The premise of this one is basically ‘German Nazis and British heroes in WW2 meet aliens.’ It’s not a new idea (see also Harry Turtledove’s Worldwar series or W. A. Harbinson’s Projekt Saucer series, for example) but it is solid entertainment, briskly read.
Justin has been a writer for the Doctor Who series, and it shows in this film-script-like novel. Mashing up aliens and UFO’s with Nazi supermen (or Ubermensch) in a wartime scenario is great fun and rather typical of older Doctor Who.
Here is a story of British war heroes (and an American female civilian) who are brought together to work for Station X, sorry, Z, a (surprise surprise!) secret department of the British Intelligence Service. Working at Station Z are Major Guy Pentecross; his boss Colonel Oliver Brinkman, undercover film star (now Special Operations Executive) Leo Davenport, David Alban at MI5, Elizabeth Archer, curator of very strange objects at the British Museum and American Sarah Diamond, Air Traffic Auxiliary pilot (and love interest)
Along the way we get a few ‘real’ people thrown in to add a touch of realism to these rather unusual events: Heinrich Himmler, the German Nazi supervising the recovery of famous relics for the benefit of the master race, Winston Churchill as the British Prime Minister; Rudolf Hess, the Deputy leader of the Nazis with a plan; and even Aleister Crowley, the infamous occultist, currently working for the Allies but clearly with other plans of his own as well.
It’s all good and rather old-fashioned stuff – plenty of derring-do, nasty aliens and greater forces at work throughout, as both the Allies and the Nazis try to determine the objectives of the alien Vril.
As a reader one would hope that the Vril themselves are rather unpleasant, being both Cthulu-ian and other-worldly at the same time. Being able to create Ubermensch from humans, a sort-of zombie-like soldier, is clearly a means to taking over the planet. Justin cleverly lets us know very little about them, their enigmatic presence being an ongoing threat in the book.
And at the end, in typical old pulp serial style, it is clear that this is only the beginning of a much bigger plan for global domination on the part of the Vril. More will no doubt be forthcoming in future books in the series.
I liked The Suicide Exhibition. It’s fast paced and pleasingly unpretentious. You pretty much know what you’re going to get from the off and the book delivers what the reader expects. Imagine a tale where elements of Indiana Jones are combined with Quatermass, and given a good dollop of plotting and pace from all those old war movies you may have seen to pass a wet weekend. Fans of the new Marvel TV series Agent Carter may like this, although unlike that TV series the novel is written from a decidedly Eurocentric, possibly Anglo-centric viewpoint.
The Suicide Exhibition is quickly read but greatly entertaining.
The Suicide Exhibition by Justin Richards
Book 1 of the Never War
Published by Del Rey, November 2013
ISBN: 978-0091955960
400 pages
Mark Yon, December 2014.
This looks very interesting. I am adding it to my reading list, and as soon as I can, I hope to sit down for an afternoon’s enjoyment.
Thanks Nathan. It’s a lot of fun, and grand entertainment: not to be taken too seriously. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I was so impressed that I’ve read the second book in the series as well (The Blood Red City) and a review of that should appear in the next couple of weeks or so.
I am putting the finishing touches on my own effort ( Chromosome Quest ) and hope to have some time to read soon. Meanwhile i will be looking for your review.