Kirov (novel series)

Kirov

Heavy nuclear guided missile cruiser (TARKR) Kirov (circa 1983)
Kirov, (2012)
Cauldron Of Fire, (2012)
Pacific Storm, (2013)
Men Of War, (2013)
9 Days Falling, (2013)
Fallen Angels, (2013)
Devil's Garden, (2013)
Armageddon, (2013)
Altered States, (2013)
Darkest Hour, (2013)
Hinge Of Fate, (2014)
Three Kings, (2014)
Grand Alliance, (2014)
Hammer Of God, (2014)
Crescendo Of Doom, (2014)
Paradox Hour, (2015)
Doppelganger, (2015)
Nemesis, (2015)
Winter Storm, (2015)
Tide Of Fortune, (2015)
Knight's Move, (2015)
Turning Point, (2015)
Steel Reign, (2016)
Second Front, (2016)
Tigers East, (2016)
Author John Schettler
Country United States
Language English
Genre Science fiction
Alternate history
Media type Print (e-book and paperback[1])

The Kirov series is a long chain of linked novels written by John Schettler[2][3][4] in the science fiction genres of alternate history and time travel. Based on the premises of the The Final Countdown, Kirov novels deal with a consequences of modern warship - Russian battlecruiser Kirov - being thrown back in time and forced to take part in the events of the World War II and other global conflicts. As it is placed right in the middle of the war zone and too powerful to be ignored, battlecruiser and her crew need to find their way through the formidable opposition, which is proven to be very difficult, despite vast technology advantage and historical knowledge. Books have a significant focus on the psychology of the people involved and establishing both emotional and rational reasons to their actions.

Series premise

Powerful Russian battlecruiser Kirov (Soviet navy class - тяжелый атомный ракетный крейсер (ТАРКР) - heavy nuclear guided missile cruiser) in a result of the nuclear incident is transferred back in time from 2021 into the Northern Atlantic of 1941 where it subsequently becomes embroiled in the World War II. As mighty warship and her crew try to survive, they significantly influence the course of the events in the known history.

Protagonist

The BCGN Kirov in the novels is the result of a fictitious modernization which took place in 2010-2020, based on the parts of sisterships and adding some modern weapon suites and electronic gear, which was not available on the original prototype in the 1980s.

Books

Season 1

A strange accident sends the most powerful battlecruiser on earth careening through a breach in time…to the year 1941! Now the Royal Navy begins the hunt for a deadly new ship they believe is a new German commerce raider. But as Kirov runs the Denmark Strait, she poses a threat to the lives of Churchill and Roosevelt, both at sea for their first meeting at the Atlantic Charter.

Sailing across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean Sea in search of life, Kirov again shifts in time to the year 1942 where she is soon surrounded by enemies and embroiled in one of the largest Air/Sea battles of the war: Operation Pedestal. Sailing for safe waters beyond Gibraltar she is confronted by the full might of the Royal Navy and a curious man at Bletchley Park who begins to unravel the deepening mystery surrounding the ship.

Kirov finds herself again in the dangerous waters of the Coral Sea in 1942. Discovered by a Japanese fleet poised to invade Port Darwin, the ship now faces its most dangerous and determined challenge ever when they are stalked by the powerful Japanese 5th Carrier Division and confronted by an enemy task force led by the battleship Yamato and an admiral determined to sink this phantom ship, or die trying.

Kirov returns home to a changed world in the year 2021, and as the Russian Naval Inspectorate probes the mystery of the ship’s disappearance, Anton Fedorov begins to unravel yet another dilemma—the secret of Rod 25. The world is again steering a dangerous course toward the great war that blackened the shores of a distant future glimpsed by the officers and crew. Fedorov has come to believe that time is waiting on the resolution of one crucial unresolved element from their journey to the past—the fate of Gennadi Orlov.

The war foreshadowed in Kirov's long voyage to the past has now begun and will escalate over 9 days as humanity begins its descent into oblivion. Now the officers and crew of Kirov hold the last straw of hope in the bottom of Pandora’s jar as they struggle to prevent the war from ever happening. As Karpov confronts the US 7th Fleet in the Pacific, Fedorov leads a daring mission to the past to search for Gennadi Orlov. Meanwhile, Admiral Volsky is embroiled deeper in the web of mystery surrounding Rod-25. The story takes a dramatic turn when catastrophe erupts amid the fury of all out conventional war at sea.

Captain Karpov finds himself at the dying edge of the last great war, yet his own inner demons now wage war with his conscience as he contemplates another decisive intervention. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the Black Sea as the Russian mission to rescue Fedorov and Orlov has now been expanded to include a way to try and deliver new control rods to Kirov from the same batch and lot as the mysterious Rod-25. All efforts are now focused on a narrow stretch of coastline on the Caspian Sea, where men of war from the future and past are locked in a desperate struggle to decide the outcome of history itself.

The last remnant of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet has fought its duel with Halsey in the Pacific, resorting to nuclear weapons in the last extreme. Now the many story threads involving Fairchild Inc. and the desperate missions to find Orlov launched by both Haselden and Fedorov all converge in the vortex of time and fate on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Fedorov and Troyak lead an amphibious assault at Makhachkala, right into the teeth of the German advance. Meanwhile, Admiral Volsky and Kamenski read the chronology of events to peek at the outcome. Enter the strange and enigmatic figure of Sir Roger Ames, Duke of Elvington as he reveals a plot, and a plan, older than history itself on the windswept shores of Lindisfarne Castle.

The lines of fate have brought the most powerful ship in the world to a decisive place in history. Driven by his own inner demons, Captain Karpov now believes that with Kirov in 1908 he is truly invincible, and his aim is to impose his will on that unsuspecting world and reverse the cold fate of Russian history from 1908 to the 21st century. But it is not just the fate of a single nation at stake now, but that of all the world. Shocked by Karpov’s betrayal, Anton Fedorov plans a mission to stop the Captain before he can do irreversible damage to the cracked mirror of time. Now Admiral Volsky must do everything possible to launch this final mission aboard the nuclear attack submarine Kazan. The journey to the Sea of Japan becomes a perilous one when the Americans and Japanese begin to hunt Kazan in the dangerous waters of 2021.

Season 2

Kirov moves out of 1908 yet finds stuck in the midst of WWII once again, only the world is not the same! The consequences of all their interventions in history have now calcified to a new reality. The political borders of nations have been re-drawn, Colonial powers vie for control of the undeveloped world, and Russia itself is a divided nation. Discovering they still possess a decisive edge in weapons technology they must now decide which side to take to end a long and terrible war that threatens millions more lives.

The first rounds have fallen, heavy shells smashing against the armoured conning tower of HMS Hood, stunning the ship and its stolid Admiral Holland. Yet Hood fights on, her guns raging in reprisal as the pride of two navies meet in the largest naval engagement since Jutland. Even as Admiral Tovey reaches the action, the shadow of Hoffmann’s battlegroup looms over his shoulder and the odds stack ever higher against the embattled ships of Home Fleet. Off to the north the Stukas rush to re-arm aboard carrier Graf Zeppelin, while far to the south another ship hastens north to the scene, from a time and place incomprehensible to the men now locked in a desperate struggle raging on a blood red sea that may decide the fate of England in 1940. Follow Kirov north as it heads to home waters, determined to meet the man that may have changed the course of all history, Sergei Kirov. Meanwhile, the action moves to the Med where the young Christopher Wells is dispatched to Force H. The British must first prevent the powerful French Fleet from falling into enemy hands. The fighting has only just begun as Altered States continues the retelling of the naval war in an exciting second volume.

As Turing and Tovey pursue the mystery of the strange mother lode of information on the Russian ship, Admiral Volsky sails to meet with the British on the Faeroe Islands, bearing an offer of formal alliance between Soviet Russia and Great Britain. Meanwhile, the Germans plan a fateful meeting of their own, at the small village of Hendaye on the border near Spain. There Hitler hopes to secure another vital ally so that he can breathe life into Admiral Raeder’s long advocated plan for a Mediterranean strategy. It will begin with ‘Operation Felix’ the assault on Gibraltar, and only one man stands in the way, el Caudillo himself, Francisco Franco. As Britain steels itself for possible invasion, Tovey must now rally his battered fleet to the defense of Gibraltar, England’s Rock in the Mediterranean and the hinge of fate that could turn the entire course of the war should it fall. Opposing him are the powerful new French battleships at Casablanca and Dakar, and a resurgent Kriegsmarine led by a fearsome new gladiator, the Hindenburg. Meanwhile, The airship Narva faces danger and mystery on the Stony Tunguska, even while elements of two other airship fleets converge on another hinge of fate, the inn at Ilanskiy.

As Admiral Tovey struggles to stop heavy German units breaking out into the Atlantic, the first of three kings falls with the embattled garrison of Gibraltar. The last two, Malta and Suez, are now under threat of imminent attack. General O’Connor launches Operation Compass against the Italians only to be opposed by a dangerous new foe in the Western Desert, Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps. As British fortunes reach a desperate state, Volsky and Fedorov soon learn of two newcomers on the vast field of battle, and a triumvirate of powerful ships rises to the challenge, Three Kings of the sea to stand as mighty champions against a powerful combined Axis fleet. The war effort on every side is soon focused on the Middle East, and Admiral Volsky accompanies John Tovey to a fateful conference in Alexandria to meet with General Wavell. They plan the future course of the war and struggle to find some way to stop the relentless Axis juggernaut before its shadow darkens the world. Yet to do so they must also reckon with Sergei Kirov, Ivan Volkov and Vladimir Karpov.

As Fedorov struggles to forge an alliance of understanding between Brigadier Kinlan and O’Connor, Erwin Rommel prepares to launch an offensive to break the last line of resistance south of Sidi Barani. While the Afrika Korps is overstretched and dangerously low on fuel, it now threatens to break through and open the road to Alexandria–and Wavell has nothing left to throw at them until… German oasis patrols soon encounter an unexpected mechanized force massing on Rommel's flank, and the fate of Egypt will now be decided at an insignificant desert outpost called Bir el Khamsa when the great grandsons of the Desert Rats join their ancestors on the field of honor. Meanwhile, Volsky, Tovey and Fairchild forge a grand alliance at sea to oppose a powerful Axis fleet. The hubris of Italian Admiral Iachino brings his force into contact with these powerful new foes as the Franco/German fleet rushes to the scene of battle. And Sergei Kirov receives a visit from Vladimir Karpov as the wily ex-Captain of Kirov seeks to further enmesh himself in the decisive campaigns about to open on the eastern front. But Karpov’s grand vision of alliances he hopes to form will soon lead him to a most unexpected place, where he will again hold the fate of nations in the palm of his hand.

Churchill enters the story with a dramatic visit to the desert oasis of Siwa, and there he meets with the “man from tomorrow” Anton Fedorov. With Rommel retreating to the west, Paulus and Manstein convince Hitler not to abandon his Mediterranean strategy, and strong new reinforcements are assigned. At the same time, the British plan a new offensive to secure the vital Middle Eastern states of Iraq and Syria. But the Germans have plans of their own, falling like Hammer of God upon a most unexpected place when Kurt Student’s 7th Flieger Division goes into action again. Now both sides rush reinforcements to the growing battle in the Middle East, even as Operation Barbarossa looms like a dark storm on the horizon. The action leads Fedorov to launch a daring new plan to seize a vital hilltop fortress overlooking the ancient Roman ruins of Palmyra. Surrounded by the troops of the crack 22nd Luftland Air Landing Division, they struggle to hold on while the British drive across the Syrian desert in a race against time and fate. Meanwhile, Karpov has plans of his own in 1909, but first he has some personal family business to sort out. He soon realizes that he now has an opportunity to re-write all the history leading up to the outbreak of WWII with a single bullet.

Tyrenkov’s trip up the back stairway at Ilanskiy has led him to a most unexpected place, and now Karpov has a moment that could change all history within his grasp, and a means of getting his revenge on Ivan Volkov. Yet Tyrenkov has also brought something back with him that is of great importance, and Karpov soon learns more of the days ahead than any man alive could ever wish to know. Even so, Ivan Volkov has plans of his own, to take a massive airship fleet to Ilanskiy and seize the day himself. Meanwhile, Anton Fedorov has a mind to become the next Lawrence of Arabia, and leads his mobile force to Raqqah to impede the German retreat, and in daring raids against the old Hejaz rail lines from Homs to Aleppo. As the battle for Syria continues, Erwin Rommel launches a sudden new offensive in North Africa, this time aimed at the vital port of Tobruk, and the Germans strive to crush the British defense in the Middle East in a mighty pincer attack. As these events play out, Hitler now plans to unleash his greatest attack of the war, Operation Barbarossa. The storm clouds of war darken the Russian border, and the thunder of the guns soon deafens the world.

The hour and day that Fedorov and the crew of Kirov have long feared draws nigh, the moment of insoluble conflict, when their greatest enemy is not another hostile ship or plane, however their own selves—Paradox Hour. Yet before that moment comes, the ship finds itself in one of the greatest naval chases of all time. It is May, 1941, and a powerful German battlefleet has broken out into the Atlantic. Admiral Tovey is fast on the heels of Hindenburg, but must first run the gauntlet of Gibraltar to get into the hunt. With him are three of the most powerful ships in the world, Kazan, Argos Fire, and the battlecruiser Kirov. Yet Admiral Lütjens will not fight alone. The Kriegsmarine sorties with all its might as Raeder throws the dice in a desperate bid to prove his navy’s worth and power. Soon the Royal Navy is reaching for every warship it can find to beat to quarters. One ship called to the action, HMS Rodney, harbors a secret—the long missing key revealed by Elena Fairchild. It is now at grave risk, and should it be lost, the secret it might unlock will die with it, and the doom Fairchild so darkly describes may then be unavoidable. It is a race against time itself, and the shadow of doom that hangs over the world. Meanwhile, consumed by the fire of his own thirst for vengeance, one other man figures prominently in that fate — Vladimir Karpov — for he holds yet another key to the outcome of all these events, as he sets himself on chase of his own, desperate to find and cow his archrival and enemy, Ivan Volkov.

Season 3

Answer to the dilemma that now faces Mother Time will finally decide the fate of the ship and crew. Battle still rages in the Atlantic, and Elena Fairchild arrives on the scene to discover the crisis aboard Rodney has made her quest for the lost key impossible. Yet there she meets one other uninvited guest, an American officer who reveals that he is not the man he seems. Together they consider what they may have lost, and how it might yet be saved. Meanwhile, Vladimir Karpov has discovered that his own personal fate is also in jeopardy as his dwindling lease on time runs thin. Realizing the dilemma that had plagued Fedorov for so long, he rises in Tunguska, intent on seeking the heart of a gathering storm, in a desperate attempt to save his own twisted soul from the ravages of Paradox. As he peers through the shattered glass of history, deep into the mirror of time, he suddenly discovers his own self looking right back at him. The exciting alternate history of WWII careens towards 1942, as Germany now makes its great bid to destroy Kirov’s Soviet Russia and smash the last of the stubborn British resistance in the Middle East. Yet plans for new weapons of war will appear, strange doppelgangers spawned from the legacy of Kirov. Soon they will darken the battlefields of Europe, when the tempo of technology will leap ahead to produce a new generation of tanks, aircraft and the deadly art of missile warfare arrives years early.

Story is carried into the turbulent waters of the north. With Admiral Volsky fallen ill, Fedorov struggles to prevent Karpov from repeating the awful events that ended in nuclear fire, and the explosion that again sent the ship reeling through time. With his memory intact, knowledge of Rod-25 and everything Karpov would do, he sets his mind on gaining control of the ship, yet must face the dangerous wrath of Karpov if he is to succeed. Meanwhile, the Siberian, as the second Karpov is now called, has struck a dangerous bargain with Sergei Kirov, but one that could bring about another fatal collision in time. Learning that the ship has reappeared, he sets his mind on trying to find Kirov, and in so doing gain control over the most powerful weapons in the world. Unaware that his duplicate self even exists, he soon finds he has a shadowy accomplice. The war continues on the Russian front as the Germans slowly begin to introduce new prototype tank designs, born of the shock and fire delivered by Kinlan’s heavy brigade. The story takes us into this action on the Soviet front with the cutting edge of Guderian’s 2nd Panzergruppe, and the veteran divisions of the 24th Panzer Korps spearhead the final German assault aimed at winning the war in 1941, Operation Typhoon. In doing so they run right into Sergie Kirov’s last available reserves, and the 1st Siberian Shock Army launches a daring counterattack to try and stem the German tide.

Harried by the Captain’s suspicion, Fedorov desperately tries to find allies on the ship, and gets a most unusual visit from Doctor Zolkin that gives him a faint glimmer of hope. ′'Kirov is bound for the Pacific, with tensions slowly rising on the ship itself as the crew is briefed to gird themselves for war. On the Russian Front, Sergei Kirov struggles to hold the line at the gates to Moscow when the Big Cats arrive on the scene of Guderian’s bold thrust at Tula. The action soon brings two storied tank killers face to face in the desperate fighting, where the battlefield becomes the scene of a very personal duel. In the Western Desert, the British try to move Rommel off his Gazala Line in a modified version of Operation Crusader, but both sides learn some valuable lessons in the crucible of war. The action soon moves east, where bigger battles loom when the ship and crew find themselves on the eve of a most fateful day as Japan prepares to strike. Karpov has plans for the Japanese Navy, and he soon sets the ship on a collision course that threatens to ignite the fires of the Pacific War in a massive conflagration that threatens to change that history forever. Meanwhile, Admiral Volsky has secretly made contact with the Commander of a British submarine, and sails for a rendezvous with Admiral Tovey. He is bound to deliver his charge in the precious key entrusted to him by Anton Fedorov.

The story continues on both land, sea, and air as the explosive engagements of late 1941 conclude. Operation Typhoon drives on to its high water mark as the tides of war reach the embattled city of Moscow, and the fate of Sergei Kirov is revealed. In the Pacific, as Japanese planes begin their attack on Pearl Harbor, Halsey’s ‘missing carriers’ find themselves in a perfect location to launch a devastating counterattack against the Kido Butai. Days later, a lost convoy bound for the Philippines meets an unexpected enemy, and a pair of most unusual ships rush to the scene, finding a battle that soon involves ships from five nations. Further east, Ivan Volkov has planned a third massive attack on the strategic hamlet of Ilanskiy, where Captain Karpov aboard Tunguska is now thrust into the crucible of war. As the desperate fight is joined, his elder brother races south aboard Kirov with a message of retribution and warning to Imperial Japan. In the Atlantic, the Axis fleet, now based in Gibraltar and Casablanca, begins a most unexpected attack. Admirals Tovey and Volsky must now join together with Argos Fire to face the storm at sea, and a tragic loss hints at yet another level of mystery surrounding Admiral Tovey’s key.

The Germans would call it Rosselsprung, the leaping move of a Knight in a heated game of chess. In the aftermath of the naval duel off the Canary Islands, Admiral Raeder turns loose his surface units to adopt a strategy of commerce raiding as part of his effort to choke British supplies and material bound for Egypt. Surviving the battle largely unscathed, Kaiser Wilhelm joins the light escort battle carrier Goeben in a daring sortie into the South Atlantic. Still reeling from losses sustained off Fuerteventura, the Royal Navy struggles to give chase and engage the German raiders. Yet the Germans find much more than they ever expected in the desolate reaches of the icy South Atlantic. In the Pacific, the Japanese General Yamashita presses his Banzai Blitzkrieg through Malaya to the final attack against Singapore, the “Rock of the East,” but finds the British defence is now led by a most unexpected arrival. The Germans now begin Phase II of Operation Condor with the attack on Gran Canaria, and the British stage a desperate and stubborn defence. Now they must decide whether to risk everything to hold the island, or fall back to Tenerife and live to fight another day. Meanwhile, Vladimir Karpov has taken Kirov north to support the opening moves of his own chess game against Japan. He musters his resources to stage a surprise attack on lower Kamchatka and Sakhalin Island, his first bid to win back territories lost to Japan in the aftermath of his fateful sortie to 1908. Now the Japanese must finally realize and deal with the substantial threat Karpov poses from the north, dispatching Knights of their own to challenge the Siberian in a major alternate history battle.

Battlecruiser Kaiser Wilhelm and the light carrier Goeben have stumbled upon a prize of great value deep in the South Atlantic. As they move north, the hunt for the German raiders is taken up by a pair of new British cruisers, and neither side knows how much may be at stake in the outcome. Half a world away, the Soviets finally launch their winter counteroffensive in a desperate attempt to stem the German tide, and force a turning point in the bitterly contested struggle on the frozen east front of early 1942. In the Pacific, Montgomery has stopped the Japanese and saved the embattled island of Singapore for the time being. The rising tide of the Japanese offensive now sweeps around the Rock of the East to threaten Sumatra and Java, forcing Churchill to make the most difficult decision of the war. The battle begins with a brave challenge by Admiral Doorman in the Java Sea, yet soon both Axis and Allied forces will find their plans rudely interrupted. Something has emerged from the ashes of a great disaster that now threatens to weigh heavily in the balance of the Pacific War. Meanwhile, Generals Wavell, O’Connor, and Kinlan launch a new offensive in ‘Operation Supercharge’. Holding nothing back, they hope to engage and defeat Rommel’s Afrika Korps once and for all, to decide the contest in Libya and pave the way for the great campaign against French North Africa.

The reign of the Japanese offensive reaches its high water mark as Yamamoto launches Operation FS in a bold attempt to storm the Islands of Fiji and Samoa and isolate Australia. He is opposed by a determined stand made by Admirals Fletcher and Halsey in the desperate battles of the Coral Sea and Koro Sea to decide the fate of Empires. Meanwhile, Vladimir Karpov continues his long planned invasion of Sakhalin Island, but Japan now has a powerful new champion as the Destroyer Takami is detached north to join Admiral Kurita’s task force. Now Captain Harada and the crew of Takami plot how to find and confront the dark, unseen enemy of the north that the Japanese have come to call Mizuchi, the mighty battlecruiser Kirov. In the Atlantic, Admiral Raeder discovers the strange ship and cargo taken as a prize of war by Kaiser Wilhelm. Now he orders the Hindenburg north to Saint Nazaire to complete repairs in the only dry dock that can hold the massive battleship. But Admiral Tovey leads a plan to launch a surprise raid to destroy those facilities, and to do so he calls on the able services of the Argos Fire. Warriors from a future time now launch themselves into the fires of WWII in a daring attempt to halt the advance of the Axis powers.

Vladimir Karpov has already opened a Second Front in the north against Japan with his bold invasion of Sakhalin Island. Now the battlecruiser Kirov has come upon a most unexpected challenger in the Pacific as the crew of Takami join Admiral Kurita in a daring attempt to sink the Siberian raider. Then the action moves to the frigid Norwegian Sea where Britain launches one of its biggest relief convoys ever bound for Murmansk - PQ-17. The combined British and American covering forces are soon challenged by a powerful German battlegroup centered on the battleship Tirpitz and the newly commissioned carrier Peter Strasser. Meanwhile, General Dwight D. Eisenhower puts the finishing touches on the first joint US/British offensive of the war, Operation Torch, only this time, with the Strait of Gibraltar closed, there can be no landings at Oran and Algiers. Instead the British come ashore at Lisbon when Portugal joins the Allied cause, and Patton leads the entire US Torch order of battle in a much bigger landing at Casablanca. The objective of both forces is the long lost bastion of Gibraltar, where a dangerous secret lurks in the unexplored depths of St. Michael's Cave. The invasion is well underway when Fedorov is alarmed to discover what he believes is an insoluble paradox looming on the near horizon. As the history of 1942 is re-written, how could Sergei Kirov ever come to power if Fedorov fails to warn him of his fate at the hands of Stalin? A mission to Ilanskiy is launched to attempt to shore up the history... But Karpov has other ideas....

Vladimir Karpov orders Fedorov to abort his mission to Ilanskiy, but Fedorov has other ideas. With the odds against him growing ever higher, the sudden appearance of a most unexpected visitor changes everything. While Patton leads the fledgling US Army against Kesselring in Algeria, a major engagement at sea north of Algiers decides the fate of the Western Med. The Allies must command those seas if they are to move units to Oran for the campaign against Algiers. Meanwhile, far to the east, Erwin Rommel awakens from his gloom at Mersa Brega and hatches a plan for a new offensive to stop O’Connor’s drive into Tripolitania. He must first persuade Hitler to relinquish his stand fast order in North Africa, and then choose ground where his vaunted Afrika Korps can make one last dance in a desperate battle of maneuver. Meanwhile, the Germans make a dramatic breakthrough at Voronezh, following the original intent of Operation Blue. Rundstedt orders Model and Hoth to drive east and then turn south to threaten the Russian line on the Don. As Sergei Kirov and his generals struggle to respond, Manstein’s attack towards the Volga secures the vital bridgehead at Kalach on the Don. Now the Russians launch a daring series of counterattacks from their Don bridgeheads in a desperate effort to unhinge the German offensive and prevent Steiner’s SS from storming the city. Manstein then calls on one of Germany’s finest division commanders with the elite 11th Panzer Division, Hermann Balck. Germany’s newest heavy tanks lead the attacks as the Tigers head east on two exciting fronts!

Major characters

Leonid Volsky

Commander of the Red Banner Northern Fleet, Volsky leads Kirov out during a time of heightened tensions for live fire exercises in the Norwegian Sea. In his middle 60s, Volsky is much loved by the crew, who see him as a father figure and have come to call him “Papa Volsky,” or “King of the Northern Seas.” A good natured and reasonable man, Volsky’s experience and wisdom guides the younger officers through the crisis they face, though he is plagued by medical issues, and wounds suffered in combat. Yet worse than these is the deception and rebellion of his senior Captain, Vladimir Karpov, who attempts to impose his hard line views and seize control of the ship. Volsky serves as a moderating influence in time of crisis, and the final arbiter of authority in the chain of command. He eventually seeks accommodation with the Royal Navy, becoming Britain’s ally in Season 2 in an effort to redress some of the catastrophic damage the ship has done to the history, and possibly avert the war in 2021.

Vladimir Karpov

Captain Karpov is a middle-aged ex-oil company man who joined the navy and used his ruthless corporate ambition to rise to a position as Captain of the battlecruiser Kirov. Shunned and feared by many, Karpov battles his own inner demons, while resenting higher authority that opposes his hard line views on how the ship’s power should be used in combat. Karpov sees the crisis as the perfect opportunity to redress the wrongs of history, and better Russia’s position in later years with a decisive intervention during WWII. In pushing this line, he comes into conflict with Admiral Volsky and other officers, seeking to undermine them and eventually to seize control of the ship. After a brief redemption, he reverts to his old ways, and causes much chaos and harm with his ceaseless ambition. Karpov remains a prominent character throughout the series, a fallen angel who again rises to a position of significant power and influence, particularly in the Altered States segment of the tale, where Karpov soon takes his limitless ambition to the wilds of Siberia.

Anton Fedorov

A young lieutenant of 28 years, Fedorov begins as the ship’s navigator. Being a well-educated history buff and student of World War II, Fedorov is instrumental in discovering what has happened to the ship and convincing the other senior officers of the reality they now face. After Karpov’s rebellion, Fedorov is promoted first to starpom (XO) and then to captain as he forges a strong coalition with Admiral Volsky. A man of conscience and with a strong moral center, Fedorov struggles to understand the mystery of time travel itself, and deeply ponders the consequences of their actions in the past. Yet he is preyed upon by feelings of remorse for all the damage the ship has caused to his beloved history, and comes to see himself as responsible. Working closely with Director Pavel Kamenski, he strives to interpret what is happening to the ship in a fateful hour when they face the ravaging hand of paradox. Then, in a startling development when that time comes, he is propelled into the drama on the bridge again in the twisted season 3 opener, Doppelganger.

Gennadi Orlov

Chief of Ship’s Operations, Orlov is a sullen, surly and hard disciplinarian that Karpov recruits to his camp in his attempt to take command. He suffers the consequences of this, and remains bitter towards Karpov, feeling he was deceived by the man and positioned to take the blame. Orlov’s ill will leads him to jump ship at one point in the series, seeking to use his knowledge of future history for personal gain. He soon becomes obsessed in an effort to protect members of his family tree, which prompts Fedorov to launch a long and involved scheme aimed at finding him and returning him safely to his own time. With more street sense than common sense, Orlov is a man ruled by his temper, though in later volumes he is slowly re-integrated to the command structure beneath Volsky. Yet he remains an unpredictable force, and his actions often lead the story in most unexpected directions.

Gregori Rodenko

Senior Lieutenant Gregori Rodenko is Chief of Radar and sensor operations, a highly skilled officer, with an even temper and reasoned nature. His calm nature, level head, and moderating influence sets a strong example for the junior officers and midshipmen on the bridge. A minor character in the early volumes, Rodenko eventually rises to the position of Starpom (XO) under Fedorov, and also under Karpov when the ship sorties in the Pacific. As such he eventually comes to strongly question Karpov’s actions, sensing his lust for power as aberrant, and eventually opposes Karpov in a critical moment on the bridge when the ship is in battle. Rodenko is eventually integrated into a triumvirate of senior officers under Volsky, and serves as a skilled and loyal officer in time of crisis. He remains a slowly developing character throughout the series.

Dimitri Zolkin

Ship’s physician, Dr. Zolkin is actually 3rd in the chain of command on the ship, though not involved in daily operations. A healer in every respect, Zolkin tends to both the physical and psychological needs of the other officer’s and crew. A close personal friend of Admiral Volsky, Zolkin is immediately drawn into the mystery of Kirov's displacement when Volsky seeks his advice. He later stands in strong support of the Admiral, helping the ship weather the long simmering crisis of command. Fedorov often seeks the council of Zolkin, appreciating his reason, wisdom, and insight, as well as his strong moral courage. At times his humor and moderating influence are a great aid to the others, and his courage in opposing Karpov is decisive at a critical moment on the bridge later in the series, for which he pays a tangible physical price. Zolkin remains an active character throughout the series.

Yuri Dobrynin

Chief Engineer Yuri Dobrynin is head of the ship’s vital reactor plant, and first rises from the gallery of minor characters when he begins to report strange flux events in the ship’s reactors. A student of physics, thermodynamics and classical music, Dobrynin has an intimate relationship with the equipment he operates, and a way of hearing any malfunction or irregularity which becomes essential to the ship’s survival. Dobrynin is instrumental in helping the other senior officers discover how the ship is moving in time, and uses his uncanny sixth sense to help control these shifts.He also delivers a startling analysis of an object discovered by Orlov on a mission to Siberia, and his close inspection of “The Devil’s Teardrop” figures heavily in his own personal fate.

Kandemir Troyak

Sergeant Kandimir Troyak is a grizzled tough noncom and leader of the ship’s 20-man contingent of the elite Marines known as Russia’s “Black Death.” Born in the Chukotka Peninsula of Siberia, Troyak is the most intimidating man on the ship, a true warrior in every respect, yet being a man of few words, he is not one to involve himself in ship’s politics. Physically strong and iron willed, not even the surly brawn of Chief Orlov can match that of Troyak, and eventually the Sergeant is instrumental in deciding the outcome of the rising conflict between the other senior officers. Yet Troyak himself has no personal ambition, serving loyally within any chain of command to which he is assigned. Troyak also leads several special operations missions in the hunt for Orlov, and later in campaigns to North Africa and Syria. The Sergeant’s character is often used to present elements of land campaigns and battles where the ship’s officers are attempting to influence events in the history.

Pavel Kamenski

First appearing as a quiet figure in book 4, Kamenski is soon revealed to be the ex Deputy Director of the KGB. Initially cast as an antagonist, he becomes a deeply layered character, wreathed in mystery. Kamenski soon allies himself with Admiral Volsky, joining the ship in its mission to try and safely extract Kirov to a point in history where it can cause no further damage. As the long series progresses, Kamenski’s character is used as a sounding board by the Admiral and Fedorov, particularly in regards to his insights into the nature of time, and the secret involvement of the Soviet Government in that area in decades past. Kamenski forges a strong relationship with Fedorov, serving to challenge his thinking and guide him as he struggles to navigate the waters of time. Yet with each novel, a deeper layer of mystery surrounds him, and the ex KGB man turns out to have dimensions that no one ever expected.

Alexi Tasarov

Known as the man with the best ears in the fleet, Lieutenant Tasarov is the Chief Sonar operator aboard the ship. His is a quiet, almost whimsical character at times, lost beneath his headphones and secretly listening to music and playing games with his good friend Isaak Nikolin. Yet in combat, those ears prove their worth many times, as Kirov faces threats beneath the sea as well. At one point, his skills inadvertently threaten the success of a critical mission, when it is feared he might hear and report on another friendly ship, not realizing its vital quest would then be exposed. Tasarov has several moments in the limelight, not only in combat, but in the simmering conflict between Karpov and the other senior officers. He also is one of the first to hear and recognize a strange, unaccountable sound that Fedorov fears is the harbinger of paradox in Book 16, and Tasarov’s fate is a key component of that dire outcome.

Isaak Nikolin

Lieutenant Isaak Nikolin is a young, likable junior bridge officer in charge of ship’s communications. As a bilingual speaker of English, he is often used as an interpreter when the other senior officers eventually begin to have face to face interactions with historical figures of the Royal Navy. Nikolin learns far more than he ever expected, and is often seen to accompany either Volsky or Fedorov on away missions because of his language skills. Nikolin is also instrumental in discovering the secret mission aimed at frustrating the ambitions of Captain Karpov, and his warning allows the other officers aboard Kirov to stand against Karpov at a critical moment in Book 8. Best friends with Sonarman Tasarov, Nikolin is essential in helping Fedorov discover the peculiar fate that besets the ship as they approach the hour of paradox in book 16, and he becomes a quiet conspirator in Fedorov’s effort to retake control of the ship in the opening of season 3.

Viktor Samsonov

Lieutenant Viktor Samsonov is chief of the Command Information Center for ship’s combat. As such, he serves as the strong right arm in battle, with reflexive skill that is almost mechanical at times. A minor character in most respects, Samsonov rises in one critical moment in opposition to Karpov, which is crucial to the outcome of that conflict in book 8, Armageddon. Otherwise, he serves loyally at his post, speaks little, and is eager to engage any enemy the ship encounters by sea or air. In some ways Samsonov is a thematic human symbol of the ship itself.

Ivan Gromyko

Appearing mid-series as captain of the Russian submarine Kazan, Gromyko is a highly skilled submariner, known as “the Matador” for his expert tactics in undersea warfare. When war breaks out in 2021, Gromyko’s boat sorties with the Red Banner Pacific Fleet. When Kirov goes missing, he is recruited by Admiral Volsky, then at Naval HQ Fokino, to mount a mission to discover the whereabouts of the ship. After a tense chase when Kazan is hunted by a combined Japanese and American ASW group, he is instrumental in the outcome of the mission to retake Kirov in 1908. Rod-25, the source of the ship’s time displacement, is installed on Kazan, leading to some very unexpected events which soon draw Gromyko into the deepening web of the story. Gromyko and Kazan prove to be a most useful asset for Admiral Volsky when Kirov battles in the Med and Atlantic against powerful Axis fleets.

References

  1. ↑ "19 books of Kirov saga at Amazon". amazon.com. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  2. ↑ "The Home of Author John A Schettler". Dharma6.com. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  3. ↑ "The Kirov Series – by John Schettler | Kirov Series". Kirovseries.wordpress.com. 2013-03-16. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  4. ↑ "The Writing Shop Web Design". Writingshop.ws. 1941-12-06. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
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