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SS-GB

Penguin Modern Classics

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SS-GB

By: Len Deighton
Narrated by: James Lailey
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

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.

©1978 Len Deighton (P)2021 Penguin Audio 20th Century Espionage Historical Fiction Science Fiction Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Fiction Winston Churchill War Mystery

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Critic reviews

"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)

"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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Narrator James Lailey excellent as usual.
One two three four five six seven eight nine ten

Very clever plotting

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Enjoyed the whole listen, quite chilling in parts to imagine the unimaginable.
Hooked from start to finish, well written as always and congratulations to the narrator.

Wow just imagine

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As with real life it has wheels within wheels, political intrigue, political ambitions and political conniving. And mixed up with it all are the pawns of everyday life, ordinary people. A great listen.

Gripping intrigue as to what could have been

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The premise of SS-GB is brilliant; what would Britiain look like if the Nazis had won WWII. Len Deighton paints a brilliant picture of the UK under Nazi rule, in particular the power struggles between the various German authorities. There were occasions where I had to rewind, certain I'd missed an entire chapter, as parts of the story develop without comment, and other parts are completely left unresolved. This is certainly not a spy novel, more a Police procedural in an alternate history. The narration however was great.

So So - Good Book

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I was 90 minutes from the end and I was concerned the book would end on a cliffhanger as I know he didn't write a sequel but the book had a decent ending.

Decent Ending to a good story

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i whizzed through this in a few days and would certainly recommend . I'm surprised this hasn't been made into a TV series in the netfix era

very enjoyable

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A really excellent novel and an excellent adaptation expertly read. An alternate world book stemming from the loss of the Battle of Britain. This feels ahead of it’s time and is well well worth a listen.

Timeless

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Way back in the twentieth century, Deighton's ingress File was a big favourite for me, a scary spy thriller with it's undertones of terror. And Bomber, such a brilliant t account of a pilot at war. But it is perhaps closing on half a century since I read one of his books.
SS - GB is telling a 'what if' story of a Britain in the 1940s following defeat by Germany in.WWII, seen through the eyes of policeman Douglas Archer, a Detective Superintendent attached to London's Scotland Yard. As he pursues a murderer with his sergeant and friend, Harry Woods, he uncovers political intrigues, corruption and the determination of the Brits to fight back against the background of suppression, violence, cramped damp accommodation , rationing and foul weather.
The novel is interesting, obviously well researched and often very atmospheric, the cold, rain and fog encompassing London mirroring the emotional bleakness of the occupied people still determined not to be cowed, combined with a good detective story with various twists - but not always easy to follow.

Well.worth reading, and nicely narrated by James Lailey whose performance enhances enjoyment of the story. Just to mention, however, that rationing post war in England wasn't something invented for this story: it existed despite Germany's defeat, causing hardship for all except the affluent and well connected for several years and into the 1950s.

Recommended.

"No secret is safe with anyone "

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an outstanding what if... if you enjoyed fatherland, this beats it. what if stories are invariably bad, trying to change just one element and leaving the rest of the world the same (highcastle being a good example). SS GB paints a very believable alternative history, one that was so very close to reality.

realism

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Very enjoyable book, had no expectations going in but full enjoyed.
Not a typical detective story, full of more depth.

Enjoyable, not a standard ‘murder mystery’

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