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The ultimate solution
The nightmare come-true novel of the last jew in Nazi America!
142 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 12, 2015
"The Nazis win" is such a common scenario in alternate history that it has its own Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothe...
The appeal is obvious: The Nazis are probably the last historical group that pretty much everyone agrees are unmitigated villains. If you want to have "pure evil" in a non-fantasy setting, and you don't want to be accused of cultural insensitivity, Nazis are your go-to.
Despite this, "Axis victory" literature is, on whole, really good. It's produced a handful of absolute classics (The Man in the High Castle) and large numbers of slightly-obscure-but-still-excellent fiction (Fatherland, The Children's War, etc.).
Most Axis victory literature falls into one of two camps: Realistic or moralistic. The former is more historically rigorous, and tries to imagine what might have really happened. Usually, that means that the US is still alive and well, Nazism's influence is mostly limited to Europe, large numbers of Jews survive outside the Third Reich, etc. Fatherland is the classic in this genre. The world in these novels is bad, but it generally stops short of full-blown dystopia.
Moralistic novels are different. They're less interested in the Nazis as a historical phenomenon, and more interested in Nazis as the nadir of the human condition. These stories usually take place in worlds that are completely dominated by the National Socialists. Example: Swastika Night by Katharine Burdekin.
The Ultimate Solution is firmly in the latter camp. Norden is not a historical illiterate, and he clearly has at least some familiarity with the history and structure of the NSDAP (for example, he uses terms like "Alter Kampfer" that a layman probably wouldn't recognize). But it's equally clear that the Nazis in his book are only distantly related to the Nazis of the real world. For example, Norden's Nazis promote animal cruelty and praise homosexuality (Hitler had a strong aversion to both).
This can be jarring at first, but ultimately Norden is trying to explore the depths of human depravity. His Nazis are the perfectly evil society, as envisioned by a 1973 author.
This has good and bad points. Morality marches on, after all. The 1973 view of homosexuality is no longer politically palatable. But Norden's vision of a civilization completely stripped of redeeming features remains chilling.
The appeal is obvious: The Nazis are probably the last historical group that pretty much everyone agrees are unmitigated villains. If you want to have "pure evil" in a non-fantasy setting, and you don't want to be accused of cultural insensitivity, Nazis are your go-to.
Despite this, "Axis victory" literature is, on whole, really good. It's produced a handful of absolute classics (The Man in the High Castle) and large numbers of slightly-obscure-but-still-excellent fiction (Fatherland, The Children's War, etc.).
Most Axis victory literature falls into one of two camps: Realistic or moralistic. The former is more historically rigorous, and tries to imagine what might have really happened. Usually, that means that the US is still alive and well, Nazism's influence is mostly limited to Europe, large numbers of Jews survive outside the Third Reich, etc. Fatherland is the classic in this genre. The world in these novels is bad, but it generally stops short of full-blown dystopia.
Moralistic novels are different. They're less interested in the Nazis as a historical phenomenon, and more interested in Nazis as the nadir of the human condition. These stories usually take place in worlds that are completely dominated by the National Socialists. Example: Swastika Night by Katharine Burdekin.
The Ultimate Solution is firmly in the latter camp. Norden is not a historical illiterate, and he clearly has at least some familiarity with the history and structure of the NSDAP (for example, he uses terms like "Alter Kampfer" that a layman probably wouldn't recognize). But it's equally clear that the Nazis in his book are only distantly related to the Nazis of the real world. For example, Norden's Nazis promote animal cruelty and praise homosexuality (Hitler had a strong aversion to both).
This can be jarring at first, but ultimately Norden is trying to explore the depths of human depravity. His Nazis are the perfectly evil society, as envisioned by a 1973 author.
This has good and bad points. Morality marches on, after all. The 1973 view of homosexuality is no longer politically palatable. But Norden's vision of a civilization completely stripped of redeeming features remains chilling.
January 11, 2021
A trash masterpiece redeemed from the gutter by some nice touches of thoughtful world building. It's all too viseral and obscene to be believable, but it is refreshing in its simple brutality and lack of any sentiment whatsoever. A fun ride. The Man in the High Tower with the side of its head caved in. And that's a compliment.
February 12, 2010
It started out bad, and got worse . . .
Lieutenant Bill Halder is a member of the NYPD, charged with keeping the peace in the Nazi-ruled city of New York. The Nazis had wrought many changes in post-WW 2 America. Love and kindness had been exchanged for impersonal lust and sadism. Sex between men and women was only for reproduction. And the Gestapo ruled supreme over all. But a cop's job was still the same dirty business it had always been. Lt. Halder was poor, chronically sleep-deprived, and driven like a donkey owned by a bad master. And he was responsible for cracking the toughest case in the Reich.
If he succeeded, the Reich got the credit. If he failed, he was dead -- or worse, a prisoner in the hands of the dreaded Gestapo. There was one last Jew left alive on Earth -- and he was hiding somewhere in New York City.
This is a world straight out of the imagination of Dante Alighieri and Hieronymus Bosch, realized in all its chilling detail and terrifying complexity. The globe is divided into the lands ruled by the Nazis and those possessed by the Japanese. Whorehouses in which heartless madames oversee pre-teen sex workers, leather bars whose floor shows featured Slavid women whose tongues have been cut out being crucified by patrons, boxing matches in which tongueless Black slaves pound each other to death, police interrogations conducted with thumbscrews and blowtorches, the two sole superpowers facing off in the ultimate thermonuclear showdown -- Nazi-ruled America in the 1960s is a vision straight out of Hell. Bill Halder's final observation, the last line in the book, is no more than the simple truth: "I'm telling you, a cop's life is hell."
Published in 1973, The Ultimate Solution showcases an alternate history in which the Axis won WW 2 -- and life itself is the loser.
Lieutenant Bill Halder is a member of the NYPD, charged with keeping the peace in the Nazi-ruled city of New York. The Nazis had wrought many changes in post-WW 2 America. Love and kindness had been exchanged for impersonal lust and sadism. Sex between men and women was only for reproduction. And the Gestapo ruled supreme over all. But a cop's job was still the same dirty business it had always been. Lt. Halder was poor, chronically sleep-deprived, and driven like a donkey owned by a bad master. And he was responsible for cracking the toughest case in the Reich.
If he succeeded, the Reich got the credit. If he failed, he was dead -- or worse, a prisoner in the hands of the dreaded Gestapo. There was one last Jew left alive on Earth -- and he was hiding somewhere in New York City.
This is a world straight out of the imagination of Dante Alighieri and Hieronymus Bosch, realized in all its chilling detail and terrifying complexity. The globe is divided into the lands ruled by the Nazis and those possessed by the Japanese. Whorehouses in which heartless madames oversee pre-teen sex workers, leather bars whose floor shows featured Slavid women whose tongues have been cut out being crucified by patrons, boxing matches in which tongueless Black slaves pound each other to death, police interrogations conducted with thumbscrews and blowtorches, the two sole superpowers facing off in the ultimate thermonuclear showdown -- Nazi-ruled America in the 1960s is a vision straight out of Hell. Bill Halder's final observation, the last line in the book, is no more than the simple truth: "I'm telling you, a cop's life is hell."
Published in 1973, The Ultimate Solution showcases an alternate history in which the Axis won WW 2 -- and life itself is the loser.
April 26, 2020
Eric Norden je pseudonim i u pokušaju da istražim ko je čovek, naišao sam i na neke scenarije potpisane ovim imenom, i to za neke mahom veoma neugledne produkcije, pa ni ne znam mogu li se povezati prozaista i scenarista. Ono što je sigurno je da Norden ima iskustvo rada za Playboy i da ga je inspirisao razgovor sa Speerom koji je vodio za magazin da napiše ovaj roman.
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION je kratak roman od nekih 140ak stranica paperback formata i spada formalno u alternativnu istoriju. Ovog puta do račvanja dolazi 1934. kada uspeva atentat na Roosevelta, Long postaje predsednik, SAD ne ulaze u rat i kada Nemci razviju atomsku bombu oni moraju da se povinuju Rajhu.
Sama realizacija tog sveta, a roman se dešava 1974. godine je pitka, zanimljiva i nije previše opterećena "istorijskom uverljivošću", tako da oni koji žele da zamisle kako bi svet "stvarno" izgledao da su nacisti pobedili u ovom romanu neće previše uživati.
Međutim, ovaj roman je dobar upravo zbog toga što radi nešto slično kao Harrisov FATHERLAND a to je da uzima formu krimića koji se odvija u Trećem Rajhu, da je glavni junak lojalni detektiv koji istražuje neku zaveru koja ga upoznaje sa nekom od istina o društvu u kome živi.
Za razliku od FATHERLANDa gde je istina zapravo ono što je nelagodni temelj i trauma Rajha, ovde je razrešenje zakučasto i nije tako fundamentalno, ali je realizacija jako ubedljiva.
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION je znojav policijski krimić, evocirao mi je malo uspomenu na Ellroyeve romane o Lloydu Hopkinsu, naravno sažetiji je, pulpičniji, kombinuje žanr sa konceptom ali i ideološkim gnevom, u tom smislu izmiče klasifikaciji.
Ima delova koji se graniče sa "visokom književnošću" a Norden jeste važio za antiratnog aktivistu tako da je teško utvrditi koji su tačni okviri njegovog izraza tu bili.
Ono što međutim ovaj roman postiže jeste autentični doživljaj policijskog pulpa, stilski ubedljivog do tačke da ga je maltene moguće zamisliti kao pandurski krimić objavljen u Rajhu, koji opet zahvaljujući političkoj oštrini to definitivno nije.
Ono što je naročito zanimljivo, i ideološki zapravo veoma istinito, iako kako rekoh Norden nije previše suštinski posvećen paraistorijskoj rekonstrukciji jeste gotovo pa hororična društvena erozija i korupcija koja vlada Njujorkom u Rajhu. Prikazi borbi crnaca uzgajenih za potrebe borbi i pedofilskih bordela donose društvenu trulež kakvu srećemo u najtvrđim krimićima sedamdesetih.
Voleo bih da vidim film po ovom romanu, u punoj rekonstrukciji rukopisa tadašnjih reditelja kao što je Stuart Rosenberg, sa mladim Robertom Culpom u glavnoj ulozi. Ali, znamo da je to nemoguće, odnosno potpuno nepraktično. Svakome kome ove reference preporučujem da potraži roman.
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION je kratak roman od nekih 140ak stranica paperback formata i spada formalno u alternativnu istoriju. Ovog puta do račvanja dolazi 1934. kada uspeva atentat na Roosevelta, Long postaje predsednik, SAD ne ulaze u rat i kada Nemci razviju atomsku bombu oni moraju da se povinuju Rajhu.
Sama realizacija tog sveta, a roman se dešava 1974. godine je pitka, zanimljiva i nije previše opterećena "istorijskom uverljivošću", tako da oni koji žele da zamisle kako bi svet "stvarno" izgledao da su nacisti pobedili u ovom romanu neće previše uživati.
Međutim, ovaj roman je dobar upravo zbog toga što radi nešto slično kao Harrisov FATHERLAND a to je da uzima formu krimića koji se odvija u Trećem Rajhu, da je glavni junak lojalni detektiv koji istražuje neku zaveru koja ga upoznaje sa nekom od istina o društvu u kome živi.
Za razliku od FATHERLANDa gde je istina zapravo ono što je nelagodni temelj i trauma Rajha, ovde je razrešenje zakučasto i nije tako fundamentalno, ali je realizacija jako ubedljiva.
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION je znojav policijski krimić, evocirao mi je malo uspomenu na Ellroyeve romane o Lloydu Hopkinsu, naravno sažetiji je, pulpičniji, kombinuje žanr sa konceptom ali i ideološkim gnevom, u tom smislu izmiče klasifikaciji.
Ima delova koji se graniče sa "visokom književnošću" a Norden jeste važio za antiratnog aktivistu tako da je teško utvrditi koji su tačni okviri njegovog izraza tu bili.
Ono što međutim ovaj roman postiže jeste autentični doživljaj policijskog pulpa, stilski ubedljivog do tačke da ga je maltene moguće zamisliti kao pandurski krimić objavljen u Rajhu, koji opet zahvaljujući političkoj oštrini to definitivno nije.
Ono što je naročito zanimljivo, i ideološki zapravo veoma istinito, iako kako rekoh Norden nije previše suštinski posvećen paraistorijskoj rekonstrukciji jeste gotovo pa hororična društvena erozija i korupcija koja vlada Njujorkom u Rajhu. Prikazi borbi crnaca uzgajenih za potrebe borbi i pedofilskih bordela donose društvenu trulež kakvu srećemo u najtvrđim krimićima sedamdesetih.
Voleo bih da vidim film po ovom romanu, u punoj rekonstrukciji rukopisa tadašnjih reditelja kao što je Stuart Rosenberg, sa mladim Robertom Culpom u glavnoj ulozi. Ali, znamo da je to nemoguće, odnosno potpuno nepraktično. Svakome kome ove reference preporučujem da potraži roman.
December 19, 2018
The Ultimate Solution, by Eric Norden, was written and published in the 1970s. It is currently out of print. Last I checked, a used copy can be had from Amazon for about $35.
The reason this book is out of print, and will, lamentably remain so, is because it is an absolutely haunting and brutal portrayal of life in New York if the Nazi's had won World War II. Norden succinctly - it is really very short - describes a world devoid of compassion, empathy, and kindness. Most of the scenes are incredibly graphic and hard to read, but they are necessary to show the sheer madness of a world that contains no check on the baser instincts of humanity.
This book is police procedural. The protagonist is a detective who has been born and raised in a world war Jews no longer exist. They have been exterminated. Moreover, humans of African descent have been either exterminated or lobotomized; Slavs are enslaved; children are placed in sexual slavery; and no one bats an eye. The detective is tasked with finding a Jew who has inexplicably appeared in New York.
The great thing about this novel is its sheer unadulterated brutality. There's no relief, because Norden creates a world that is foreign and ugly. But it's a world that should be recognized as a possibility, because we've been there before.
Anyhow, if you're very queasy or easily upset by graphic and nonchalant portrayals of violence and meanness, don't read this book. Otherwise, I highly recommend it.
The reason this book is out of print, and will, lamentably remain so, is because it is an absolutely haunting and brutal portrayal of life in New York if the Nazi's had won World War II. Norden succinctly - it is really very short - describes a world devoid of compassion, empathy, and kindness. Most of the scenes are incredibly graphic and hard to read, but they are necessary to show the sheer madness of a world that contains no check on the baser instincts of humanity.
This book is police procedural. The protagonist is a detective who has been born and raised in a world war Jews no longer exist. They have been exterminated. Moreover, humans of African descent have been either exterminated or lobotomized; Slavs are enslaved; children are placed in sexual slavery; and no one bats an eye. The detective is tasked with finding a Jew who has inexplicably appeared in New York.
The great thing about this novel is its sheer unadulterated brutality. There's no relief, because Norden creates a world that is foreign and ugly. But it's a world that should be recognized as a possibility, because we've been there before.
Anyhow, if you're very queasy or easily upset by graphic and nonchalant portrayals of violence and meanness, don't read this book. Otherwise, I highly recommend it.
January 29, 2018
This is the first alternate history novel about a Nazi victory over the Allies that genuinely evoked a raw sense of fear and revulsion in me. The dystopian world that Norden builds is heinous to the last degree with no redeeming qualities and that's what really made the book a home run for me, a reality where evil and depravity are the absolute norm. Noreen doesn't soften anything, delivering an unflinching narrative of a a sadistic and conscienceless society based on the ideals of Nazi, Germany is enthrallingly terrifying; like some sort of horrible accident, you can't look away no matter how disgusted you might feel. I may be speaking in hyperbole, but "The Ultimate Solution" should be on any definitive list of Holocaust literature along with Elie Wiesel's "Night" and Art Spiegelman's "Maus." This is what "The Man in the High Castle" should have been. Wow, this one will stick with me for the rest of my life. #NeverForget
February 28, 2020
The Ultimate Solution by Eric Norden is a story about the complete opposite of what happened during the Nazi occupation.
The world is a terrible place. People of colour (like Blacks) are treated worse than being slaves--they are treated like “pets” or “domestic animals”. They even get their vocal cords cut at birth. That is horrifying. Other than that, anyone who found out to be helping survived Jews (even though there was a complete genocide to Jews) will be punished severely. The society’s way of entertainment is watching Black gladiators, nakedly fighting each other to death. Plus, kids are told to watch television shows that encourage them to kill and torture animals (not sure if that also meant the Blacks who are considered “domestic animals”). The whole thing is just sickening. Norden did a great job on writing this book; it really shows how the world would be if the Nazis won.
The world is a terrible place. People of colour (like Blacks) are treated worse than being slaves--they are treated like “pets” or “domestic animals”. They even get their vocal cords cut at birth. That is horrifying. Other than that, anyone who found out to be helping survived Jews (even though there was a complete genocide to Jews) will be punished severely. The society’s way of entertainment is watching Black gladiators, nakedly fighting each other to death. Plus, kids are told to watch television shows that encourage them to kill and torture animals (not sure if that also meant the Blacks who are considered “domestic animals”). The whole thing is just sickening. Norden did a great job on writing this book; it really shows how the world would be if the Nazis won.
April 27, 2018
This was a very hard novel to read; but I felt that it was important that I did so. The story occurs in an alternate reality in which Nazis won WWII. Not all of the facts match up to actual Nazi policy, especially the tolerance for homosexuals; in reality the Nazis of our world persecuted homosexuals and sent them to the death camps. But it doesn't really matter. If the Nazis had won in our world, America would have become a dark and horrible place, and that is why we must fight their disciples now, here. There are many neo-Nazis in America who want to take away everything good and decent and replace it with their disgusting, deluded ideas of what's right.
You need to read this book, and then you'll understand.
You need to read this book, and then you'll understand.
September 29, 2020
Harvinaisen karua luettavaa, eikä sillä tavalla mitä odotin. Muuten aika tyypillisen oloinen dekkari. Käänne oli ennalta-arvattava, mutta aivan loppu silti hieman yllättävä.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2019
1.5/5 Stars- An idea strong enough to build on, but he chooses not to do that in any substantial way.
Pros:
-The initial concept.
Cons:
-Dated writing style.
-Often cringe-worthy dialogue.
-Seemingly total absence of moral awareness by the author, any thought-provoking themes within such a morally-loaded topic are somehow lost. Any discussion on morality is limited purely to the shock factor of certain scenes. Child abuse which serves little to nothing to the plot and being assaulted by MC with a gun barrel. Pointless.
-MC is completely hollow, could be literally anybody. He isn't even evil, he is illustrated as the 'good guy', but this is just so he fills the role of a view point character in the most basic way, he offers no thought-provoking commentary for somebody whom I got the impression was ALMOST anti-nazi. The author lacked necessary research and avoided interesting moral discussion for this to be interesting.
-The ending was rushed, nothing satisfying happens.
-The worst final line I have ever read.
NAZI=BAD, we get it. I find it hard to believe that, especially being written 50 years closer to WWII, people needed to be reassured of this.
Pros:
-The initial concept.
Cons:
-Dated writing style.
-Often cringe-worthy dialogue.
-Seemingly total absence of moral awareness by the author, any thought-provoking themes within such a morally-loaded topic are somehow lost. Any discussion on morality is limited purely to the shock factor of certain scenes. Child abuse which serves little to nothing to the plot and being assaulted by MC with a gun barrel. Pointless.
-MC is completely hollow, could be literally anybody. He isn't even evil, he is illustrated as the 'good guy', but this is just so he fills the role of a view point character in the most basic way, he offers no thought-provoking commentary for somebody whom I got the impression was ALMOST anti-nazi. The author lacked necessary research and avoided interesting moral discussion for this to be interesting.
-The ending was rushed, nothing satisfying happens.
-The worst final line I have ever read.
NAZI=BAD, we get it. I find it hard to believe that, especially being written 50 years closer to WWII, people needed to be reassured of this.
September 9, 2014
My mother picked this up for me at a drugstore when I was young. At the time I was fascinated by all things "WWII" and the swastika on the cover was really all she noticed. This was my first alternate history and man, was I hooked, even as a young teenager. I'd always hoped there would be another book or more to the story.
My copy is long gone at this point, but I still remember some of the chilling parts of this book very clearly. A Gestapo in New York City who, while doing a particularly horrible torture activity on a 'suspect' to get him to talk says "this is always the hard part"... A scene of a child torturing a small animal.
My copy is long gone at this point, but I still remember some of the chilling parts of this book very clearly. A Gestapo in New York City who, while doing a particularly horrible torture activity on a 'suspect' to get him to talk says "this is always the hard part"... A scene of a child torturing a small animal.
July 13, 2012
Haven't read it in years, but it was darn spooky 30 years ago
Added, just read it again, what this guy put in 142 pages is almost too much to bear. If you ever have the opportunity to read this, do it.
Added, just read it again, what this guy put in 142 pages is almost too much to bear. If you ever have the opportunity to read this, do it.
October 18, 2015
Brutally bleak 'Nazis won' scenario. The one thing that stood out was how easily ordinary people can normalize horror and brutality.
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