Men Of War

Kirov Saga #4

by John Schettler

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.
Join Admiral Leonid Volsky, Captain Vladimir Karpov and Anton Fedorov as they sleuth the mystery of Orlov’s fate and launch a mission to the past to find him before the world explodes in the terror and fury of a great air and naval conflict in the Pacific. It is a war that will span the globe from the Gulf of Mexico to the Middle East and through the oil rich heart of Central Asia to the wide Pacific, but somehow one man’s life holds the key to its prevention. Yet other men are aware of Orlov’s identity as a crewman from the dread raider they came to call Geronimo, and they too set their minds on finding him first…in 1942! Men of war from the future and past now join in the hunt while the military forces of Russia, China and the West maneuver to the great chessboard of impending conflict.

Genres: Alternate History

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2013

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique and intriguing novel out of the Kirov series. As the other explains, this is a bridge novel in his larger schema for the series, and it shifts from the cut and thrust of naval warfare to a broader demonstration of the author's capability with a more contemplative exploration of time travel and its implications for the humans involved.
One of the unique aspects of the wider Kirov series seems to be the management of what knowledge is available to particular characters and how they adapt their awareness to action. In this the author is particularly skilled and manages to skillfully operate at a variety of levels, thus maintaining tensions and ensnaring the reader in a tale sure to please.
If you appreciate a good tale of naval technology and warfare there's something for you here - but equally, if you like a good character-driven detective action novels you too will be equally well served.
The Kirov series spans genres and delivers a superbly entertaining read. I was challenged/puzzled when first approaching the series and fathoming how the author could stretch this tale across 30+ volumes. After reading the fourth I was most pleasantly surprised at how Schletter plays a real switch-up and delivers a novel following along from the earlier characters and plot, but bringing a new perspective to bear on wider current time concerns and delivering a well studied and nuanced perspective. This fourth almost stands on its own as the best volume yet.
Now on to find out what happens next...