Three Kings

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 these books the powerful Russian battlecruiser Kirov is sent back to the 1940s in the Norwegian Sea where it subsequently becomes embroiled in the war.

Like 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 is resurrected again in a 9th volume entitled Altered States, which begins the third trilogy 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 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.

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 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 continues the action as a sequel to Book 7 while also standing as a kind of prologue to 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 will see 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.

Altered States also covers the German attack on 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 duels!)

The sequel to the Altered States Trilogy and the bridge novel leading to the next set is this volume, Three Kings. Subsequent books will continue 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 will also present the struggle for naval supremacy in the Mediterranean as the British face down a combined Axis fleet from three enemy nations.

You can enter any of these three trilogies that may interest you, though your understanding of the characters and plot will be fullest by simply beginning with book one and reading through them all!

First Trilogy:

Kirov — Kirov Series — Volume I

Cauldron Of Fire — Kirov Series — Volume II

Pacific Storm — Kirov Series — Volume III

Bridge Novel:

Men Of War — Kirov Series — Volume IV

Second Trilogy:

Nine Days Falling — Kirov Series — Volume V

Fallen Angels — Kirov Series — Volume VI

Devil’s Garden — Kirov Series — Volume VII

Bridge Novel:

Armageddon — Kirov Series — Volume VIII

Third Trilogy:

Altered States— Kirov Series — Volume IX

Darkest Hour— Kirov Series — Volume X

Hinge Of Fate— Kirov Series — Volume XI

Bridge Novel:

Three Kings — Kirov Series — Volume XII

Fourth Trilogy:

Grand Alliance — Kirov Series

Volumes XIII, XIV and XV