One of the biggest what-if questions of history is quite frightening: What if the Axis powers had won the Second World War? In reality, it is highly unlikely that the Axis powers could have won the war. Brilliant Maps has an in-depth discussion on this topic, but it is interesting to contemplate such a world. Would the United States have entered into a Cold War with a large Nazi empire? Would occupied countries allow themselves to be dominated by German fascism? A new series, soon to be released on Amazon Video, attempts to answer some of these questions and more. It is based off of the book by the same name, "The Man in the High Castle," written by Philip K. Dick.

"The Man in the High Castle" imagines a world in which the Nazis and Japanese have divided the United States in two. The Nazis control land from the Eastern seaboard to a neutral zone that encompasses the Rocky Mountains. The Japanese control the Western United States from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountain neutral zone. The setting is an occupied nation in the year 1962, 17 years after the war ended.

Currently, Amazon has only released the first two episodes as a sneakpeek for Amazon Prime members. After watching both, it seems that Amazon has released an original hit to rival Netflix's "House of Cards" and "Narcos." "The Man in the High Castle" manages to be both thought provoking and entertaining. It creates a challenging thought experiment for the viewer: What would life be like if America were not the world's eminent power. It does this well and the amount of detail that is in the set design contributes to the show's effectiveness.

The fake historical setting is quite the sight to behold. The attention to detail in set pieces is impressive and the images portrayed by them contributes to the overall immersion experience. Overall, the show has a dark feel in order to show the constant struggle protagonists face living under fascist rule. Our protagonists, without giving too much away, are well developed and interesting. Their motivations and true intentions are not always clear, which makes for some welcome surprises and intrigue. Overall, the writing is extremely well done and professional.

Personally, I cannot wait for the release of the entire season on Nov. 20. Amazon has shown that it would like to compete with Netflix's original programming, and "The Man in the High Castle" is an impressive early effort. Competition between the two will only lead to more fantastic acting, production and drama. I am looking forward to the rest of the season and whatever it is Amazon decides to produce next. If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, the link to "The Man in the High Castle" can be found here.