Review: The Suicide Exhibition by Justin Richards

Published: 2014 (this edition)

Pages: 400

Synopsis: “The threat is not new. The aliens have been here before.

The German war machine has woken an ancient threat - the alien Vril and their Ubermensch have returned. With this new power, ultimate Victory in the war for Europe is now within the Nazis' grasp. Obsessed with the Occult, Hitler and other senior Nazis believed they were destined to inherit the Earth. To this end, they are determined to recover 'their' ancient artifacts -- the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Destiny. When Dunkirk veteran and Foreign Office trouble-shooter Major Guy Pentecross stumbles across a seemingly unbelievable conspiracy, he, together with pilot and American spy Sarah Diamond and SOE operative Leo Davenport, enter the shadow world of Section Z. All three have major roles to play as they uncover the Nazis' insidious plot to use the Vril's technology to win the war... at any cost.”

Rating: ****

Nazis and aliens; what more could you want?

The Suicide Exhibition is a third person, chronological sci-fi novel exploring the Nazis apparent infatuation with the occult, and more specifically in this case, aliens.

There have been theories regarding Nazism and Occultism since the 1940s and there are many examples in literature and film, including HellBoy and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It could be argued that The Suicide Experiment is verging on the alternate history genre; made popular by authors such as Philip K Dick and Harry Turtledove.

One review described The Suicide Exhibition as Indiana Jones mixed with The X-Files and I think this is a perfect description.

Mention of Aleister Crowley who I have read about before added yet another element into the mix, this time spiritual. I wasn’t sure how well this addition fit with the rest of the plot, and felt almost like it was a bit too much. I had hoped this aspect would have been expanded on as the book progressed, and it was almost a hundred page wait, but this did happen eventually.

The meaning behind the title was clever, as The Suicide Exhibition were artefacts that the British Museum were willing to lose in the case of a bombing raid and therefore keep in an open exhibition.

There were times when I felt this really dragged and I had to force myself to continue, but I'm very glad I did. It took a good 170 pages for the plot to start to be explained by the characters in the know, opposed to the reader trying to put two and two together. The first chapter in particular left me in two minds about whether to continue reading, but this opening chapter was referred back to later in the book, and by this point I was hooked. A great mixture of fact and fiction with familiar names from history such as Hitler, Hess and Churchill mixed with fictitious characters, which all blended well. Very well written with natural sounding dialogue and vivid descriptions. Did have a slightly old fashioned feel to it, which was in keeping with being set in the 1940s.

I thought a bit more could have been made of the Leo-Sarah-Guy trio but was so glad there wasn't a love triangle.

I would recommend The Suicide Exhibition to readers who enjoy sci-fi in general, especially alternate history and the expert blending of historical fact and fiction as there was definitely something for everyone.

The ending wasn’t an ending as such, as it paved the way nicely for the sequel and I got the impression that The Blood Red City would carry on exactly from where The Suicide Exhibition left off. I have already reserved The Blood Red City from my local library.