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The Gothengau Colony
When saving a life in 1946 Alabama, Amish giant Konrad took one in return and must run before the electric chair claims him. In New York, Nazi propaganda fools him into jumping on a ship to Berlin, capital of the Third Reich. In 1965, at Gothengau, an SS-run colony in Ukraine, a terrorist rocket attack on Berlin compels soldier-farmer Konrad to focus on his duty: commanding an SS convict battalion. He must flex his muscle for the armed forces or the Holocaust's perpetrators - his superiors, colleagues, and neighbours in Ukraine. Survival means playing both sides, but will the fellow German-Americans he arrived with 20 years earlier join him in his fight and in the process, trigger the dawn of a Fourth Reich?
266 pages, Paperback
Published June 3, 2022
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5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 6, 2023
Truly terrible.
June 21, 2023
I love the concept of a futuristic historical fiction. The premise was fascinating. I also loved that it was in the point of view from a country that is often forgotten in the tales from this time period. Absolutely fascinating.
It did feel a bit too heavy for how it was pitched. I often got confused and thought I missed something, when that wasn’t always the case.
Thank you LiterallyPR for sending this my way!
It did feel a bit too heavy for how it was pitched. I often got confused and thought I missed something, when that wasn’t always the case.
Thank you LiterallyPR for sending this my way!
August 12, 2022
This is an interesting alternative history story which feels very different to anything I’ve read before. It’s 1946 and over 2 metres tall and called a giant, Konrad arrives in New York having run away from Alabama after something happened. Worried that the authorities are going to find him for what he’s done he flees into a cinema to hide in the dark. While there he settles down to watch a film, a propaganda film which makes him want to take a boat to Berlin and the world in Europe under the Third Reich.
This book is interesting and although the beginning is set in 1946, most of the rest of the story is set in 1965. Konrad, now a soldier farmer in Gothengau, seems to live a happy life, spent with his family, working his farm and leading his troop of convicts. But life in the Nazi-led regime is hard, and Konrad isn’t entirely comfortable with the new life he now lives. The story starts by showing how Konrad came to be living in Gothengau, with a brief prologue showing his work as a soldier before going back to 1946. I like how this story begins, with Konrad being convinced by Nazi propaganda to go and live in the Third Reich. The story is very different, with no second world war having ever taken place and Gothengau now being a colony in the Eastern part of Europe.
As we follow Konrad’s life, first in the 40s and then in 1965 we learn about the power structure in the Third Reich. Konrad has encounters with lots of differently people including some more eerie characters like Dr Mengele who is constantly fascinated by Konrad and his children. Although the overall story is good, the plot, for me, was sometimes better than at other times. The story itself is complex and there’s a lot happening with the chapters sometimes following Konrad and sometimes following others like Petra and Karl. The plot is good, a lot Happens and at times it’s exciting, but at other times things felt slower and more difficult to read.
It’s too complex to explain everything that is happening but the Third Reich continues to be as unpleasant as it was in our real world and some characters seek to change it for the better. A lot of interesting things happen though, and I like how twisted some of the events are and how some of the characters are. I liked the story around Karl, the Odinist priest, which was interesting and at times funny too. His story wraps up well and what happens with him in the end is brilliant. I also found Konrad’s story a good read and Petra’s was good too, hers being much more heart-breaking in what happens to her though.
Unfortunately, for me, although the general story idea was good and I found myself wanting to find out what happened to certain characters, some chapters felt better written than others. With a few chapters I struggled to know what was happening, with scenes switching too fast and sometimes too many characters that I didn’t know about being suddenly in the story which I felt could have been introduced with more detail. Some of the chapters flowed really well, while others I struggled to get through, and when it came to something like what happens to Petra nearer the end of the story, I felt like it could have been more emotional given what she actually goes through with her husband.
The story has very occasional swearing and some violence but nothing too graphic. There are quite a few descriptions of men treating women unpleasantly, including an assault. The build up to the ending was good, and I liked the little twist that happened to Konrad near to the end. I didn’t see it coming and it was a good twist which made me wonder what would happen in future. There is a second twist right at the very end which was interesting too, and I like the fact there is a flash-back near the end of the book to Konrad’s life in the past, explaining something that happened, which I felt was missing until that point in the book.
Overall I did enjoy reading this book and it’s certainly an interesting and inventive alternative historical fiction novel. There were some good moments and some of this book made me so keen to read it as it’s so different and the idea of the Third Reich still existing in the 60s is both interesting and terrifying!! But it just felt like it could have been polished a bit more and because of it I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped, hence my rating. But if you’re after a very different alternative historical fiction where the Third Reich has expanded and controls Europe in the 1960s, this one is definitely an interesting read!
-Thanks to the author for a free copy.
This book is interesting and although the beginning is set in 1946, most of the rest of the story is set in 1965. Konrad, now a soldier farmer in Gothengau, seems to live a happy life, spent with his family, working his farm and leading his troop of convicts. But life in the Nazi-led regime is hard, and Konrad isn’t entirely comfortable with the new life he now lives. The story starts by showing how Konrad came to be living in Gothengau, with a brief prologue showing his work as a soldier before going back to 1946. I like how this story begins, with Konrad being convinced by Nazi propaganda to go and live in the Third Reich. The story is very different, with no second world war having ever taken place and Gothengau now being a colony in the Eastern part of Europe.
As we follow Konrad’s life, first in the 40s and then in 1965 we learn about the power structure in the Third Reich. Konrad has encounters with lots of differently people including some more eerie characters like Dr Mengele who is constantly fascinated by Konrad and his children. Although the overall story is good, the plot, for me, was sometimes better than at other times. The story itself is complex and there’s a lot happening with the chapters sometimes following Konrad and sometimes following others like Petra and Karl. The plot is good, a lot Happens and at times it’s exciting, but at other times things felt slower and more difficult to read.
It’s too complex to explain everything that is happening but the Third Reich continues to be as unpleasant as it was in our real world and some characters seek to change it for the better. A lot of interesting things happen though, and I like how twisted some of the events are and how some of the characters are. I liked the story around Karl, the Odinist priest, which was interesting and at times funny too. His story wraps up well and what happens with him in the end is brilliant. I also found Konrad’s story a good read and Petra’s was good too, hers being much more heart-breaking in what happens to her though.
Unfortunately, for me, although the general story idea was good and I found myself wanting to find out what happened to certain characters, some chapters felt better written than others. With a few chapters I struggled to know what was happening, with scenes switching too fast and sometimes too many characters that I didn’t know about being suddenly in the story which I felt could have been introduced with more detail. Some of the chapters flowed really well, while others I struggled to get through, and when it came to something like what happens to Petra nearer the end of the story, I felt like it could have been more emotional given what she actually goes through with her husband.
The story has very occasional swearing and some violence but nothing too graphic. There are quite a few descriptions of men treating women unpleasantly, including an assault. The build up to the ending was good, and I liked the little twist that happened to Konrad near to the end. I didn’t see it coming and it was a good twist which made me wonder what would happen in future. There is a second twist right at the very end which was interesting too, and I like the fact there is a flash-back near the end of the book to Konrad’s life in the past, explaining something that happened, which I felt was missing until that point in the book.
Overall I did enjoy reading this book and it’s certainly an interesting and inventive alternative historical fiction novel. There were some good moments and some of this book made me so keen to read it as it’s so different and the idea of the Third Reich still existing in the 60s is both interesting and terrifying!! But it just felt like it could have been polished a bit more and because of it I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped, hence my rating. But if you’re after a very different alternative historical fiction where the Third Reich has expanded and controls Europe in the 1960s, this one is definitely an interesting read!
-Thanks to the author for a free copy.
July 19, 2022
Konrad is a giant Amish man compelled to flee the circus freak show he was employed at to save his hide. If he sticks around, he will face the electric chair. He really wants to get back to his roots and settle down working the land a as farmer and raising a family. Swayed by a propaganda film Konrad is enticed to the German Reich and the prospect of settling in the lebensraum set aside for returning Aryans in Ukraine.
On the ship over he meets Petra, a child who is already singing star and whose mother is pushing to fame and fortune and Karl a young man looking for new start.
In the German Colony of Gothengau Konrad achieves his dream of a farm, a wife, and a family. He also serves the Reich as the commander of the 500th Airborne division which is made up of convict soldiers. He is not blind to what he sees and is appalled to discover the reality of the final solution. Hitler may be dead, but is succeeded as Fuhrer by Heinrich Himmler with the murderous Reinhard Heydrich as his deputy, so his brand of National Socialism continues.
There is growing discontent, not just from Konrad, and the time feels right for regime change. It’s time to sweep away the old order and install a new one lead this time by a good man. That man is thought to be Wernher von Braun the brilliant rocket scientist who leads the technological advances in the Reich and is on the cusp of putting man into space.
The story moves along a good pace, with perhaps the ending feeling a little rushed when two big surprises are revealed. It left me thinking that there may well be a sequel sometime in the future.
The central character Konrad is a brave and honest man. Shocked by what he learns about the Final Solution and seeing the so-called ‘guest workers’ who are nothing more than slaves he resolves to do something about it. As the reader discovers there is a keen motivation here and it is not merely hatred for the Reich in which he also sees some good. He cannot affect change alone though.
The subject matter has a dark core, the Nazi atrocities are mentioned but not dwelt upon which is quite sensible. We have the ideal hate figure in Josef Mengele the ‘Angel of Death’ the doctor who experimented on so many inmates in Auschwitz. Many of these experiments, as it is remarked upon were pointless and barbaric, not moving scientific knowledge on one iota. The interactions between Baer and Mengele are quite chilling.
Naturally, the subject leaves limited scope for humour to be introduced but there are some nice witty pieces included. The Gauleiter’s deputy declaring ‘this isn’t a drop-in centre for occultists’, the youngest Vestal Virgin asking ‘why am I the only real virgin’ on discovering the truth and the vision of a Gestapo officer in black silk pyjamas embroidered with SS runes raised a chuckle.
The Gothengau Colony is an exciting and highly imaginative ‘what if’ alternative history of the post WWII period.
On the ship over he meets Petra, a child who is already singing star and whose mother is pushing to fame and fortune and Karl a young man looking for new start.
In the German Colony of Gothengau Konrad achieves his dream of a farm, a wife, and a family. He also serves the Reich as the commander of the 500th Airborne division which is made up of convict soldiers. He is not blind to what he sees and is appalled to discover the reality of the final solution. Hitler may be dead, but is succeeded as Fuhrer by Heinrich Himmler with the murderous Reinhard Heydrich as his deputy, so his brand of National Socialism continues.
There is growing discontent, not just from Konrad, and the time feels right for regime change. It’s time to sweep away the old order and install a new one lead this time by a good man. That man is thought to be Wernher von Braun the brilliant rocket scientist who leads the technological advances in the Reich and is on the cusp of putting man into space.
The story moves along a good pace, with perhaps the ending feeling a little rushed when two big surprises are revealed. It left me thinking that there may well be a sequel sometime in the future.
The central character Konrad is a brave and honest man. Shocked by what he learns about the Final Solution and seeing the so-called ‘guest workers’ who are nothing more than slaves he resolves to do something about it. As the reader discovers there is a keen motivation here and it is not merely hatred for the Reich in which he also sees some good. He cannot affect change alone though.
The subject matter has a dark core, the Nazi atrocities are mentioned but not dwelt upon which is quite sensible. We have the ideal hate figure in Josef Mengele the ‘Angel of Death’ the doctor who experimented on so many inmates in Auschwitz. Many of these experiments, as it is remarked upon were pointless and barbaric, not moving scientific knowledge on one iota. The interactions between Baer and Mengele are quite chilling.
Naturally, the subject leaves limited scope for humour to be introduced but there are some nice witty pieces included. The Gauleiter’s deputy declaring ‘this isn’t a drop-in centre for occultists’, the youngest Vestal Virgin asking ‘why am I the only real virgin’ on discovering the truth and the vision of a Gestapo officer in black silk pyjamas embroidered with SS runes raised a chuckle.
The Gothengau Colony is an exciting and highly imaginative ‘what if’ alternative history of the post WWII period.
July 5, 2022
Wow ! Oh what could have been. So much going on in here.
Grab it and read it yourself.
Ever wondered what if that didn’t happen ? what could have been ? If things had taken a different route in history. Then here you go, have this one. Here you have a story of just that. What if history went the other way.
It is set in the past, making you think about the “what ifs” in history. Interesting to say the least but also very taxing on concentrating to follow the many plots.
I found it rather heavy going myself. Possibly my concentration levels were to the max, with lots of thinking about the story and how. With this it seemed demanding on my mind and most certainly got me thinking!
Lots going on with the story too, twists and turns along with the unexpected..
Overall, good for a read, gets you thinking and for anyone who enjoys historical WW2 novels or alternative history novels then it’s perfect.
Grab it and read it yourself.
Ever wondered what if that didn’t happen ? what could have been ? If things had taken a different route in history. Then here you go, have this one. Here you have a story of just that. What if history went the other way.
It is set in the past, making you think about the “what ifs” in history. Interesting to say the least but also very taxing on concentrating to follow the many plots.
I found it rather heavy going myself. Possibly my concentration levels were to the max, with lots of thinking about the story and how. With this it seemed demanding on my mind and most certainly got me thinking!
Lots going on with the story too, twists and turns along with the unexpected..
Overall, good for a read, gets you thinking and for anyone who enjoys historical WW2 novels or alternative history novels then it’s perfect.
July 18, 2022
Absolutely brilliant book that is so timely given the war in Europe happening at the moment. There are so many moments when it's almost hard to believe this is alternative historical fiction (especially as it's mostly set in an old part of Ukraine). A fascinating idea and one that fans of WW2 alternate history novels are sure to get behind. Exciting, dangerous, thought-provoking. Really, all of history is just one decision / move away from total and utter change... my grandmother who lived through WW2 always used to say it took just one right move to mean we don't speak German instead of English, and I remembered her saying that so vividly while reading The Gothengau Colony. It's also made me want to look up the characters, work out who is real and fabricated for the story, and look more into Gothengau!
August 19, 2022
An interesting and gripping thriller set in a post-war Nazi-controlled Europe.
The pace of the book is fast moving and it has many unfamiliar real-life details about the Nazis and the Reich: from the interest in pagan Nordic religion to the plans for the colonisation & Germanisation of major zones of Ukraine and the Baltics (Gothengau, Ingermanland and Memel-Narev). The use of American-Germans as major protagonists was an interesting idea as also was describing American advertisements encouraging emigration to join these new settlements.
Overall, a very enjoyable read which cracks along at a good pace. A worthy addition to the speculative fiction / alternate-history WW2 genre. Recommended.
The pace of the book is fast moving and it has many unfamiliar real-life details about the Nazis and the Reich: from the interest in pagan Nordic religion to the plans for the colonisation & Germanisation of major zones of Ukraine and the Baltics (Gothengau, Ingermanland and Memel-Narev). The use of American-Germans as major protagonists was an interesting idea as also was describing American advertisements encouraging emigration to join these new settlements.
Overall, a very enjoyable read which cracks along at a good pace. A worthy addition to the speculative fiction / alternate-history WW2 genre. Recommended.
June 29, 2022
This is a futuristic novel set in the past. A reimagined past, and we all know how much writers like to twist history. The Third Reich still exists and many of its most infamous leaders too but all is not well. The plot hits the ground running and there's a real sense of excitement and mounting danger. Throw in some paganism, a troop of circus freaks and Dr Mengale and one realizes it's time to expect the unexpected. The ending was a particularly nice touch.
July 11, 2022
This was one of those books where I was literally going into it blind, I had no idea what to expect or why I had even signed up for the tour! The cover didn’t do anything for me and as most of you know, covers are rather important to me when choosing a book!
The story is an alternative historical world war 2 fiction about a man called Amish Giant Konrad, who is quite a unique character in himself. It tells the story of what could have been, what if there had been a butterfly effect which changed this period of history? It is highly likely that we would be living in a different world today. This book makes you consider that which is quite unnerving!
The plot was non stop action, tons of information to take in and very quirky written! A highly enjoyable and entertaining read!
4 stars!
🌟🌟🌟🌟
I was gifted a review copy of this book by @literallypr - cheers lovelies!
The story is an alternative historical world war 2 fiction about a man called Amish Giant Konrad, who is quite a unique character in himself. It tells the story of what could have been, what if there had been a butterfly effect which changed this period of history? It is highly likely that we would be living in a different world today. This book makes you consider that which is quite unnerving!
The plot was non stop action, tons of information to take in and very quirky written! A highly enjoyable and entertaining read!
4 stars!
🌟🌟🌟🌟
I was gifted a review copy of this book by @literallypr - cheers lovelies!
April 6, 2023
Laugh out loud funny and surprisingly prescient. Alternative history - Nazis won the war in this too, but no clandestine victory this time! Fast paced action, cleverly weaved together with no fluff; I usually find myself having to re-read passages or pages in books, not realising I've drifted off, but I found the vivid portrayal of Gothengau, and its characters and culture riveting, coherent, and very funny, often hilarious. I hope they make a movie out of this.
July 19, 2022
DNF Actually did not get through the first few pages as it was needlessly smutty. I do like alternative history books and this one is no Man in the High Castle. Received ARC from Netgalley PR in exchange for an honest review. It is too bad as the premise is excellent.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews