Man in the High Castle is a new series based off of the 1962 book by author Philip K. Dick. The original book portrays a world in which Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany were victorious in the second world war, with the result being a world split up between the Axis forces. The former United States, where the book is set, is cut in to three pieces - the Japanese Pacific States on one end, the neutral zone, which doesn't align with either and remains as close to the old U.S. and one could still be.

One of the best parts of this mini-series is its visual presentation. The series is filled with beautiful, harrowing and disturbing shots of San Francisco and New York as territories of Imperial Japan. Everywhere that we are used to hearing "America" or seeing an American flag - in a lapel pin, flying at government buildings or in TV shows and movies - is replaced either by the Imperial Japanese flag or the Swastika.

Most interestingly and a little disturbingly, a Nazi New York City and a Imperial Japanese San Francisco don't seem terribly far off. NYC's lavish buildings and structures certainly seem align with Nazi aesthetics, while San Francisco is already so immersed in Asian influence that this portrayal actually seemed a little familiar. The screenwriters take this to its logical end - children in the series refer to their "Aryan Literature" courses and Americans are seen reading manga and talking about Japanese historical figures the way one would usually expect them to talk about Ulysses S. Grant and other American figures.

The main protagonist in all of this is Juliana Crain, played by Alexa Davalos, an attractive white woman who adventures through most of what was the United States in this film. Her pursuit is brought upon by the murder of her sister and her immersion in the underground resistance. While in the neutral zone, she develops a relationship with Joe Blake, played by Luke Kleintank. Blake poses as a resistance member while really being a deeply committed Nazi, reporting back to Obergruppenfuhrer John Smith.

Paranoia is off of the charts in this series and the writers more than likely were all too aware that it was paranoia reflected in the climate of contemporary American politics. Betrayal seems to abound even between people who care about each other and lies stick upon lies throughout the series.

It's hard to really portray how Imperial Japan or Nazi Germany would govern the United States. They didn't really govern much of anyone - they lasted only a decade or so before being brought down by the Allied forces. The atrocities are referred to in the series, with many Nazi officials looking down, clearly showing shame but justifying those as "sacrifices" for a "better world."

Adolf Hitler is still alive - aged and disabled. He still makes appearances and speeches while giving up much of his leadership to those around him, a bit like Fidel Castro. Emperor Hirohito has since been succeeded by a crown prince, who suffers an assassination attempt in the series.

One of the more interesting elements was the way Japanese treat the whites they govern in the Pacific State. Not showing real hate toward their subjects, they seem to see them as serfs, there for their own place but never attaining full Japanese citizenship. We see this most squarely when Crain's character gets a job with the Japanese government, where she is pressured in to providing sexual services for her employer.

I liked this series alot - and will be cutting the review a little short in order to not reveal too much of a plot that could very much be spoiled. It was surely worth the Amazon.com Prime membership.