Fiction

SS-GB

SS-GB

  • Downloads：3899
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2024-03-07 07:22:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-14
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Len Deighton
  • ISBN：B0CW7GS2KG
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

1941， and England invaded – and defeated – by the Germans。。。

The King is a hostage in the tower， the Queen and Princesses have fled to Australia， Churchill has been executed by a firing squad， Englishmen are being deported to work in German factories and the dreaded SS is in charge of Scotland Yard。 London is in shock。 The very look of daily life is a walking nightmare of German uniforms， artifacts， regulations。 There are collaborators。 There are profiteers。 But there are others working in hope， in secret， and desperate danger， against the invader。 And still others are living strangely ambiguous lives – none more so than Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer （"Archer of the yard" as the press like to call him）， trying to maintain a peculiarly， almost sacredly， British institution under a Nazi chief。 Archer has started work on what seems， at first， a routine murder case。 But suddenly an SS Standartenführer from Himmler's personal staff flies in from Berlin to supervise the investigation， and Archer is plunged deep into an espionage battle for which he is completely unprepared， and where the stakes are incredibly high。 "We’re dealing with something that could prove so deadly that not even the Black Death would compare with the consequences"， the SS man tells him。

Setting forth on a tight rope trail of violence， betrayal and danger， Archer moves into worlds within worlds of intrigue。 The British resistance， wealthy collaborators， high-level scientists， German army and SS factions and vicious rivalry， a beautiful American reporter on assignment for the still-neutral papers back home – these are the players that Deighton's treacherously shifting drama， as it races toward its chattering climax that involves the fate of the King， and of England itself。

SS–GB is fascinating in its premise， utterly authentic and convincing in its detail。 It is the most gripping novel we have had from the author of The Ipcress File， Funeral in Berlin， and Bomber。 Already， in England， it has become Len Deighton's greatest best seller。

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Reviews

Scott Martin ，

（Audiobook） （3。5 stars） A fun alternative history/mystery sort of read。 It gives off a sort of Fatherland vibe， where it is a future where the Nazis come out ahead， only just the conquest of Britain vs。 total Nazi victory。 Interesting that the Nazis set up their infrastructure in England so quickly in this， but at times， the Germans could be rather efficient at that。 Setting the historical context aside， this reads like a sort of film noir mystery， with a hard-boiled Scotland Detective， only one （Audiobook） （3。5 stars） A fun alternative history/mystery sort of read。 It gives off a sort of Fatherland vibe， where it is a future where the Nazis come out ahead， only just the conquest of Britain vs。 total Nazi victory。 Interesting that the Nazis set up their infrastructure in England so quickly in this， but at times， the Germans could be rather efficient at that。 Setting the historical context aside， this reads like a sort of film noir mystery， with a hard-boiled Scotland Detective， only one that suffered a major loss， a mysterious death， a massive conspiracy， a beautiful “Dame” and a lot of plot twists and turns。 It has a “good” ending， but there is room to further explore this timeline， should the author want to go that way。 A decently fun read， but the main selling point is the alternative history。 Perhaps a more-that-usually-amusing airplane read。 。。。more

David Agranoff ，

Full review on the way。 Found it in The World Hitler Never Made by Gav Rosenfeld。 Good stuff。

Aimee ，

An interesting concept badly executed。

5 o’clock bookclub （Cristina） ，

În acest roman care prezintă o istorie alternativă， Germania Nazistă a câștigat cel de-Al Doilea Război Mondial。 Este noiembrie 1941。 Al Doilea Război Mondial s-a încheiat în Europa pe 19 februarie， când Marea Britanie s-a predat Germaniei Naziste。 Un prim-ministru marionetă l-a înlocuit pe Winston Churchill， care a fost executat în Germania。 Regele George al VI-lea este reținut în Turnul Londrei。 Evreii au fost adunați și trimiși în lagărul de concentrare de la Wenlock Edge。 Londra este în ruin În acest roman care prezintă o istorie alternativă， Germania Nazistă a câștigat cel de-Al Doilea Război Mondial。 Este noiembrie 1941。 Al Doilea Război Mondial s-a încheiat în Europa pe 19 februarie， când Marea Britanie s-a predat Germaniei Naziste。 Un prim-ministru marionetă l-a înlocuit pe Winston Churchill， care a fost executat în Germania。 Regele George al VI-lea este reținut în Turnul Londrei。 Evreii au fost adunați și trimiși în lagărul de concentrare de la Wenlock Edge。 Londra este în ruine。 Raționalizarea este severă în toată zona ocupată。 Mii de soldați britanici sunt ținuți în lagăre de prizonieri sau în lagăre de muncă forțată de pe continent。 La Scotland Yard， Detectivul Superintendent Douglas Archer raportează generalului SS Fritz Kellerman， ale cărui puteri （în poliție） se extind asupra întregii țări。 DS este supranumitși „Archer of the Yard” sau „Sherlock Holmes al anilor 1940”。 Este cel mai faimos detectiv al țării， datorită succesului său în închiderea mai multor cazuri de crimă importante。 Pe măsură ce povestea avansează， cazul de crimă devine mult mai complex， cu conexiuni neașteptate și care-i depășesc cu mult puterile lu Archer， mai ales că realizează destul de rapid că de rezolvarea axestui caz depinde viitorul lumii。 Archer， Huth și Kellerman se învârt cu prudență unul în jurul celuilalt într-un joc cu mize mari care le pune în pericol cariera și viața。 https://www。5oclockbookclub。com/post/。。。 。。。more

Daniel Robertson ，

Not bad。 Bit slow and dreary throughout but had a good unexpected ending。

Chris MacKechnie ，

I've read a few speculative fiction books with the "Germany won the second world war" premise， but this one is my favourite。 It was a fun， twisty read that kept you guessing right to the end。 I've read a few speculative fiction books with the "Germany won the second world war" premise， but this one is my favourite。 It was a fun， twisty read that kept you guessing right to the end。 。。。more

Leticia ，

The premise was fascinating。 What if Germany had successfully invaded UK？ Their surrender total and exploitive？ The story however was weak。 Written in old timey gumshoe detective style， trying to get a scoop on the German authority to solve a mystery that will help the resistance。 The writing was clumsy and tired。

Jake Sheppard ，

3。5* - very intriguing and compelling plot; though， some of the central themes that could be fleshed out in a hypothetical Nazi occupation of Great Britain are only given fleeting attention， if any at all。 Though， I appreciate that would massively expand the remit and scope of the novel

Julie ，

The most impressive part of this book is the setting， that is London in the 1940’s in an alternative reality where Germany won the war。I was less interested in the spy thriller elements。 The world building was really impressive。

Ryan ，

An obvious influence on Robert Harris's Fatherland， another thriller set in a world in which the Nazis won WW2。 Where Harris was better on world-building and historical plausibility， Deighton is better on the day-to-day life of a victorious Nazi regime。 An obvious influence on Robert Harris's Fatherland， another thriller set in a world in which the Nazis won WW2。 Where Harris was better on world-building and historical plausibility， Deighton is better on the day-to-day life of a victorious Nazi regime。 。。。more

Felix Thompson ，

Enjoyable enough in the first ~1/3， but becomes a bit of a drag thereafter。

Bert ，

Very good police procedural set against an alternative history backdrop of Nazi occupied London。

Bernard ，

It’s a good entertaining book。 Fast paced with a number of twist。 Give us some kind of dystopian society outlook。 I want it to be more society oriented to give more imagination to the nazi ruled British society， but it’s still okay。 The love plot is a bit cheesy but again it’s a spy Thriller novel。 Entertaining read anyways。 Will recommend it。

Gunnar ，

Eine sehr hohe Zahl von Alternativweltgeschichten kreist um die Nationalsozialisten。 Insbesondere ist bei vielen Autoren die Ausgangsposition beliebt， dass die Nazis den 2。 Weltkrieg gewonnen haben。 Der britische Autor Len Deighton lässt seinen 1978 erschienenen Roman „SS-GB“ Ende 1941 spielen。 Seine Prämisse: Nazi-Deutschland hat Großbritannien besiegt und den Südteil besetzt， mit der Sowjetunion herrscht Frieden。 Winston Churchill wurde exekutiert， der König ist im Tower interniert。 Es existie Eine sehr hohe Zahl von Alternativweltgeschichten kreist um die Nationalsozialisten。 Insbesondere ist bei vielen Autoren die Ausgangsposition beliebt， dass die Nazis den 2。 Weltkrieg gewonnen haben。 Der britische Autor Len Deighton lässt seinen 1978 erschienenen Roman „SS-GB“ Ende 1941 spielen。 Seine Prämisse: Nazi-Deutschland hat Großbritannien besiegt und den Südteil besetzt， mit der Sowjetunion herrscht Frieden。 Winston Churchill wurde exekutiert， der König ist im Tower interniert。 Es existiert eine Exilregierung in den USA， die jedoch von den Amerikanern nicht anerkannt wird。Auch Scotland Yard wird nun von einem Deutschen geführt， SS-Gruppenführer Kellermann。 Dieser hat die alten Strukturen der Behörde aber weitgehend beibehalten。 Douglas Archer ist Detective Superintendent und damit ranghöchster Kriminalbeamter。 Archer ist trotz seines mittleren Alters schon eine Legende aufgrund der Aufklärung einiger spektakulärer Mordfälle in den vergangenen Jahren。 Auch Kellermann hält große Stücke auf Archer， der sich um die unpolitischen Kriminalfälle und die Fälle， in denen keine Deutschen involviert sind， kümmert。 Zusammen mit seinem Kollegen und väterlichem Freund Harry Woods wird Archer zu einem Mordfall an einem Antiquitätenhändler gerufen。 Ein Mord im Schwarzmarktmilieu ist nicht ungewöhnlich， doch die Begleitumstände machen Archer stutzig。 Eine seltsame Zugfahrkarte， ungewöhnliche Brandwunden am Opfer， eine amerikanische Journalistin， die plötzlich mitten bei den Mordermittlungen als angebliche Kundin auftaucht。 Zur Bestätigung， dass es sich um etwas Großes handelt， kommt am nächsten Tag dann auch SS-Standartenführer Huth aus Berlin auf， der direkt Himmler unterstellt ist und den Fall übernimmt， aber Archer als Ermittler behält。 Nach und nach wird klar， mit was der vermeintliche Antiquitätenhändler zu tun hatte und das bringt Archer in eine gefährliche Lage zwischen SS， Wehrmacht und Widerstand。Autor Len Deighton wurde 1929 als Sohn eines Chauffeurs und eine Köchin geboren， arbeitete nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg für die Royal Air Force und konnte nach seiner Dienstzeit mit einem Stipendium studieren。 Er arbeitete u。a。 als Fotograf und Illustrator， bis er 1962 seinen Durchbruch mit „The Ipcress File“ hatte。 Neben Spionageromanen， Thrillern und kriegshistorischen Romanen veröffentlichte er auch Kochbücher。 „SS-GB“ verbindet mehrere seiner bevorzugten Sujets mit einem alternativen Geschichtsverlauf und wurde 1978 veröffentlicht。 2017 zeigte die BBC eine Miniserie nach dem Roman mit Sam Riley， Kate Bosworth und Lars Eidinger in den Hauptrollen。Huth wirbelte mit seinem Stock durch die Luft， „Jede Zuwiderhandlung gegen diesen Befehl“， sagte er， „ist nicht nur ein Kapitelverbrechen gemäß § 134 der Militärgesetze des Oberkommandos Großbritannien， das vor dem Erschießungskommando endet， sondern auch ein Kapitalverbrechen gemäß § 11 Ihrer eigenen Gesetze， im Einvernehmen mit der deutschen Besatzung erlassen 1941， das mit dem Galgen im Wandsworth-Gefängnis bestraft wird。“„Kommt das Erschießen zuerst oder das Erhängen？“， fragte Douglas。„Wir müssen der Justiz ja schließlich auch noch eine Entscheidung überlassen“， entgegnete Huth。 （Auszug S。79）Solche spitzfindig-zynischen Dialoge finden sich zwar ein paar im Roman， für meinen Geschmack aber noch zu wenige。 Len Deighton verliert sich regelmäßig in langen ausführlichen Beschreibungen von Nebensächlichkeiten， ohne auf den Punkt zu kommen。 Die Grundidee des Plots ist auf jeden Fall spannend。 Die schwierige Entscheidung zwischen Dienst nach Vorschrift （Kollaboration） und Widerstand， Täuschung und Verrat spielen eine wichtige Rolle im Roman。 Auch interessant ist das sehr schwierige Verhältnis zwischen Wehrmacht und SS bei den Deutschen。Das gehört zu den Stärken des Romans， der mich dennoch nicht ganz überzeugt hat。 Und dies liegt vor allen an den Hauptfiguren， die （ausgenommen die Deutschen） ziemlich blass bleiben。 Douglas Archer wirkt wie ein Mann ohne Eigenschaften。 Witwer mit einem jungen Sohn， erfolgreicher， angesehener Polizist。 Aber wofür er steht， was bewegt ihn， seine Konflikte zwischen Kollaboration und Widerstand – das gelingt dem Autor nicht aus der Figur herauszubringen。 Auch sein „Love Interest“， die Journalistin Barbara Braga， bleibt für den Leser undurchsichtig und in ihrem Beitrag für die Handlung überschaubar。 So bleibt „SS-GB“ für mich eine gute Idee mit einem interessanten Plotrahmen， dem es jedoch an einigen Details für einen richtig guten Roman mangelt。 。。。more

Adam Smith ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 good page turner with some twisty twists

Shire ，

It was a great idea， but all that potential never seemed to go anywhere。 It ended up being a meandering non-story。 I wish it had been more。

Alex Niblack ，

a bit of history， a bit of fiction， and a bit of mystery all tied together in a very clever and interesting way。

Ben Savage ，

A great of the alternative history genre

Sarah Ensor ，

A crime thriller counterfactual that imagines the Nazi German state won the 1940 Battle of Britain and occupied the British Isles。 The action opens with Superintendent Douglas Archer hopelessly compromised。 Before the war he was “Archer of the Yard” who solved famous grisly cases， but now its 1942 and by default he works for the SS。 Archer's wife is somewhere in the rubble of their bombed neighbourhood， he is fluent in German and lots of people think he's a collaborator。 He's assured himself tha A crime thriller counterfactual that imagines the Nazi German state won the 1940 Battle of Britain and occupied the British Isles。 The action opens with Superintendent Douglas Archer hopelessly compromised。 Before the war he was “Archer of the Yard” who solved famous grisly cases， but now its 1942 and by default he works for the SS。 Archer's wife is somewhere in the rubble of their bombed neighbourhood， he is fluent in German and lots of people think he's a collaborator。 He's assured himself that catching murderers is a social good but grief has blunted his sense of reality。 Perhaps this is how he can assure a dispossessed Jewish restaurateur reduced to frying turnip for a street stall that， “it will all work out somehow” against all obvious evidence。As the Occupation settles in， Nazi top brass are re-focused on fighting each other。 And now there's a strangely sunburnt body found in odd circumstances that are going to get dangerously political very quickly。This is a solid crime thriller that allows us to suspend disbelief in a premise that works partly because the Battle of Britain could have been lost if German commanders had stuck to bombing airfields in Britain a week or two longer。 The new layers of increasingly rich people who embrace and serve the occupiers are entirely believable。 I'm less sure about other aspects but those would be spoilers。So can Douglas solve the crime， keep those he loves alive and be able to live with himself？ Or will it be his new bosses or the resistance that finally finish him off？ 。。。more

Jonathan Walker ，

DNF。 Difficult to imagine how one could make a boring book out of this premise， but I found it so。

Michael ，

Strange setting of a whodunit in an imagined alternative world where Germany won the war and controlled the UK。 Not sure what the point was。

Max Geddes ，

Major tea。。。。 better than Fatherland but okay goodreaders don't freaking agree apparently。。。 Major tea。。。。 better than Fatherland but okay goodreaders don't freaking agree apparently。。。 。。。more

C。C。 Yager ，

An unsettling thriller set in Great Britain in 1941， occupied by the Germans because they've essentially won WWII。 Douglas Archer is a British police detective who must work with the German police authority， which has many tentacles。 He works with the SS at Scotland Yard， caught between two factions， one led by General Kellerman， the other from Berlin and led by Standartenfuehrer Huth。 The Resistance approach him to work with them， then try to kill him。 But he does get involved in what turns out An unsettling thriller set in Great Britain in 1941， occupied by the Germans because they've essentially won WWII。 Douglas Archer is a British police detective who must work with the German police authority， which has many tentacles。 He works with the SS at Scotland Yard， caught between two factions， one led by General Kellerman， the other from Berlin and led by Standartenfuehrer Huth。 The Resistance approach him to work with them， then try to kill him。 But he does get involved in what turns out to be two competing operations: one to liberate King George VI from the Tower of London and the other to stop the Germans from getting the Bomb。 It's astonishing how many double and triple crosses occur in the course of this story。If so many German physicists hadn't fled Nazi Germany， the Germans might well have gotten the Bomb before anyone else。 But because of the brain drain， as I recall my history， they focused instead on developing the V2 rocket， the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile。 So the subplot about the physicists working in England on splitting the atom and the Germans taking over the operation when they invaded was a nice complication in Archer's life as he sets out to solve the mystery of a murder。 Archer was， for me， a bit too passive of a character to be an action protagonist。 On the other hand， I wondered if Deighton was using him to show how the Brits would have been caught between a rock and a hard place in the situation he's created in this story。 The Germans have been stripping the country of everything of value， treating the Brits like subhumans， and plundering at will。 There is an active British resistance， hoping that the Americans will save them。 Archer walks a fine line， then， between being loyal to Britain and his King， and working for the Germans as a police detective。 The pacing was a little slow at times， and there were moments when I wondered why Deighton was spending so much time on what seemed to be action outside of the main plot。 He brought it all together in the end， a definitely non-"Hollywood" ending as well。 I will never forget his descriptions of the fog in London。This is the first novel I've read by Len Deighton， I believe， and I thoroughly enjoyed it。 I'd recommend it to readers who love WWII stories， especially espionage thrillers， with more than a touch of realism to them。 。。。more

Earl Grey Tea ，

Overall I liked the tone and idea of the book， however the plot was a little bit all over the place and the pace change was slightly odd。

Meg ✨ ，

this book is what would happen if a time traveller moved the wrong rock

Iain Hamill ，

A good yarn。

Annabel Frazer ，

Like Robert Harris's Fatherland， this story is set in an alternative 1940s in which Germany has won the war - but while Fatherland is set in Germany， this shows us England crushed under the German boot。 The initial feel is rather like the opening chapters of 1984。 The sense of a world we know and yet we don't know。 The oppressive military presence and sense of constant surveillance and censorship。 The lack of hope and the dull poverty in which most people， other than the high-ranking victorious Like Robert Harris's Fatherland， this story is set in an alternative 1940s in which Germany has won the war - but while Fatherland is set in Germany， this shows us England crushed under the German boot。 The initial feel is rather like the opening chapters of 1984。 The sense of a world we know and yet we don't know。 The oppressive military presence and sense of constant surveillance and censorship。 The lack of hope and the dull poverty in which most people， other than the high-ranking victorious elite， exist。 The constant suspicion that others are in some mysterious resistance and will rope you in and get you killed。SS-GB is， unlike 1984 but like Fatherland， a police procedural and begins with Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer investigating a mysterious death in a flat above a London antique shop。 I struggled with the plot because it moved so fast and the characters weren't terribly well delineated， or perhaps I'm just an inattentive reader。 （view spoiler）[I also found it irritating that we were expected to believe that the implausibly glamorous and improbably named American journalist Barbara Barga falls so instantly in love with Archer。 And that she dies so pointlessly and bravely off-screen。 （hide spoiler）]By the end， everyone I liked was dead or evil or both and it was all just rather dispiriting。 。。。more

Brent Liam ，

its a nice book would probably give 4 stars！

Tom Ferguson ，

Excellent book。 Up there with Robert Harris’s Fatherland。

Ray ，

Good alternative fiction mystery but more like 3。5 stars。 Note， this is not a sci-fi or alternate universe。 The plot merely speculates on what Britain would be like if they had lost the war sometime before Pearl Harbor。 The end glosses over several details to speed up the plot but overall， the story is tight and fleshes out the time and characters without sacrificing pace。 It's a real page turner and enjoyable if you like historical fiction or mysteries。 Good alternative fiction mystery but more like 3。5 stars。 Note， this is not a sci-fi or alternate universe。 The plot merely speculates on what Britain would be like if they had lost the war sometime before Pearl Harbor。 The end glosses over several details to speed up the plot but overall， the story is tight and fleshes out the time and characters without sacrificing pace。 It's a real page turner and enjoyable if you like historical fiction or mysteries。 。。。more

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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