As all these plans and General slowly turned in the gyre of war, a man walked slowly down the cold stone corridor, deep underground at a very secret installation on the Baltic coast of Germany, about 112 miles due north of Berlin. He came to a sturdy metal door, where a pair of guards snapped to attention, one saluting as the man handed off his papers. After a cursory inspection, the guard nodded, and slowly reached for the lever that would open the heavy doors.
Another long corridor lay before the visitor, his footsteps echoing loudly, and seeming to carry the sense of anticipation he felt as they quickened. The corridor bent in a wide curve to the left, until a high stone arch opened on a vast underground chamber. There, swathed in a plain white canvass cover, something lay hidden in the depths of the earth, attended by more guards and several technicians in long white lab coats. At the visitor’s approach, the technicians slowly worked off the canvass to reveal a long, needle nosed rocket, some 40 feet long, lying on its side and cradled within a low wheeled dolly. The thicker end mounted stubby fins, shaped like truncated pyramids, with a wingspan of nearly 8 feet, and to the visitor’s careful and well educated eye, there were all of three separate stages in this rocket design.
The amazing rocket before the man could range out 135 miles, achieve an altitude of 250 miles, and a speed of Mach 14.5 on its final descent. As he looked at it he took a deep breath, astounded at what he was seeing, for he was no ordinary visitor, and his mind was already viewing the rocket as if it were on drafted engineering paper, the labor of endless hours work.
There, in that deep stony cavern, one Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was now looking at a weapon that would threaten to change the entire course of the war, though he did not yet know what lay hidden within that long pointed third stage. His eyes glittered, and he rubbed his hands together, not because of the cold, but with eager anticipation. He could not wait to get his tooling delivered and see what he had in hand.
“That bulbous feature at the tip,” he said to one of the other technicians. “It must be a warhead. I’ll want to remove it first and give it a very close inspection.”
The Saga Continues…
Kirov Saga: Steel Reign, (Book 7 in Season 3; Series Volume 23)
The strange events that brought USS Norton Sound into the clutches of Kapitan Heinrich aboard battlecruiser Kaiser Wilhelm, and JS Takami into the crucible of the Pacific War continue, and the fate of the original Russian ship Kirov begins to be revealed. As the Germans struggle to comprehend what they have found in that derelict ship, the Allies now plan their first joint US/British offensive of the war. It begins with a Great Raid against the vital French Atlantic Port of Saint Nazaire, in an effort to eliminate that base as a threat to a much grander invasion plan now sitting in the lap of a most remarkable man—General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In the Pacific, the mysterious arrival of DDG-180 and crew casts a whole new light on the growing struggle. Yamamoto is keen to advance his next offensive into the Solomons, but he must also deal with the threat to Japan’s northern flank from the Siberians. To do so, he dispatches Captain Harada and Takami at the heart of a strong task force assembling to lead a bold counterattack, and the next evolution of Karpov’s Plan 7 soon meets a most unexpected challenge. Has the Steel Reign of Kirov’s long undisputed control of the seas finally come to an end?
Action abounds on land and sea as Season three careens into its closing two volumes in the amazing Kirov Series!
Coming 1 FEB 2016…
Kirov Series: Battle Book I
War in the West
Gibraltar, Malta & the War in North Africa
Jun 1940 ~ Jun 1941
As fans of John Schettler’s Kirov Series already know, the author is presenting a detailed alternate history of WWII, with the course of events strongly influenced by the presence of the battlecruiser Kirov, and other war fighting forces from the year 2021, which have been displaced to the cauldron of WWII.
Now, in response to reader requests, we are presenting a series of “Battle Books” for all the major campaigns featured in Kirov Series. Often times the action depicting these battles is spread over four, five or more volumes of the series. Here we will extract all that exciting battle action from the many volumes, gathering all the disparate story threads pertaining just to that campaign, and presenting it as one continuous file, reviewed and edited by the series author. In effect, it’s just the battles please, nothing more.
This first volume will present the great action presented for the Western Theater, starting with the dramatic and unexpected German attack on Gibraltar in Operation Felix. The alternate history ‘point of departure’ is presented in a brief prelude. The story then moves to the Western Desert for O’Connor’s Raid and the battle of Beda Fomm, followed immediately by the coming of Erwin Rommel and his stunning first counteroffensive launched from Mersa Brega, Operation Sonnenblume. The fall of Malta is covered and, as the arrival of Brigadier Kinlan’s 7th Brigade is so vital to the understanding of the story that follows, segments of that are presented as a prelude to Rommel’s fateful alternate history encounter at the Battle of Bir El Khamsa. Soon the Desert Fox begins to rethink his tactics while awaiting strong reserves promised by Hitler.
Yes, we loved Kirov, the characters, and all the intrigue surrounding Ilanskiy and time travel, but the battle books are presented for the hard core WWII aficionado who is primarily interested in the history, and how it is changed and altered over the course of the war. As such, they will focus mainly on the historical characters and the campaigns and battles they waged in this ongoing alternate history of WWII.
Battle Book II will present the action in the Middle East, with the British Operation Scimitar, German Operation Anvil, and the intervention in Iraq that led Fedorov and his Marines to the famous ruins of Palmyra. Then it is back to the desert again, as Rommel faces down the British Operation Crusader. After that we will present this ongoing desert campaign through 1942 and beyond, (after John writes all that!), but for now, Battle Book I, War in the West, covers all the exciting battles from June of 1940 through June of 1941, the first year when Britain faced the might of Germany alone. It’s all here, extracted from scenes presented over seven Kirov Series novels, and concentrated in one continuous, uninterrupted narrative.
The Battle Books Series will do the same thing for all the fighting on the Eastern Front, covering all the material for Operation Barbarossa, the Battle at Mtsensk, Operation Typhoon, the fighting at Tula and Serpukhov, the dramatic Fall of Moscow and the desperate Russian Winter Counteroffensive. Later, after the series takes us deeper into the Pacific, we’ll create a battle book for all that action too. If you are a WWII history buff, you will find here the concentrated juice of all the great WWII action presented in the amazing Kirov Series.
Kirov Series: Battle Book I
War in the West
Gibraltar, Malta & the War in North Africa
Jun 1940 ~ Jun 1941
Reading the Kirov Series
The Kirov Series is a long chain of linked novels by John Schettler in the Military Alternate History / Time Travel Genre. Like the popular movie “The Final Countdown” which saw the US Carrier Nimitz sent back in time to the eve of Pearl Harbor in 1941, in the opening volume, the powerful Russian battlecruiser Kirov is sent back to the 1940s in the Norwegian Sea where it subsequently becomes embroiled in the war.
Similar to episodes in the never ending Star Trek series, the saga continues through one episode after another as the ship’s position in time remains unstable. It culminates in Book 8 Armageddon, then continues the saga in Altered States, which begins the second “Season” in the series, extending through Volume 16. The series is presently mid-way through Season 3 with the publication of Knight’s Move, Book 21 in the series.
How To Read the Kirov Series
The best entry point is obviously Book I, Kirov, where you will meet all the main characters in the series and learn their inner motivations. The series itself, ho
wever, is structured in “seasons “ with 8 books in each season. In Season 1, the first three volumes form an exciting trilogy featuring much fast paced naval action as Kirov battles the Royal Navy, Regia Marina (Italians) and finally the Japanese after sailing to the Pacific in Book III. Book 4, Men Of War stands as a sequel to that trilogy and the bridge novel that links it to the second segment of Season 1, beginning with 9 Days Falling.
The 9 Days Falling trilogy focuses on the struggle to prevent a great war in 2021 from reaching a terrible nuclear climax that destroys the world. It spans books 5, 6, and 7, featuring the outbreak of the war in 2021 as Japan and China battle over disputed islands, and the action of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet against the modern US Fleet. It then takes a dramatic turn when the ship is again shifted in time to 1945. There they confront the powerful US Pacific Fleet under Admiral Halsey, and so this trilogy focuses much of the action as Kirov faces down the US in two eras. Several subplots are also launched that serve to relate other events in the great war of 2021, and deepen the mystery of time travel as discovered in the series. The season ends at another crucial point in history where the ship’s Captain, Vladimir Karpov, believes he is in a position to decisively change events, the season finale, Armageddon.
Season 2 begins with the Altered States trilogy, where Kirov becomes trapped in the world made by its many interventions in the history, an altered reality beginning in June of 1940. It is here that a sequential alternate history retelling of WWII begins that will extend to the war’s conclusion in 1945. The opening volume sees the ship pitted against the one navy of WWII it has not yet fought, the Kriegsmarine of Germany, which now has powerful new ships from the German Plan Z naval building program as one consequence of Kirov’s earlier actions.
The Altered States saga spans books 9 through 16, initially covering the German attack on the carrier Glorious, the British raids on the Vichy French Fleets at Mers-el Kebir and Dakar, and the German Operation Felix against Gibraltar. Other events in Siberia involve the rise of Karpov to power, and his duel with Ivan Volkov of the Orenburg Federation, one of the three fragmented Russian states. (And these involve airship battles!)
The second half of Season 2 begins with Three Kings. It covers the action in North Africa, including O’Connor’s whirlwind “Operation Compass” and Rommel’s arrival and first offensive, Operation Sonnenblume. The main characters from Kirov and other plot lines from the opening 8 book saga figure prominently in all this action, with a decisive intervention that arises from a most unexpected plot twist. Book 13, Grand Alliance continues the war in the desert as Rommel is suddenly confronted with a powerful new adversary, and Hitler reacts by strongly reinforcing the Afrika Korps. It also presents the struggle for naval supremacy in the Mediterranean as the British face down a combined Axis fleet from three enemy nations.
Book 14, Hammer of God, covers a surprise German airborne attack, and the British campaigns in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. It continues in Crescendo of Doom, the German response as Rommel begins his second offensive aimed at Tobruk on the eve of Operation Barbarossa. At the same time, the action in Siberia heats up in a growing conflict between Vladimir Karpov and Ivan Volkov.
Book 16 is the Season 2 finale, Paradox Hour, where the ship faces the prospect of annihilation on the day it first arrived in the past, 28 July, 1941. This impending event overshadows all else as Kirov joins Tovey in a pursuit of Hindenburg and Bismarck as they break out into the Atlantic.
Season 3 then begins with Book 17, Doppelganger, where the aftereffects of the Paradox are finally sorted out. Fedorov is strangely displaced, and appears on the newly arrived ship, while Vladimir Karpov survives in Siberia, even as another version of himself defies paradox and appears on Kirov. Now Fedorov struggles to prevent the same dominoes from falling and keep the ship from engaging the Royal Navy as it did in Book 1. At the same time, the Siberian Karpov plots to seize control of the ship, and that action invariably involves Ivan Volkov, who has his own plans to strike at Ilanskiy in Book 18, Nemesis.
The war then heats up on the East Front as the Germans launch Operation Typhoon, reaching a dramatic event on the outskirts of Moscow in Book 19, Winter Storm. These actions continue through Tide of Fortune, as Japan enters the war at Pearl Harbor, and the British again tangle with Rommel in Operation Crusader. The action continues through the Malayan Campaign and the battle for Singapore. The next page presents a list of all titles in the series You can best enter the series at any point of interest by reading the novel that immediately precedes your desired entry point, as it also acts as a prelude to events beginning each season.
KIROV SERIES - SEASON 1: Kirov
1) Kirov
2) Cauldron Of Fire
3) Pacific Storm
4) Men Of War
5) Nine Days Falling
6) Fallen Angels
7) Devil’s Garden
8) Armageddon – Season 1 Finale
KIROV SERIES - SEASON 2: Altered States (1940 – 1941)
9) Altered States
10) Darkest Hour
11) Hinge Of Fate
12) Three Kings
13) Grand Alliance
14) Hammer of God
15) Crescendo of Doom
16) Paradox Hour – Season 2 Finale
KIROV SERIES – SEASON 3: Doppelganger (1941 – 1942)
17) Doppelganger
18) Nemesis
19) Winter Storm
20) Tide of Fortune
21) Knight’s Move
22) Turning Point
23) Steel Reign
24) TBA – Season 3 Finale
And yes, there will be a season 4 as the war moves into 1943-44
Discover other titles by John Schettler:
Award Winning Science Fiction:
Meridian - Meridian Series - Volume I
Nexus Point - Meridian Series - Volume II
Touchstone - Meridian Series - Volume III
Anvil of Fate - Meridian Series - Volume IV
Golem 7 - Meridian Series - Volume V
The Meridian series merges with the Kirov Series,
beginning with Book 16, Paradox Hour
Classic Science Fiction:
Wild Zone - Dharman Series - Volume I
Mother Heart - Dharman Series - Volume II
Historical Fiction:
Taklamakan - Silk Road Series - Volume I
Khan Tengri - Silk Road Series - Volume II
Dream Reaper – Mythic Horror Mystery
More information on each book is available at:
www.writingshop.ws
Turning Point (Kirov Series Book 22) Page 33