Fiction

SS-GB

SS-GB

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  • Create Date：2021-05-25 10:51:37
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Len Deighton
  • ISBN：0241505526
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Summary

'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 war。 Britain is occupied， Churchill executed and the King imprisoned in the Tower of London。 At Scotland Yard， Detective Inspector Archer tries to do his job and keep his head down。 But when a body is found in a Mayfair flat， what at first appears to be a routine murder investigation sends him into a world of espionage， deceit and betrayal。

'Len Deighton is the Flaubert of contemporary thriller writers 。。。 this is much the way things would have turned out if the Germans had won' The Times Literary Supplement

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Reviews

Jason McCracken ，

I bought this from a book fair about 4 years ago and started reading it straight away。。。。 and failed to get 20 pages in before quitting。 3 years later and I tried again。。。 and failed at a similar point。 This time though， I really tried to push through but it was just so dull and uninteresting and then when I was supposed to believe that Churchill chose to stay in England rather than flee。。。 well。。。 any Churchill worship is too much for me， especially when it's this unbelievable。 I bought this from a book fair about 4 years ago and started reading it straight away。。。。 and failed to get 20 pages in before quitting。 3 years later and I tried again。。。 and failed at a similar point。 This time though， I really tried to push through but it was just so dull and uninteresting and then when I was supposed to believe that Churchill chose to stay in England rather than flee。。。 well。。。 any Churchill worship is too much for me， especially when it's this unbelievable。 。。。more

Mitchell ，

A solid book - better than I expected it to be based on its fairly hum-drum detective story prose。 There's no clear point of divergence for the alternate history which sees Nazi Germany occupying a defeated Britain， but there are only so many ways history can play out， and while at first it seems America remains neutral and isolationist， it's clear a new cold war is brewing。 There's a red herring as to precisely what the murder mystery and conspiracy is going to be about - an educated reader wil A solid book - better than I expected it to be based on its fairly hum-drum detective story prose。 There's no clear point of divergence for the alternate history which sees Nazi Germany occupying a defeated Britain， but there are only so many ways history can play out， and while at first it seems America remains neutral and isolationist， it's clear a new cold war is brewing。 There's a red herring as to precisely what the murder mystery and conspiracy is going to be about - an educated reader will guess "atomic bomb research" about twenty or thirty pages in， and Deighton reveals that openly not long after， but in fact the crux of the story is a much darker， muddier conspiracy revolving around politics and the legitimacy of an exiled British government， which I found much more interesting。 There are moments when it drags， and it certainly strays into melodrama from time to time， but a strong third act really pulls it out of the fire。 Recommended。 。。。more

Tricia ，

An interesting take on WWII。 Hitler won and took over Great Britain。 I found I was a little confused but that is propably my state of mind at the moment。

Michael Boyce ，

A chilling story that could have come true if certain historical events had turned out differently。The author’s grasp of British and German bureaucracy is formidable and like all his books it’s the details and how people must have felt that carries you forward。I recommend this book。 If you enjoyed it you must read Fatherland by Robert Harris as as another spin on the “what if” war story genre

martin ，

Deighton clearly did a lot of research and has done an excellent job of painting a picture of what life in a Nazi controlled Britain might have been like， complete with credible power struggles between the Wehrmacht and the SS and between factions within the SS and Gestapo。 The sad thing is that the story itself isn't really convincing and too many of the main characters are flat stereotypes （Kellermann being the only interesting one for me）。 Our hero， Supt Archer， is infuriatingly naive and slo Deighton clearly did a lot of research and has done an excellent job of painting a picture of what life in a Nazi controlled Britain might have been like， complete with credible power struggles between the Wehrmacht and the SS and between factions within the SS and Gestapo。 The sad thing is that the story itself isn't really convincing and too many of the main characters are flat stereotypes （Kellermann being the only interesting one for me）。 Our hero， Supt Archer， is infuriatingly naive and slow-witted and I couldn't see why anyone would want to put so much confidence in him。 The ending is far too rushed and relies too much on Huth's explanations after the fact rather than giving us a first hand view of the twists and turns。 A lot more showing and less telling would've been more satisfying， for me at least 。。。more

Larry Roberts ，

Great book- reread it after watching the mini series on Prime Video。 Len Deighton is a favorite。

Peter ，

This is much better for the atmosphere and the attention to detail of a German occupied Britain in 1941 than the ultimately rather contrived story of Scotland Yard DI， Douglas Archer， investigating a murder eventually connected to SS/Army rivalry， the Resistance attempt to rescue the King and German atomic research。 There are some stock-standard characters， particularly his American love-interest， and a clumsy final chapter however the lead Germans are interesting and some descriptions （such as This is much better for the atmosphere and the attention to detail of a German occupied Britain in 1941 than the ultimately rather contrived story of Scotland Yard DI， Douglas Archer， investigating a murder eventually connected to SS/Army rivalry， the Resistance attempt to rescue the King and German atomic research。 There are some stock-standard characters， particularly his American love-interest， and a clumsy final chapter however the lead Germans are interesting and some descriptions （such as of a bomb-blast） are compelling。 It didn't really work for me though。 。。。more

Leigh Farina ，

I have wanted to read this novel but never found the time to sit down and read it， so when I saw it on audible I decided to pick up a copy and immerse myself in the story that people I know have said was amazing。For an alternate history novel this was fantastic。 I deeply enjoyed the story， the characters， the mystery and the espionage。 From the first few minutes I was hooked， the narrator did a fantastic job of vocalizing the story and really helped me loose myself in this。 Only thing I was not I have wanted to read this novel but never found the time to sit down and read it， so when I saw it on audible I decided to pick up a copy and immerse myself in the story that people I know have said was amazing。For an alternate history novel this was fantastic。 I deeply enjoyed the story， the characters， the mystery and the espionage。 From the first few minutes I was hooked， the narrator did a fantastic job of vocalizing the story and really helped me loose myself in this。 Only thing I was not a fan of was the ending。。。 I guess I was looking for something more， but hey if that is the only complaint I have for an otherwise fantastic story then I’ll take it。 Highly recommend。 。。。more

David Walley ，

Dragged a bit in the middle but was a good twist at the end which I did not suspect

Nicholas Whyte ，

https://nwhyte。livejournal。com/3541461。htmlI've read a number of Hitler Wins books over the years - The Separation， by Christopher Priest， Timewyrm: Exodus， by Terrance Dicks， The Man in the High Castle， by Philip K。 Dick， Jo Walton's trilogy Farthing， Ha'penny and Half a Crown， Dominion， by C。J。 Sansom， and most recently The Sound of his Horn， by Sarban。 Jo Walton's trilogy is my favourite， and remains so after reading this 1978 novel from renowned spy novelist Len Deighton。 I've read several o https://nwhyte。livejournal。com/3541461。htmlI've read a number of Hitler Wins books over the years - The Separation， by Christopher Priest， Timewyrm: Exodus， by Terrance Dicks， The Man in the High Castle， by Philip K。 Dick， Jo Walton's trilogy Farthing， Ha'penny and Half a Crown， Dominion， by C。J。 Sansom， and most recently The Sound of his Horn， by Sarban。 Jo Walton's trilogy is my favourite， and remains so after reading this 1978 novel from renowned spy novelist Len Deighton。 I've read several of his other books - the Game， Set and Match trilogy and also the Hook， Line and Sinker trilogy， written after this， and though it was a long time ago， I think I enjoyed them more。The basic scenario here is that after a successful German invasion in 1940， our protagonist， a Scotland Yard detective who is now being managed by an uneasy combination of Wehrmacht and SS， is asked to investigate a mysterious murder。 It's all linked with the British contribution to this timeline's equivalent of the Manhattan Project。 I must say I could not suspend my disbelief at several points。 In such a situation I cannot imagine that investigation of a crime with such obvious security implications for the Germans would not be closely managed by them。 The level of co-operation between elements of the British resistance and elements of the Wehrmacht seemed to me completely improbable。 And there is a massive resistance attack in the middle of the book which I found pretty implausible。 Also our protagonist gets a girlfriend who is duly fridged。 Apart from that， the sense of place and characterisation were pretty good; I just didn't quite buy the execution。 。。。more

David Haws ，

This is a well-researched page-turner with an adequate number of plot twists。 I suppose， given the genre， you can’t ask for anything more。 I particularly like， “He massaged his broken shoe as if it were a small animal that needed comforting，” （P。 315） but such writerly gems were the exception in an otherwise straight forward prose。 I think Deighton may have missed an opportunity on page 203 to plant the cyanide in the French cigarette （black tobacco） which no one conditioned to blond tobacco （ev This is a well-researched page-turner with an adequate number of plot twists。 I suppose， given the genre， you can’t ask for anything more。 I particularly like， “He massaged his broken shoe as if it were a small animal that needed comforting，” （P。 315） but such writerly gems were the exception in an otherwise straight forward prose。 I think Deighton may have missed an opportunity on page 203 to plant the cyanide in the French cigarette （black tobacco） which no one conditioned to blond tobacco （everyone in the room） would be expected to select。 。。。more

Charlie ，

2。5*

Chris ，

An alternative history novel。 The U。S。 never became engaged in WWII， Great Britain has surrendered to Germany， the King is imprisoned ， Churchill was executed and the English are learning to live under German occupation。 Douglas Archer is a Superintendent Detective in Scotland Yard and has found a way to keep his head down and keep working his job while reporting German authority。 He and his Sergeant， Harry Woods， are a "murder team"， have been together for years but don't quite see eye to eye a An alternative history novel。 The U。S。 never became engaged in WWII， Great Britain has surrendered to Germany， the King is imprisoned ， Churchill was executed and the English are learning to live under German occupation。 Douglas Archer is a Superintendent Detective in Scotland Yard and has found a way to keep his head down and keep working his job while reporting German authority。 He and his Sergeant， Harry Woods， are a "murder team"， have been together for years but don't quite see eye to eye about working for the occupiers。 They begin to investigate a murder which becomes much more complicated as they get pulled into a labyrinth of plots involving A-bomb research， English resistance cells， competition between German parties and rescuing the King。 Quite a lot going on but paced well and kept one guessing to what the end game really was。 At times I felt like the I had to take on the x-files warning of "trust no one" as the web became more tangled。 。。。more

Jeff ，

Ok

Nachiketa Asthana ，

One of the best novels that I have read on alternative history。

Malcolm Connell Wardlaw ，

I read this book a long time ago and found it more or less baffling at the time （probably during the 80s）。 This time around it made a lot more sense， although I think only true afficionados of Deighton would be able to follow all the layers of intrigue in it。 It's a fine， well-written thriller， with a great deal of detail about how British life would have been under Nazi rule， all very credible。 What most impressed me is that the book does not seem to have dated。 Most books written in the 70s ab I read this book a long time ago and found it more or less baffling at the time （probably during the 80s）。 This time around it made a lot more sense， although I think only true afficionados of Deighton would be able to follow all the layers of intrigue in it。 It's a fine， well-written thriller， with a great deal of detail about how British life would have been under Nazi rule， all very credible。 What most impressed me is that the book does not seem to have dated。 Most books written in the 70s about Naziism would make typical errors regarding state surveillance and resentment of the regime。 We now know that it was the German people who spied on each other， rather than the state， and of course， Hitler enjoyed a very high level of popular support in Germany until （roughly） the latter part of 1943， when it became clear for the first time that Germany was going to lose。 Deighton clearly did a great deal of research in understanding the intricate politics of the bureaucracy of the Nazi state， the feuding that went on amongst the different branches of the armed forces， the SS and the Nazi Party。 Deighton also understood why Naziism was so successful - it was energetic， it was going places， it captured the enthusiasm of young people in particular。 He avoids the irritating cliche of the "good" Nazi who secretly loathes the regime。 The Nazi bureaucrats are a mix of cynics， opportunists and fanatics， exactly as it was。I kept getting the strangest feeling persistently in reading that it was actually a book by Robert Harris。 Something about the style of phrasing， the tone， the manner of observation， all echoed what I had read in Harris's books。 Now that may be a coincidence， but I suspect Harris took on board a formula that had worked。I thought the ending rather lame。 It is not plausible that the German Army would run an atomic research reactor without it being heavily guarded。 Similarly， I find it hard to believe an American fleet could close on an occupied coast without being detected by the Germans。Still， it was a right good read， and that is what counts。 。。。more

Daniel Bratell ，

I have long been a fan of alternative history。 What if。。。 novels。 Unfortunately it is very hard to make good alternative history so it's rare I end up reading one。 （Plugging the 1632 series here）In SS-GB the year is 1941 and a successful Nazi invasion has made most of Britain surrender。 In London， Douglas Archer is a murder investigator at Scotland Yard。 A Scotland Yard which is now controlled by SS， thus the name of the book。 Douglas Archer is the star and loved by his boss， the SS general Kell I have long been a fan of alternative history。 What if。。。 novels。 Unfortunately it is very hard to make good alternative history so it's rare I end up reading one。 （Plugging the 1632 series here）In SS-GB the year is 1941 and a successful Nazi invasion has made most of Britain surrender。 In London， Douglas Archer is a murder investigator at Scotland Yard。 A Scotland Yard which is now controlled by SS， thus the name of the book。 Douglas Archer is the star and loved by his boss， the SS general Kellermann， but a murder puts Archer right in the battle between the Resistance and the occupying force。 Especially as it seems his old friend and mentor is involved somehow。One thing with alternative history is that it's often hard to disregard it completely since we will never know what would have happened。 Much of the book does seem reasonably possible， but it's also kind of detached and doesn't give more than snippets of what has happened。The book is also overly complicated。 Deighton wrote a lot of spy thrillers where the whole idea is that everyone's loyalty is constantly "evolving" （shifting） and you never know who to trust。 That template is stamped onto this book as well which means that I didn't get what I wanted。If there is a police and a murder， I want to be able to guess who did it and what I most of all don't want is to have a final explanation that could not reasonably have been guessed by anyone。 This book is not fully there， but it's getting a bit too close for my taste。 （I also had a very strong feeling of deja vu reading the book。 I wonder if I read it as a kid before I started recording what books I had read， or if there is another book， possibly by Deighton， that is very similar to this one）。I'm giving the book 2。5 stars rounded to 2。 The invisible half star because I want to encourage more alternative history novels。 。。。more

Craigtator ，

Nazis in Piccadilly

Federica ，

E se la Germania nazista avesse vinto la battaglia d'Inghilterra e la seconda guerra mondiale？Che ne è stato di re Giorgio VI e della famiglia reale， di Winston Churchill e della democrazia inglese？ E se la Germania nazista avesse vinto la battaglia d'Inghilterra e la seconda guerra mondiale？Che ne è stato di re Giorgio VI e della famiglia reale， di Winston Churchill e della democrazia inglese？ 。。。more

Readwithethel ，

An interesting story about what if England had lost WWIIKey words: historical fiction， adult fiction， England， Nazi， mystery， murder， WWII， alternative historyThis historical fiction was quite interesting but a bit difficult sometimes。 I was attracted to this book because my boyfriend loved it and I like stories that imagine a “what if”。 Here we have， what if England has lost the second world war。 So， England is under the Nazi reign and we’re following Douglas who works for the British police。 I An interesting story about what if England had lost WWIIKey words: historical fiction， adult fiction， England， Nazi， mystery， murder， WWII， alternative historyThis historical fiction was quite interesting but a bit difficult sometimes。 I was attracted to this book because my boyfriend loved it and I like stories that imagine a “what if”。 Here we have， what if England has lost the second world war。 So， England is under the Nazi reign and we’re following Douglas who works for the British police。 It is interesting to follow his investigation and to understand how people around him are sometimes linked to the resistance。 I also enjoyed that the story doesn’t focus on the war or even on the Nazis so much as we just follow a British investigator。 However， I struggled to get into the story。 I think it is due to the fact that I don’t always understand the difference between the Nazis group and because of the style of writing。 It is well-written but not one of the easiest for me， as a non-native English speaker。 At one point， I just didn’t understand why the story was still going but then I got back into it， thankfully， and finished the book on a positive note。 I would recommend this book to adults who like historical fiction。 3。5/5 。。。more

Jordan Steinhoff ，

I don't do a lot of spy stuff but I heard of this on a podcast a friend put me onto and decided to give it a shot。An alt-history story where Germany won the European war and were in control of England。British resistance fighting against the Germans end up causing a murder that pulls in a Scotland Yard Inspector to investigate。 He's drawn into a web of intrigue， played and playing three different sides as he investigates this murder， tries to find not only the murderer but also the motive and pro I don't do a lot of spy stuff but I heard of this on a podcast a friend put me onto and decided to give it a shot。An alt-history story where Germany won the European war and were in control of England。British resistance fighting against the Germans end up causing a murder that pulls in a Scotland Yard Inspector to investigate。 He's drawn into a web of intrigue， played and playing three different sides as he investigates this murder， tries to find not only the murderer but also the motive and protect himself and his friends from angry Brits who see him as a collaborator and the German army and SS。It was a very engaging book with great scenes and characters though， sometimes， the dialog veered too far into the stoic British stereotypes。Still， an enjoyable read and a welcome break from Gabriel Alon which is the only spy stuff I read these days。 Might check out more Deighton but will definitely dip my toe into the wider spy genre again。 。。。more

Meg van Meter ，

Wow！y first book by Creighton but not my last。 Wonderful what if story with police， army， resistance， and role surprises。 Really great read， could not put it down。 Stayed up too late to finish and worth it。 HIGHLY recommend as a good summer read。

Khairul Hezry ，

A murder mystery in Nazi-occupied Britain so of course the mystery involves a conspiracy to free Britain。 That's not a spoiler。 It's a good examination of a British copper serving a new master and questioning his own loyalties。 A murder mystery in Nazi-occupied Britain so of course the mystery involves a conspiracy to free Britain。 That's not a spoiler。 It's a good examination of a British copper serving a new master and questioning his own loyalties。 。。。more

Karen San Diego ，

not sure why i even gave it two。 maybe the imagination and the amount of research。 otherwise boring as hell。

Paul ，

I read this for research purposes， so I shan't review it at length here。 It's the second Deighton novel I've read for this reason。 What I will say is that old Len knows how to spin a yarn， how to keep the pages turning， etc。 And while not the first to posit the scenario， Deighton's book has been hugely influential on the counterfactual novel。 This influence can plainly be seen in Robert Harris's excellent Fatherland， the best genre novel I've read in some time。 Deighton also creates a suitably g I read this for research purposes， so I shan't review it at length here。 It's the second Deighton novel I've read for this reason。 What I will say is that old Len knows how to spin a yarn， how to keep the pages turning， etc。 And while not the first to posit the scenario， Deighton's book has been hugely influential on the counterfactual novel。 This influence can plainly be seen in Robert Harris's excellent Fatherland， the best genre novel I've read in some time。 Deighton also creates a suitably gloomy feel for a Nazi-occupied London。 And there is some psychological depth to the characters。 Why didn't I rate it more highly？ Well， for a start， it falls into the conventions and cliches of the crime novel。 There's Detective-Superintendent "Archer of the Yard" and his faithful， older sergeant。 There's the American journalist love-interest （another debt Harris owes to Deighton， since he has one of these as well）。 You have to have an eye on the film or TV rights， don't you？ And in the best （for which， read worst） traditions of the spy-thriller， the plot is ridiculously over-complicated。 The writing feels old-fashioned， but not in a good way。 Rather than evoking 1941， it feels stiff and the use of popular idiom is rather dated。 One thing I did notice， was my reaction to the picture presented; a dismal， defeated England under the heel of the jackboot。 Born an Englishman， I could never be anything else， but I'm in no sense a nationalist。 Even so， the idea of my birth country being occupied by a foreign force provoked the emotion Deighton intended。 In this sense， then， I guess he succeeded。 。。。more

Bob Box ，

Read in 1980。 In this alternative history the England lost to Germany in World War 2。 Intense and suspenseful。

Andrew ，

Didn’t jump out of the shelf at me because I didn’t like the idea of the book - in the end it was an enjoyable read。

Gehan Pinto ，

Too many plots spoil the broth。 Though SS-GB starts out well as an engrossing story， the momentum soon gets lost in its increasing number of drawn out subplots and vague characters。 Reading experience was lukewarm and of little interest。

Renata Savage ，

I read this after watching the TV series and must say that the book is definitely better。 I love the scenario （although pleased that it never happened）。 It was a great read with your mind constantly going over the events and wondering what the next turn will be。

G Edwards ，

The Nazis have occupied Britain。 The King is in the Tower and Churchill dead。 After a nuclear physicist designing the atomic bomb for the Nazis is murdered， the Scotland Yard Murder Squad， led by Archer， are put on the case， overlooked by a Nazi officer。 This is an absolutely astounding book。 Full of plot twists and action and very deserving of its TV show。 Deighton is a very engaging author， and this comeback book is one of his best。 It took a while to get going， as many action books do， but on The Nazis have occupied Britain。 The King is in the Tower and Churchill dead。 After a nuclear physicist designing the atomic bomb for the Nazis is murdered， the Scotland Yard Murder Squad， led by Archer， are put on the case， overlooked by a Nazi officer。 This is an absolutely astounding book。 Full of plot twists and action and very deserving of its TV show。 Deighton is a very engaging author， and this comeback book is one of his best。 It took a while to get going， as many action books do， but once you get into it， it is an amazing， enthralling ride。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=SS-GB

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=SS-GB&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,SS-GB&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0