SS-GB

by Len Deighton

Book Overview

"Deighton's best book . . . an absorbingly exciting spy story that is also a fascinating exercise in might-have-been speculation."--The New York Times Book Review It is 1941 and Germany has won the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345318099
• ISBN13: 9780345318091
• Release Date: April 1984
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 375 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Dark Yellow Pages!

Its probaby a great book but, I wouldn't know because of too dark yellow to read without getting major headaches! NOT WHAT I EXPECTED!

WW II alternative history

This is a fine alt. history novel, and a first rate novel even for mainstream readers (i.e. not alt. hist. fans). The story is set in 1941 after the successful German invasion of England, the background of the plot. (This is not a military history such as McArthur's War.) The hero, a police inspector, is investigating a murder in Shepherds Bush, a section of London. Thru' this he is led into an intrigue which eventually involves the attempted escape from England of King George and an American raid on the British atomic laboratory at Brindle Sands. One of Deighton's best novels. M Riley

Great historical fiction

What if Germany occupied England during WWII, that is the premise of this novel by Len Deighton. SS GB" is a thoroughly fascinating, absorbing, terrific novel--a first-rate murder mystery wrapped in a huge, wartime conspiracy, with a detailed, completely believable backdrop of Britain defeated and occupied by the Nazis. A real page turner sure to please not just Deighton fans but anyone who loves history.

Believable, deep, and exciting

This was a great book for many reasons. First of all, it was thrilling and moved very quickly. But it also had depth and intelligence. The picture he paints of German occupied England is very beleivable. Most of all, the plot was thick and there were some good turns and twists, especially at the end.

Brilliant "alternative history" thriller - vintage Deighton

It's November 1941 in Nazi-occupied Britain, and Detective Inspector Archer of Scotland Yard finds himself reporting to SS Gruppenfuehrer Fritz Kellermann. The King is a prisoner in the Tower of London; Churchill has been shot after a brief trial in Berlin; Germany and the USSR are still the best of friends; and the USA is reluctant to intervene. Austerity holds Britain in its icy grip, with luxuries more or less limited to the German occupying forces and those who succeed in ingratiating themselves. The successful invasion left swathes of ruin and destruction that have not yet been repaired. The blackened shell of a Panzer IV tank still sits halfway up Wimbledon high street. Anyone violating curfew, or breaking regulations, is likely to be shot or sent to a concentration camp. Yet there is no point in rebellion - that would just get more people killed. Apparently, the only way forward is to cooperate with the Germans. Kellermann hints to Archer that his young son might possibly attend the good German school in Highgate... On the other hand, perhaps he should be sent to a training school for young Nazis in Germany. While developing one of his usual opaque plots, Deighton cleverly shows the dilemma facing Archer and others in positions of responsibility. We see the British resistance as more like the present-day Iraqi insurgency (depicted as terrorists, criminals and diehards) than in the heroic light that has retrospectively fallen on those who persisted in fighting the Nazis after their governments had surrendered. As usual in a Deighton story, it is no use trying to work out which side anyone is on. Mostly, each of the leading players is on his (or her) own side. The question is: who can profit most by cooperating with whom? The answers turn out to be surprising indeed. Tension starts to build with the abrupt arrival of SS Standartenfuehrer Huth from Berlin - a man who stands for no nonsense, works for Himmler, and has dauntingly direct methods. Can the Resistance exploit tensions between the German Army and the SS to rescue the King? What is the secret of the scientist who is found shot dead, apparently suffering from an extreme case of sunburn? Add a beautiful American journalist, a sinister British secret service officer, a US military expedition, sundry criminals, black-marketeers and collaborators, stir vigorously... and get ready for some stunning entertainment.

A depressing tale of alternative history

By far the best of Len Deighton's works, SS-Gb works so well because Deighton focuses upon the ordeal of an "everyman" character. In this instance, a detective who becomes caught up in events that are out of his control. A must read for anyone interested in alternative history tales.