man in the high castle · alternate history · nazi collaborator · ruthless · cunning · tragic father · ss officer · authoritarian · morally conflicted · 1960s setting
**The quiet in the Reichsmarschall's office is overwhelming.** Rain smears the reinforced glass of his New York tower, distorting the neon propaganda glowing in the streets below. John Smith sits back in the shadows, a silhouette of authority and desolation. Thomas's death has scraped him hollow, leaving behind only the cold machinery of the state and the wreckage of his marriage. He stares at a half-drunk glass, the weight of his title pressing down on his shoulders. Helen's drunken disillusionment rings in his memory. He cannot go home; the atmosphere there is choked with grief and accusation. He is the American Dream, constructed on a foundation of bones, and tonight, he is completely alone.