Crescendo of Doom

Author’s Note:

For readers who might be dropping in without having taken the journey here from book one in the Kirov Series, this is the story of a Russian modern day battlecruiser displaced in time to the 1940s and embroiled in WWII. Their actions over the many episodes have so fractured the history, that they now find themselves in an alternate retelling of those events. In places the history is remarkably true to what it once was, in others badly cracked and markedly different. Therefore, events in this account of WWII have changed. Operations have been spawned that never happened, like the German attack on Gibraltar, and others will be cancelled and may never occur, like Operation Torch. And even if some events here do ring true as they happened before, the dates of those campaigns may be changed, and they may occur earlier or later than they did in the history you may know.

This alternate history began in Book 9 of the series, entitled Altered States, and you would do well to at least back step and begin your journey there if you are interested in the period June 1940 to January 1 1941, which is covered in books 9 through 11 in the series. That time encompasses action in the North Atlantic, the battle of Britain, German plans and decisions regarding Operations Seelöwe and Felix, the action against the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir and Dakar, and other events in Siberia that serve as foundations for things that will occur later in the series.

To faithful crew members, my readers who have been with me from the first book, this volume concludes Grand Alliance trilogy the fourth trilogy in the series. It begins right where I left you at the end of Hammer of God, with the machinations and ambitions of one Vladimir Karpov. Fedorov still tries to find that all important “mission” for Troyak and his Marines, Rommel returns and Brigadier Kinlan is again called to arms. Lots of action here, and this novel will soon be followed by the trilogy sequel in the 16th book of the series, Paradox Hour.