Stalin's Hammer: Cairo: A novel of the Axis of Time

Axis of Time #5

by John Birmingham

The future vs the past. F22 Raptors vs Zeros. Prince Harry (yes, that Prince Harry) vs Hitler and Stalin. Ten years ago a powerful Allied battle fleet was sucked into a wormhole and thrown back into World War Two. History was blown apart. The Soviet Union now controls half of Europe and supreme dictator Joseph Stalin reaches for a weapon to enslave or destroy the rest of the world. Only Harry can stop him.

Genres: Alternate History, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Military Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller

143 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 2016

About the author

John Birmingham grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and was educated at St Edmunds Christian Brother's College in Ipswich and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. His only stint of full time employment was as a researcher at the Defence Department. After this he returned to Queensland to study law but he did not complete his legal studies, choosing instead to pursue a career as a writer. He currently lives in Brisbane.

While a law student he was one of the last people arrested under the state's Anti Street March legislation. Birmingham was convicted of displaying a sheet of paper with the words 'Free Speech' written on it in very small type. The local newspaper carried a photograph of him being frogmarched off to a waiting police paddy wagon.

Birmingham has a degree in international relations.

Reviews

[dennis barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worm hole from the 21st century has opened, but instead of going forward , it goes backward...1944. Prince harry steps through. Stalin rules and is the evil power, hitler is gone.Harry is put into action, again of her majesty's service. He is a hardened war veteran. This is a fantastic action packed thriller, from the very first page. Treachery and deceit surfaces on the very last page. Can't wait for the sequel! Enjoyed immensely !!!

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big hairy bollocks.....

A ripping yarn in the Axis Of Time series set in the mid 50's. How things got to be how they are is nicely covered and helps to prod the memory. It's nicely paced and not drawn out with plenty of action.

However.............the ending is in the next book of the series, which is hopefully not too far away.

[Dale (Aus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very tight story with plenty of action and a cliff hanger ending. really great read and I look forward to the next installment.

[Jota Houses · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tras la aventura romana el MI6 contacta con el príncipe Harry para que visite a un antiguo científico del programa de cohetes nazi a quien reclutó en la versión 2.0 de la operación paperclip. Bajo el sol de El Cairo, el Mosad, la NKDV, el MI& y varios grupos de mercenarias juegan a los espias y los secuestros con el transfondo del programa de armas orbitales rusas. Acción y poco más.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little better than the first one, hopefully leading up to a good conclusion in number three.

[Merijeek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the Axis of Time, but this one was at too fawning over Harry, and two characters have serious plot armor over the course of the trilogy.

And I'm still waiting for WW3.1

[Mark Clarkson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride..........

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second novella continuing the story from author John Birmingham’s Axis of Time series where a multinational task force trying to weed out terrorists in the South Pacific Ocean in the 21st century is transported back in time to – literally – end up in the middle of the Battle of Midway. This series of novellas takes place about ten years after they arrived back in that time, and it’s now the 1950s. Things are different with the reverse engineering going on of the future technology, but much of the technology is still lacking.

In the previous novella, Stalin’s Hammer: Rome, readers were introduced to Prince Harry as a central figure. He was part of that multinational task force and sent back in time with the rest, although he wasn’t at the center of the first three books. This series, though, is all about him. Since he was eliminated from any possibility of royal succession due to a specific act passed by Parliament, he finds himself recruited by MI-6. He can be the jet-setter going to any number of places where he’s needed and no one will question it, and at the same time make contact with people and get them to trust him.

He’s sent to Cairo with his girlfriend, former embedded reporter Julia Duffy, to make contact with a German rocket scientist he helped extract at the end of World War II. The professor has dedicated his life to peace and is at a peace conference in Cairo. However, he is acting strangely and MI-6 is worried his knowledge will fall into Soviet hands.

To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...

[Alex Sarll]

In the aftermath of a Second World War disrupted by the sudden arrival of a 21st century battlegroup, a Stalin who has learned from the records of his own mistakes is more powerful than ever. Against him stands one elite special agent: Prince Harry. Yes, that Prince Harry - he was in the battlegroup from a near future not quite our own. I downloaded this because it was free, and because that premise seemed irresistibly stupid (especially if you picture Harry as the version from The Windsors, which obviously I do). But it's really not bad. The espionage and derring-do is all competently (derring-)done, and if characters' internal monologues occasionally wander into bathetic musings on minutiae...well, isn't that more true to life than the utter focus alleged of your average action hero? True, it's a shame about Harry's occasional lapse into Americanisms, but I've certainly seen worse. And the ramifications of the sudden, one-way infusion of the future are nicely worked through. Social norms are dented rather than overturned, and moderns must mentally switch gears when dealing with the native 'temps'. Plays are performed before they should have been written, but given 'commemorative premieres' when they were meant to come out. Politics sees what was to come, and swerves it: revolutionaries are quietly disappeared by forewarned monarchs, and instead of history's mistakes being repeated, a whole new tranche can be made. And as for technology, well, some can be replicated, but not all, and it's often not cheap: never has it been more true that 'the future is already here, it's just not distributed evenly'. A lucky find, though perhaps not quite enough of one for me to read the rest of the series.

[Todd Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. John Birmingham is such a talent, and every story I’ve read of his, I’ve been thoroughly entertained by. This story is no exception. It’s hard to imagine a 21st century battle fleet ending up in the second world war. However, this is exactly what happens when Manning Pope’s wormhole experiment fails. Prince Harry now finds himself part of this, and has to deal with the Nazi’s in WWII. After the war he is talked into being a spy, and helping to keep a German rocket scientist away from the Russians. Harry is such a likeable guy in real life, and the Author has done a great job with him as a character. Stalin’s Hammer: Cairo is a great read, and it gets you thinking what our world would be like if there was an alternate shift in history. This is a hard book to put down, and it’s definitely worth a read.

[Keira F. Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another arch following around the alternate future...history.... timeline? Prince harry in more cloak and dagger games with the NKVD.

Probably the weakest of the Axis of Time, but still solidly entertaining. Rather than being "Good", I'd describe it as "Fun". It had almost too many twists and turns that made it feel rushed and a little... hyper?

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cliffhanger

Another excellent book in this series. Wish it was longer, a bit of a cliffhanger...poor Harry. It's always interesting to contemplate what would happen if technology was introduced at an earlier time...like Turtledove's book "Guns of the South," AKA 47s introduced into the Confederate Army. Hmmmm.

[Read Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping and tense middle book. It is best enjoyed if you obtain all three Stalin's Hammer books at one time and read them back to back.

Overall, the trilogy is a well put together follow up to the Axis of Time series. I enjoy the mash up of new technology trapped in the past.

This is a GoodReads.

[Stubbyjedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it but hate the shortness of the story. It dragged me in and left me hanging. Not nice unless your trying to create a awesome story. Though I do wonder how the real prince sees his literary doppelgänger.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series

I'm a big fan of this author and this series. This book was but a brief glimpse into a complex and detailed created world. But from this glimpse I know that I want more!

[Daniel Hamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this would work better if full novels of this time period had already been written and this was just filling in additional stories. Instead, we're trying to get our full understanding of ~1955 from these little short stories, which just does not work.

Definitely a fun read though.

[Steven Trewin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, usual witty clever writing from JB. Look forward to the Paris novella and a possible 4th axis of time novel ? (And the next "Dave" installment !)

[Ystyn Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great chapter in the fantastic Axis of Time series. Birmingham's world-building is fascinatingly detailed and a joy to immerse oneself into. Sorry to be selfish, but I want, nay, I need more.

[Mrl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the suspense, the action, and the interplay of characters, however, I felt that I need to read the book before this one to be able to get all the background information.

[Arran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyed this. I didn't realise it followed on from Rome so I will have to pick that up at some point.

[Matt McRoberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff, can't wait till the next novella.

[michael Brill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not up to his normal level

This one would be maybe a few chapters in the earlier books. It reads like, and the tie in to the next work supports this, a serial rather than a novel.

[Robert Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Prince Harry rides again.
Same mixture of 21 and 20 century's culture and spies in Cairo
In different time lines

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving this little series as a continuation of the Axis of Time series. Short and sweet.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the last ebook, more focused, and the action in it focuses more of action and not boring stealth sequences. Where's the movie already??

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only problem with this book is was over too quickly :( 5 stars :)

[Garth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope, I think this franchise has run its course.