Saturday 23 April 2011

Fatherland Novel by Robert Harris, WW2 Operation Sealion 20mm Project Research.

 Just finished reading this book because I never had before and for what if reasons the author gives for their being a third reich in 1964, it's also been a movie and all in all it's not a bad read.


The story begins in Nazi Germany, the Third Reich in April 1964, in the week leading up to Adolf Hitler's 75th birthday. The plot follows detective Xavier March, an investigator working for the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo), as he investigates the suspicious death of a high-ranking Nazi, Josef Bühler, in the Havel, on the outskirts of Berlin. As March uncovers more details he realises that he is caught up in a political scandal involving senior Nazi party officials, who are apparently being systematically murdered under staged circumstances. In fact, as soon as the body is identified, the Gestapo claims jurisdiction and orders the Kripo to close its investigation.


March meets with Charlie Maguire, a female American journalist who
works for The New York Times, who is also determined to investigate the case. They both travel to Zürich to investigate the private Swiss bank account of one of the murdered officials. Ultimately, the two uncover the horrific truth behind the staged murders. The Gestapo is eliminating the remaining officials who planned the Holocaust (of which the German people are not generally aware) at the Wannsee Conference of 1942. This is being done in order to safeguard an upcoming meeting of Hitler and President Joseph P. Kennedy by ensuring that the crimes of the Nazi regime are not revealed. Maguire heads for neutral Switzerland with the evidence, hoping to publish it in The New York Times. March, however, is denounced by his ten-year-old son and apprehended by the Gestapo.

I've omitted the ending as not to totally ruin the book if you haven't read it but you have it pretty much covered by the book description, the book was a good read and it gives me a basis and some far fetched but plausible reasons for why the third reich is still hanging around in 1964 including why England is an ally?

Alternative History WW2
 Throughout the novel, Harris gradually explains the fictional historical developments that allowed Germany to prevail in World War II. The earliest point of divergence mentioned is that Reinhard Heydrich survives the 1942 assassination attempt in Prague which actually killed him. Shortly afterward, Germany embarks on a series of decisive victories.


The German armies on the Eastern Front are stopped at the gates of Moscow at the end of 1941, as in our history. However, the second major offensive into the Caucasus proves far more successful than it was in reality, cutting the flow of oil to the Red Army. With his armies immobilised for want of fuel, Joseph Stalin is forced to flee to the east and a rump Soviet government surrenders in 1943.

Around the same time, German intelligence (in a way never explained) learns the British have cracked the Enigma code, which is leading to the sinking of German submarines. They withdraw their submarines from the Atlantic temporarily and send false intelligence to lure the British fleet to destruction. The U-Boat campaign against the United Kingdom resumes, starving Britain into accepting a humiliating armistice in 1944. King George VI makes Canada his predominant country of residence and prominent British officials, such as Winston Churchill, follow him there in exile. Edward VIII regains the British throne at the helm of a pro-German puppet government and Wallis Simpson is his queen.

Germany tests its first atom bomb in 1946, and fires an unarmed "V-3" missile that explodes above New York City, to demonstrate Germany's ability to attack the continental United States with long-range missiles. Following this demonstration of power, the United States signs a peace treaty with Germany. This results in the Third Reich being one of the two superpowers of the world, along with the US, which defeats Japan in 1946 (a year later than in reality).

As I said far fetched but plausible (it's the beauty of a What If? campaigns), now just need to see the movie adaption and I have just started reading SS-GB by Len Deighton.




46 comments:

  1. Nice review! Love it. Fatherland :D

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  2. cool! love what-if stories!
    was reading one now about hitler and how he survived the war

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  3. I am not much of a reader but I might just read this book.

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  4. Sounds like a good read and a great what If, which comes across as not too far fetched.

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  5. Thanks for the review, looks interesting. I reckon that I did not feel attracted when it was released (some amny years ago, right). Today it's the annyversary of Cervantes' death (and coincidentally of Shakespeare) and the streets in many cities if Spain get full of book-selling stands. I'll look for this one

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  6. Great review. But not my usual kinda read tbh. I probably won't be reading it but I enjoyed your review all the same =]

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  7. i wonder what kind of queen mrs simpson would have been...

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  8. Well worth reading this book, which makes a nice counter-part to the film that has Rutger Hauer in it. I also enjoyed Archangel by the same author, and again there is a film, this time with Daniel Craig in it.

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  9. It's a great read. There's also an audio version available on download featuring Anton Lesser. However I thought the film was a shocker, made on the cheap and with a different ending!

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  10. Sounds interesting -- I just might have to check this out.

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  11. sounds like a good raed, some friends of mine have suggested this too

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  12. It's funny that what began as an SF alternate history trope became a subject for mainstream fiction writers like Harris and Deighton.

    On the SF side, if you haven't already read them, you might want to check out the novella "Two Dooms" by Cyril M. Cornbluth and the classic The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick.

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  13. A great post and a really good 'what if' book to read - by all means watch the movie but don't have any high expectations - and it doesn't always follow the book (particularly the ending!) Its a pity the film's a bit of a stinker as this book begged to be turned into a film. Good news is Harris is a prolific author and quite a few of his other books are also very good reads. Struck me that 'Fatherland' could have been made into an alternative history series.

    Luv yer blog by the way!

    Cheers,
    Doc

    http://docsartofwar.com

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  14. Good review, it makes you think to read something like that. I wonder if he wrote it in the month of March, working up to April.

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  15. Awesome review. It makes me read the book. Plot of the holocaust and then killing the attendees wow! Hitler was one mad man who didnt confine to any single rule of humanity rite? march died?

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  16. A not bad "what if" scenario but it wouldn´t have lasted long...not with the way the brits are. Are you going to do a 20mm resistance scenario?? I´m in :-D
    Cheers
    paul

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  17. SS-GB is a good read imo and I think has the edge on Fatherland slightly. Try Collaborator by Murray Davies too... it's about a British POW returning home after Britain is invaded.

    Good review as always though mate!

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  18. nice review!!!
    i like your way...

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  19. I'll agree - it's a great overview, and an interesting premise. I'd like to see where you go with it.

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  20. sounds pretty good. you security guards read alotta books eh

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  21. yea sounds like a decent read, not much free time though lately

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  22. Great review. I will have to check the book out for sure.

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  23. I always enjoy a good 'What if?' Then again, I always think like that. This looks worth checking out.

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  24. I hate it when I hear about a book that I've never heard of, that's on a subject that I'm very interested in. I feel so out of the loop at times. But on the other hand I can now thank you for mentioning this. I needed a new book to read.

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  25. Is this the same Robert Harris who wrote The Ghost? (I know I could Google, but...meh.)

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  26. thanks for this review. I like to read everything about WW2.

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  27. WWII is my favorite war time, so I might have to check it out. But I just got Neil Gaiman's American Gods so I have to finish that first :D

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  28. interesting premise. makes it appealing

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  29. Read it many years ago...saw the movie too...Always liked the "what ifs"....I might need to go back and re-read this one...thanks for the review!

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  30. Nice one - I enjoyed it and the movie too.

    Glad to see you took up my suggestion of "SS-GB" - between the two you have some great ideas!

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  31. Noy read the book but looking forward to the game sometime next year?

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  32. Books written based around the ww2 era in general always tend to be really interesting

    totally made the war worth it :D
    ...kind of

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  33. I really should read more, people have been recommending books to me all the time.

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  34. the world would be pretty diff if hitler won

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  35. thats really good! ill have to check it out!

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  36. Sounds interesting, I'll try to get this book.

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  37. I still have to give an alternative history book a chance. I have one in mind, that is considered literature I believe. I'm not too knowledgable about history tho, so I don't know if I'd enjoy something like that. I'd still like to give one a shot tho.

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  38. Just popped in to say Hello :-) I'm blog hopping today, feeling better. Woohoo. Thanks Lurker, for all the well-wishes along the way.

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  39. That seems like a great novel to read. I may have to pick this up.

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  40. what happens to the ashkenazi jews, then?

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  41. Fatherland is messed up, i saw a movie version of it on HBO a while ago.

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