Knight's Move (Kirov Series Book 21)
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Kirov Series: Battle Book I
War in the West
Gibraltar, Malta & the War in North Africa
Jun 1940 ~ Jun 1941
36 Chapters, 325 Pages, about 111,000 words
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, however, is structured in “seasons “ with 8 books in each season. Those eight books are further structured as an opening trilogy followed by what the author calls a “bridge novel” that leads to the next trilogy.
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 trilogy in that season, the three novels beginning with 9 Days Falling. Each trilogy in the series is followed by a similar “bridge novel.”
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. This second trilogy also launches several subplots that serve to relate other events in the great war of 2021 and also deepen the mystery of time travel as discovered in the series. The trilogy 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 next bridge novel, book 8, is also 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 sequel to the Altered States Trilogy and the bridge novel leading to the next set is book 12, Three Kings. It covers the action in North Africa, including O’Connor’s whirlwind “Operation Compass” and Rommel’s arrival and first offensive. 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.
The Grand Alliance Trilogy continues with Hammer of God, covering 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, and the British again tangle with Rommel in Operation Crusader. The next page presents a list of all titles in the series and shows the trilogy-bridge novel structure. You can enter the series at any point of interest by reading the bridge novel that immediately precedes it, and also acts as its prelude.
KIROV SERIES - SEASON 1: Kirov
First Trilogy: Kirov
1) Kirov
2) Cauldron Of Fire
3) Pacific Storm
Bridge Novel:
4) Men Of War
Second Trilogy: 9 Days Falling
5) Nine Days Falling
6) Fallen Angels
7) Devil’s Garden
Bridge Novel:
8) Armageddon – Season 1 Finale
KIROV SERIES - SEASON 2: Altered States (1940 – 1941)
Third Trilogy: Altered States
9) Altered States
10) Darkest Hour
11) Hinge Of Fate
Bridge Novel:
12) Three Kings
Fourth Trilogy: Grand Alliance
13) Grand Alliance
14) Hammer of God
15) Crescendo of Doom
Bridge Novel:
16) Paradox Hour – Season 2 Finale
KIROV SERIES – SEASON 3: Doppelganger (1941 – 1942)
Fifth Trilogy: Doppelganger
17) Doppelganger
18) Nemesis
19) Winter Storm
Bridge Novel:
20) Tide of Fortune
Sixth Trilogy: Knight’s Move
21) Knight’s Move
22) Turning Point
23) TBA
Bridge Novel:
24) TBA – Season 3 Finale
And yes, there will be a season 4 as the war moves into 1943-44
More information on each book in the long series is available at:
www.writingshop.ws
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
Anvi
l 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