Paradox Hour (43 page)

BOOK: Paradox Hour

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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 saga in the series, extending through Volume 16.

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 as sets of trilogies linked by what the author calls a “bridge novel.” 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. The bridge novel
Men Of War
is a second entry point which covers what happened to the ship and crew after it returned home to Vladivostok. As such it serves as both a sequel to the opening trilogy and a prequel to the next trilogy, the three novels beginning with Book V,
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 book 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 is
Armageddon
, Book 8 in the series, which concludes the opening 8 volume Kirov Saga, continuing the action as a sequel to Book 7, while also standing as a kind of prologue to the next eight volume saga that begins with the
Altered States
trilogy. In this third trilogy,
Kirov
becomes trapped in the world made by its many interventions in the history, an altered reality beginning in June of 1940. 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 new powerful 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 volume 12,
Three Kings.
It covers the action in North Africa, including O’Connor’s whirlwind “Operation Compass” and Rommel’s riposte with his 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 the 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.

You can enter any of these trilogies that may interest you by first reading the “bridge novel” that precedes the trilogy. For example, to read the 9 Days Falling Trilogy, begin by first reading book 4,
Men Of War
; and to read the
Grand Alliance
Trilogy, begin by first reading book 12,
Three Kings.
To enter the third saga that begins with Volume 17,
Doppelganger
, we advise you to first read the bridge novel
Paradox Hour,
though your understanding of the characters and plot will be fullest by simply beginning with book one and reading through them all!

More information on each book in the long series is available at www.writingshop.ws

KIROV SERIES - SAGA ONE:
Kirov

First Trilogy: Kirov

Kirov
-
Kirov Series - Volume 1

Cauldron Of Fire -
Kirov Series - Volume 2

Pacific Storm -
Kirov Series - Volume 3

Bridge Novel:

Men Of War -
Kirov Series - Volume 4

Second Trilogy: 9 Days Falling

Nine Days Falling -
Kirov Series - Volume 5

Fallen Angels -
Kirov Series - Volume 6

Devil’s Garden -
Kirov Series - Volume 7