Alternate War History Novels Like The Man In The High Castle
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick was first published in 1962 and use an alternate historical time-line as its setting. In this novel, it was the Axis Powers that emerged victorious from World War II and Imperial Japan, along with Nazi Germany ended up ruling the former United States. The story begins fifteen years after the end of the war and deals mostly with the lives of characters in the former United States who are now living under totalitarian rule. It wasn't until recently that a television adaptation of this popular novel was attempted, but it differed from the book in a number of ways. Fans who enjoyed the novel will also enjoy the following alternate war history novels like The Man in the High Castle.
Bring the Jubilee
by Ward Moore
Bring the Jubilee, the 1953 novel by Ward Moore is a good choice for fans of The Man in the High Castle as Philip K. Dick himself cited it as inspiration for his novel. Bring The Jubilee is a landmark alternate history novel that explores a world in which the South had won the Civil War instead of the North. Afterward, the Confederacy becomes an imperialist nation, leaving the United States not just drained of resources, but also trapped in a depression. The protagonist, Hodge, is a young man from rural New York who has plans to go to the city to escape a future of indentured servitude. However, Hodge ends up with a nationalistic organization, called the Grand Army, who will stop at nothing to restore the United States to its former glory.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
by William L. Shirer
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer is another book that Dick mentions in the acknowledgments of The Man in the High Castle. Although this is not a novel, the author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich used the letters, memos, and diaries of the Nazis as sources. Shirer also lived through the war as an international correspondent, which gave him personal experience with the Nazis. Since it was published in 1960, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich have been reprinted numerous times and offers incredible insight into a very dark period of human history.
Dominion
by C.J. Sansom
Dominion by C.J. Sansom was released in 2012 and is set in an alternate history where Britain is a satellite state of Nazi Germany. It takes the form of a political thriller and uses its early 1950s backdrop to tell a story of British people who are under authoritarian rule. Twelve years after Britain surrendered to the Nazis, Germany is still waging a war against Russia in the east, which places a huge strain on the global economy. The only hope for change comes from Churchill’s Resistance soldiers and the rumors that there is a secret that completely shift the balance of power. It is up to David Fitzgerald, who works as a Civil Servant while also spying for the Resistance, to rescue the keeper of the secret from a Birmingham mental hospital. Unfortunately for David, his mission is going to be even harder thanks to the involvement of a relentless Gestapo agent named Gunther Hoth who is on his trail.
Hitler's War
by Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove is one of the masters of alternative history and his 2009 novel, Hitler's War is a great example of why his books are so popular. It is the start of a series where World War II starts in 1938 instead of 1939. This might not sound like it could impact the events too much, but starting the war a year earlier actually causes things to play out in an entirely different way. Instead of invading Poland, Hitler invades Czechoslovakia first, and this sets up a very different order to the other invasions during the war. As with other Turtledove books, the story is viewed through the eyes of many different characters, which gives readers a broader understanding of what is going on.
Making History
by Stephen Fry
Making History is a 1996 novel by Stephen Fry where an alternate historical timeline is created. This happens after the protagonist, Michael Young, meets Professor Leo Zuckerman while busy with his doctoral thesis on the early life of Adolf Hitler. It turns out that the professor actually managed to develop a machine that allows people to view the past. The machine doesn’t really have any practical use until Leo and Michael come up with a plan to modify to allow them to send items back to the past. This enables them to prevent Hitler from ever being born, but far from doing the world any good, Michael discovers that their tampering has altered the timeline in a very negative manner.
