As a general rule, I don’t like alternative histories. There are too many assumptions, too much weight given to single events or actors, and not enough agency given to others. In an era of superhero movies and magicians schools I am unable to suspend disbelief for most alternative histories. But . . . . there are exceptions to every rule and I have found two novels that pull at me in ways that provoke strong empathy and reflection. The first is a novel about the Second World War, or rather the abrupt conclusion of World War II. The second is a novel from the Cold War that tips the razors edge toward conflict.
Anyone who knows me knows that Len Deighton can do no wrong with me. His books are well crafted, perfectly paced, and contain just enough surprise to keep the tension without going into excess. His Bernard Samson series (see My Father’s Library) holds a special place in my heart. I have eagerly consumed Deighton’s nonfiction works. However, in 1978 Len Deighton wrote SS-GB, a novel of the Nazi occupation of Great Britain and an armistice that kept America from mobilizing to invade the continents of Europe and Africa – which is still fighting in the Pacific theater. The novel is centered around a murder in London, but it is the subtle description of the circumstances of Great Britain’s fall to the Nazi war machine that really drew me in. In this book, Germany never invaded the Soviet Union, France fell but Charles de Gualle is lost to history, the Nazi landings at Dover inspire the same awe as the Normandy invasion do in reality, and the occupation of London mirrors what we know to be true about the occupation of Paris. In short, Deighton’s alternate reality is a hair too close to reality for comfort – which adds to the suspense of a well-crafted spy/crime story. Coupled with the usual wit of his protagonist, the book is a fast page turner.
It was also made into a BBC series recently, but read first.
This novel is one of the first novels I have ever read as a teenager and one I returned to numerous times to challenge my assumptions about the world. It seems like ages ago, but during my childhood, the Soviet Army’s ability to overrun Western Europe was a real threat. Although I watched the Berlin Wall crumble and the Soviet Union collapse I always wondered what phantom powers resided in the huge army divisions of the Soviet Army. Russia’s greatest legacy in warfighting is its willingness to throw massive amounts of men into battle, whatever the casualties, to overwhelm and defeat the enemy.
Red Army is a story told from the Soviet point of view as its soldiers, officers, and pilots wage war on Western Europe. The frightening implications of the Cold War turning hot are laid evident as the mightiness of NATO is overcome by the numbers the Russian people have always brought to the battlefield. Sometimes what we fear most is justified.
You could argue that I’ve avoided this genre, but the fact is I’ve found so much rich material from nonfiction to slake my thirst. These two novels take place in what became two of the largest conflicts to grip the planet in the Twentieth Century, and the authors’ ability to research and imagine a world near enough to the reality we enjoy puts these two novels in a category more specific than merely “fiction” – but as warnings of what might have been.
Andrew Zapf is a co-founder of Pushing Horizons.
Disclaimer: All views expressed are that of the author.