Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

C. J. Sansom’s literary prowess is quite undiminished as he steps away from his famous creation of the lawyer Shardlake and the court of King Henry VIII and instead turns his thoughts to what the world and Britain would have been like had a moment in history fallen on the shoulders of Lord Halifax instead of Winston Churchill. Dominion is that toss of a coin moment in history in which Churchill doesn’t take the pivotal decisive step and take the office of Prime Minister and instead a new history is made and the whole of Europe, 12 years after the fateful Norway occupation, is under the jackboot of Nazism and Britain is suffering for her appeasement.

This isn’t the first book that deals with the idea of alternative history and certainly not to do with the fallout of a world in which the German far right under the despotic Adolf Hitler won the war in Europe. However where Philip K. Dick’s American look at life of a nation under joint Japanese-German control in The Man in the High Castle and the outstanding Robert Harris novel Fatherland shows a distinct aftermath, Dominion strikes many cords with the reader. The world may have moved on since the dark, dangerous days of the 1940’s but as has been proved many times since, the spectre of aggravated and unbridled nationalism can still rear its ugly head in all parts of Europe.

C. J. Sansom blends together his knowledge of history and the creativity that is needed to bring together 569 pages of detailed and interesting narrative in Dominion and the result leaves a taste of realistic bitterness that this nationalism is still unchecked and on the whole always ready to make a come-back in the hearts and minds of the dispossessed and disenfranchised.

Certainly the way the book works so well is down to the detailed research that C. J. Sansom employs with help from some pretty impressive figures. What also makes Dominion a scintillating and powerful read is that is so believable as public figures from the past are shaped to grotesque and plausible individuals who deserve the scorn of the weight of history, whether alternative or in the real world. Imagine a Britain ran by the figures of Lord Beaverbrook, Oswald Mosley and Enoch Powell, where Britain safeguarded her own safety at the expense of 30 million Russians and one man alone knows that the terrible swift retribution from America of apocalyptic proportions is a very frightening proposition.

Although the ending feels slightly rushed, after over 500 pages it would not have hurt the reader to have a more thorough finish, the author’s Historical Notes at the end of the book more than make up for it. C.J. Sansom pulls no punches in his distaste of many political ideologies, what may surprise the reader are the ones that are closer to his upbringing. It is his view, if you don’t agree then he has at least offered up fresh ideas for debate.

Dominion is one the exciting books of the year, detailed in its imagination and an excellent read.

Ian D. Hall