Blood of the Ancients

The 4th book in the Mars segment

of the Kirov Series

A tale told by Anton Fedorov, with assistance from co-author John Schettler as the ghost writer, this book will tell the complete story of Fedorov’s time in the distant past of Mars; and how the last survivors of their race were taken off in arcs by a race they called the Old Ones to find a new world, one they had seen in their own night skies for centuries as a pale blue star. They leave their war on Mars only to fight in others on Earth when Fedorov leads them to the decisive battles fought to save ancient Greece from the Persian Empire under Xerxes. Available 25 APR 2024

Kirov Series Special Editions, Volumes #67 #68 #69

Kirov has gone to many grim futures, but this one was one of the most dangerous. After preying on the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII on many occasions, Karpov finds a pleasure cruise for the ship and crew runs afoul of turbulent weather, and they are marooned in Limbo after they are grounded by a massive Typhoon. Soon they are found by old enemies, made far more dangerous by the modern ships and weapons they now command. It is an enemy they have faced and fought before, the product of a twisted history that has spun off a new altered Meridian. Was Ivan Volkov responsible for this future? Though Volkov is dead, Kirov must now face and fight the new dominant Pacific power in the year 2030, not China, but a rejuvenated Imperial Japanese Empire that has risen from the ashes of WWII like a dark Phoenix.

The Empire has but one weakness, its center is unformed and the young Emperor in waiting has no real power. Instead the Empire is ruled by quarreling Daimyos who serve as Regents and command powerful fleets. While planning to begin new conquests, they remain bitter rivals, each maneuvering to gain face and force to propel them to the coveted rank of Shogun, a military dictator who will seize the reins of power and unite all the warring Clans.

One among them, Odo Nobunaga, has discovered a most unusual ship aground within his Regency, and he soon learns the secret of their tremendous power. As Odo maneuvers to gain possession of the the Kamenski Device, Fedorov and Karpov must negotiate with the Japanese to secure safe passage home to Petropavlovsk. But Mother Time has other plans for the ship and crew, and sets her mind on ending its offensive voyages once and for all. This brings Kirov to a fateful hour that no one aboard ever thought they would face.

Kirov series #32 ~ Downfall

   An all new Volume #32 for the Kirov Series. This book replaces the original #32, Field of Glory, which was moved to Book #1 in the Keyholder’s Series. It features a special operation staged by the Germans to try and eliminate Ivan Volkov’s Orenburg Federation from the war after he betrays Hitler and signs a peace treaty with Sergei Kirov. Can Germany‘s miracle worker make Volkov disappear?

   An outraged Hitler sends the very best of his legions to punish Volkov, including Steiner’s 1st SS Panzerkorps augmented by 5th SS Wiking Division, and then a Wehrmacht Korps composed of the three most elite divisions in the regular Army, Grossdeutschland, Brandenburg Division, and the new Panzer Lehr. Their mission is to first take the oil fields at Grozny that eluded German capture in the 1942 Operation Edelweiss, and then press on to either Astrakhan or Baku.

   Volkov’s tentative treaty with the Soviets receives a series of hard jolts when the Russians cross into the neutral zone under General Rokossovsky, and also cross the Volga. Like a hard pressed chess player against a Grandmaster of the art of maneuver warfare, Volkov matches wits against Manstein and castles to find the one place on the map where the elite German Panzer Divisions might not harm him. Exciting East Front action in this alternate history of WWII.

ABOUT EARTHFORCE MARS: Published 15 JAN, 2024
Book 1 in the Mars Trilogy segment of the Kirov Series.

Linked directly to Volume #70, Goliath, Earth has completed a 100 ship navy in space and chosen Vladimir Karpov as its CIC. Now Karpov leads a Task Force from the new Earthforce battle fleet to Mars to seek out and eliminate any alien presence there, but he and Fedorov find much more than they were expecting.
   The year is 2130, and learning that the Kroth, or the Skeletal Ice Men, will arrive with a new invasion fleet in just five years, Karpov intends to use that time to scour the Solar system and eliminate any Krothi outposts, bases, or ships that remain. He will also establish a military footprint on Mars to hold that planet as Earth’s forward base.
   Leading a twelve ship squadron, Karpov soon finds Mars is already under attack by raiding Krothi forces. So the war begins early, on Mars, in the Inner Asteroid Belt, at the Moons of Jupiter and Saturn and even farther, to the outer limits of the Solar system near the Kuiper Belt.
   In the deep Marineris valley, Earthforce enters a system of caves in the canyon wall to root out a suspected Krothi base. There, Troyak, Karpov, and Fedorov make a startling discovery about Mars that will change everything then known about the rise of Humanity on Earth. Available Now

ABOUT INVASION MARS: Published 23 FEB, 2024
Book 2 In the Mars Trilogy segment of the Kirov Series

After a whirlwind campaign to discover and eliminate Krothi bases in the Solar System, the action on Mars intensifies when the Vanguard of the alien fleet arrives early with 36 ships. With only 24 Earthforce Ships provisioned for active duty, Karpov relies on his inherent skill to try and defeat the Kroth in detail.

At the same time, hidden Kroth forces on Mars and others reaching the moons Phobos and Deimos, begin a round of new attacks on Earthforce bases and outposts on Mars. Earthforce struggles to surge ships and Marines to Mars in a wave of successive convoys, while Karpov must divide his attention between close support of Mars operations and his campaign to scour the inner and outer system of Krothi support bases.

Meanwhile, Fedorov begins a series of Recon missions aimed at finding any hidden Kroth “Sleepers” on Mars. His efforts lead him to some amazing discoveries about this alien adversary, their biology, and a greater threat that may already lie hidden right beneath the surface of Mars. An attempt to purge their nests with stronger weapons leads to a disaster that underscores more unknown capabilities of the Kroth, and shakes Fedorov and Karpov when Director Kamenski makes a startling revelation. Answers to unsettled mysteries rooted deep in the Kirov Series are revealed here for the first time, and long time series readers will not want to miss the sequence now underway as the “Mars Trilogy.” Here is Volume two of that group—Invasion Mars!

Goliath: Prelude to the Mars books

The Mars Books!

ABOUT SONS OF ARES: Published 25 MAR, 2024
Book 3 In the Mars Trilogy segment of the Kirov Series

Linked directly to Volume #72, The coming of the first waves of the main Kroth fleet gives Karpov more than enough to deal with. Meanwhile, Troyak and his Marines make another important discovery near the site of their first mission to the Labyrinth of Night. A hidden outpost sanctuary built by the Ancient Martians lies within a bleak mesa. Fedorov explores it to find another amazing artifact but is fated to take a journey that will teach him more of the Ancient Martians than he could have ever imagined.

Action in space fends off the Kroth fleet while they carry out a sinister plan involving the moons Phobos and Deimos. Then Fedorov uncovers the enemy plan to make a daring strike at Earth’s moon!

Troyak returns with dire news from his mission to the City of Night, but without Fedorov the Elder. This exciting volume in the Earthforce segment of the Kirov Series will also stand as the prequel to an amazing tale that will be told by Anton Fedorov himself—The Blood of the Ancients.