story, and much of the detail of this particular 'what-if' scenario was done very well. show less