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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Terribly Disappointing, 20 April 2004
First off, I'd like to start with a comment on the cover of this book....
Back in the 1970s the humourist Alan Coren once observed that books on the Nazis, golf and cats sold well. Hence his amusing book 'Golfing for Cats' complete with Nazi swastikas. I can't say whether books on cats or golf still do well, but I suspect books on the Nazis and the 'dark decade' of the 1930s still do. Everytime somebody writes a book on the Nazis, or especially a "What if" book such as this, publishers will always paint the cover blood red and put a swastika, or some such derivative, on the front, and lots of people will go for this -- me included. After reading it I feel let-down. I've given this "What if" book just one star because while the opening premise is wonderful, the setting is great, and a lot of the initial political set-up for the situation we find ourselves in as the novel starts has been well thought-out -- it just doesn't work at all. I had to force myself to finish the book. The author is an ex- Times journalist who has done a lot of historical research. Despite this, there are a few schoolboy howlers in the book. For instance he has a ceremonial flypast of RAF Hurricanes and Spitfires in 1937 -- well before either aircraft flew operationally. However whilst irritating they don't really alter the novel itself. No, this novel really comes unstuck in two main ways: The first is in its chracterisation. This is rather dreadful. The characters are two-dimensional, and their actions are in some cases simply too unbelievable. A large number of them are real historical characters -- not long dead. It can be difficult to make real people, whom many readers will remember, do things that never happened -- but while Robert Harris does it well -- it is very definitely not done well here. The second area of major failure is in plotting and pace. There is no thrill in this thriller. Quite simply you are never on edge wondering what will happen next. This is the author's second novel -- he has some great ideas -- but they are not yet being translated well enough to the page. Having read other reviews on this page, I see some other people liked it. I didn't, sorry. If you want "What if" books that deal with the Nazis either invading or taking over Britain, then these books are all much better. Fatherland, Robert Harris
Invasion 1940, Kenneth Macksay
Sealion, Richard Cox
What If Britain Had Fallen, Norman Longmate
SS GB, Len Deighton There are also useful chapters in the following books: What If?
What If 2?
The Hitler Options, ed Kenneth Macksay
Third Reich Victorious, ed Peter Tsouras
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