Jackboot Britain

by Daniel S. William Fletcher, Fletch.

JACKBOOT BRITAIN, by Daniel S. Fletcher, is set in an alternate 1940, in which Nazi Germany was victorious over the British Empire. Jackboot Britain is a nightmare world; the book follows the trials and tribulations of a range of characters from various walks of life, as they struggle to exist in a Europe - and Britain - ruled by the Germany of Adolf Hitler.

From captured British troops held as Prisoners of War, to Major Jochen Wolf and the conflicted, and conflicting SS men in whose care they are placed; to auxiliary partisans in the underground British resistance, anti-fascist veterans of the Spanish Civil War; to a young, female Jewish teacher in Leeds and her clever, quirky male friend; a London shopgirl and an unwilling German soldier drafted to the Wehrmacht; Bill Wilson, a monosyllabic alcoholic in a Bloomsbury pub; a humanist-libertarian journalist; four young conscripts to the German occupation force; a disabled cockney street kid; the men of the SS Einsatzgruppen (action groups), whose 'police' work in occupied countries was a euphemism for murder and suppression; to the SS leaders themselves and their machinations for power, including "The Blond Beast", one of the 20th century's most notorious villains in Reinhard Heydrich himself...

The tapestry of their lives is woven through the powerful tale of a dystopian world that could have been...

Jackboot Britain depicts the grim realities of a Nazi Britain and Hitler's Europe through the lives and deaths, triumphs, setbacks and tragedies of a diverse range of characters, all of whom are caught up in the carnage and chaos of war.

Genres: Fiction, Alternate History, Historical Fiction, World War II, War, Dystopia, Science Fiction

672 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2014

About the author

🎖Ukrainian Purple Heart Medal 🇺🇦
🎖Honour and Glory Cross 🇺🇦

Poetwarrior; Legionnaire; Disaster Relief Worker; Volunteer; Poet; Author; Novelist; Charity Kickboxer; Recreational Psychonaut; Flawed Mammal, Cautionary Tale…

'Chest i Slava' Voltse Krest / Honour & Glory Cross and 'Medal for the Sacrifice of Blood in the Battles for the Freedom of Ukraine' recipient; Ukrainian army soldier; humanitarian volunteer, disaster relief worker; dreamer of dreams; flawed mammal and cautionary tale… whose sole redeeming quality is shameless honesty as a memorialist.

Spent 2011-22 (aged 22-33) living in Spain, Thailand and Bali, with stints in Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Santa Cruz Cali: covered in 'Surreal Dreamscapes: The Fletch Anthology '11-22 (22-33).
After a pandemic in the palm-shade of paradise, Fletch moved to Ukraine in 2022, volunteering in food relief and, from September '23, as a legionnaire in the ZSU (Ukrainian Army) with the International Legion, fighting for 2nd Battalion Alpha Company in Luhansk region, the Lyman front.

At 22 Fletch left England for Spain in 2011, writing 'Jackboot Britain', relocating to Thailand in January 2012 as an amateur freelance reporter. Moved to Indonesia in August 2014; 'The Acid Diary' followed in December; four more books thereafter… after disaster relief, torture, betrayal and mayhem: a pandemic in the palm-shade of Phangan paradise; Ukraine in 2022; a year helping World Central Kitchen and others, then joining the Ukrainian army, finding a home in the Foreign Legion.

Santa, Legion 2nd Battalion commander awarded Fletch the 'Slava Voltse Cross' for distinguished conduct in combat, March 2024.

"Surreal Dreamscapes: Mind-Bending Mayhem in Absurdistan, The Fletch Anthology 22-33: 2011-22"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5N97GLJ/

"Wolves Eat Lambs: The Pornography of Power"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM3WCKDW/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BM3WCKDW/

Buy my book, and feel comfortable and witty at parties, smell fresh, sweat fragrantly and taste sweet, as doors open, ropes part, champagne supernovas form in the cosmoi and the moist magic of warm wet flesh envelopes your loins, while sexually charismatic nymphomaniacs chase you down the street like Hard Day’s fookin Night.

<>

“This is the ‘Slava Voltse’ Cross… for distinguished conduct in combat. This is not for civilians, it is a military decoration for those defending Ukraine on the battlefield from enemies who have attacked and tried to destroy our culture and civilisation. You have been with us for a relatively short time, but we decided to award this to you anyway. I have no doubt—you are A Man of Courage.”

~Santa, Legion 2nd Battalion commander

<>

"Brother Fletcher. I want to say a lot of positive things about you as a brother and as a person, but I will keep it short. When you were on duty at the position I was always calm because you are a responsible and disciplined fighter. Thank you for your help in the fight against the enemy. You are in thoughts and memories. You stay with us."

~Cygan, Legion 2nd Battalion Alpha Company commander

<>

Powerful and how profound
Flying high through golden air
Till in shadow I was drowned
Powerless in my despair

Now my cold sun scorns to shine
Bitter soul, infernal fear
Her roses hold more thorns than mine
Winter is eternal here

Shattered by the endless night
Battered, friendless, in affright
Dreams of love are shades of grey
That fray while colours fade away

Blood and nerve and bounding heart
Heavy words you lightly throw
How can spirit come apart
Like tears in rain or the melting snow

Yet the sun still shines divine
Phoenix rising—wings unfurled!
Golden-glowing smile and shine
There is beauty in the world

There is hope and joy and love
Ride the Dark Nights of the Soul
You can rise—transcend above
The sense that you’re no longer whole

In the darkness of the night
I

Reviews

[Andrew C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad I found this. A classic Nazi novel and my new favourite alternative history.

Anyone expecting a half-baked English Fatherland or a ripoff one of the other big names in this genre will be pleasantly surprised when they get stuck into Jackboot Britain. I thought it was long and heavy at first but the description promised multiple storylines and diversity, and with each chapter I was gradually more involved until I couldn't wait to find out how each storyline ended.

Spoilers-



The character range was awesome, and the way everything was twisted on its head made me love the book. There's a lot of different storylines to absorb but once they are established it was fun to read how each one progressed.

First, the men of the SS - that first scene with the trooper and Goeth, genius! Rape was not the crime in their eyes, they were bent on murder after all - it was the victim's Jewish blood that made the SS soldiers assault disgusting to them. They represent the evil underlying the PR and spin of politics, or at least Nazism. Yet they were men, not cardboard cut out killers, which made them intriguing and indispensible to the wider narrative.

Winston Churchills speech. In real life he rallied the Brits around to the cause - in this prologue, his most famous speech is heckled and booed, ominous and leading in to the story proper.

The partisans. Starts with a typically tense rendezvous in a city under occupation, but for these resisters it's in a quiet pub. The twist is that they are all vets of the war in Spain - one of them is a Spanish Jew called Mary. Their story is the most interesting to me I think, with a nice blend of tension, purpose, nostalgia and regret.

Heydrich - I loved this character in every book and movie he has been in, from SS: PoE to Conspiracy and DWK. Jackboot Britain has perhaps my favourite Heydrich yet, at least in print. Utterly ruthless and cunning, he is like the chessmaster playing with pawns.

Hitler. Not prominent (he only appears in one scene) but as someone who actually fought through Mein Kampf (0.1* for that one) and read a few bios on him, the Hitler of Jackboot Britain is pretty good! Was well done, but I'm glad he was abandoned in favour of the fictional characters and SS leaders.

The journalist. My least favourite character as I think his diary entries are too long, but some of the stories he's involved in are interesting enough, to the point where I stop hoping he 'gets it' and then actually [SPOILER!]

Naomi, the Jewish teacher. Totally different to the partisan, but a great character. Her relationship seemed inevitable from the getgo but it was nicely played, and the boyfriend's character direction went in a way that I didn't expect. This was a great storyline for showing the absolute worst of the Nazi regime, and what occupation meant.

English girl and German soldier = personally I didn't care too much about this one, and it doesn't end up taking up too much of the book but it was a nice enough addition. It was great to see a few sympathetic German characters who were not active heroes per se, as well as some of the out and out Nazis having a sympathetic edge to their depiction. This soldier was one of the characters you're supposed to root for, despite wearing a German uniform, and it was done well.

POWs. Kinda saw where the plot was going after a while, or at least I knew from the start it would go one of two ways. To be honest though, beyond light relief I would have liked this storyline to have been more prevalent, it could have been its own novel if it was done well. The two main SS Germans in this setting, Wolf and Hoffman were show stealers, IMO the best fictional characters in the book. Both of those could be the lead pro/antagonist of their own stories. The slow drip of Brits-Best-Pal Hoffman's background story in flashback (Poland with the Waffen-SS, war crimes, and Dachau before that) was one of the best parts of the overall Jackboot Britain narrative, and its a shame it takes so long to get around to Major Wolf (and that he doesn't feature more often/prominently)

All in all it was filled with great characters and storylines, and is pretty original in the context of Nazi lit and alt-hist. Will give it another read through down the line and see if my first feelings were justified, especially with marking down Human Traces for being weighty and bogged down. I could pick out a few parts of Jackboot Britain too that needed trimming and editing (did this book have an editor???) but in this context and the excellence of the storylines it gets the full props.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprisingly pleased by this read. I was a bit put off by the seemingly contrived title I hesitated digging. The start was a little slow, but I soon found myself intrigued by this horrifying alternate world.

Fascinating story. The kindle version needs some spot corrections, but only a few.

I find myself wondering what is in store in the battle for Russian.

[Dave R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written,nuanced, well developed characters, highly detailed, strong plots and works on different levels. One for any fan of war, political or allohistorical fiction.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starts good, becomes a bit polemic then picks up the pace and ends strong! A lot of detail, good development of each character and plot. Emotive and fascinating. Quite an unusual book!

[Ado Mohammed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another alternative history novel where the Nazis successfully invade and conquer Britain. It tells the story from the perspective of various characters, most of whom either failed in their resistance to the Germans, or succumb to their entreaties and propaganda, most improbably the British Pows who end up enlisting en masse in the SS!

There are quite a few instances where characters use phrases which were not in usage then, like when the German officer Hoffman uses the term "teamplayer ".

All in all, not a bad read. Definitely recommended if you're into alternate history

[Rena Sherwood]

DNF

I had to give up at the mention of "a cliffnotes version" of a diary entry ... from a writer in 1940. There were also several modern words and phrases used, such as "diversity" (used in the sense meaning varied ethnic groups and cultures.)

I wasn't enjoying myself anyway. There were too many characters introduced, a graphic rape scene, and lots of stereotypes. The book begins with a long first-person introduction by an unnamed writer, who we can only assume is the same writer who, inexplicably, goes on to third person omniscient.

No stars for this mess.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!!!

[Tabitha Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who falls in love in this book?

[Iany Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book

[Stephen h humphrey]

The story gives us a good all round look at the occupation from different points of view
Daniel filled out the characters background and made even the young German a likeable person
This made the story fun to read and kept you reading just one more oage

[Jaseena AL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating : 2 stars

[Ben Reedenheimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book, easily among my favorite alternative history tops