The ''Axis of Time''

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

is an

alternative history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

series of

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s written by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n journalist and author

John Birmingham John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'', the ''Axis of Time'' trilogy, and the well-received space opera series, the ''Cruel Stars'' trilogy. ...

, from

Macmillan Publishing Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

. The novels deal with the radical alteration of the history of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the socio-historical changes that result when a technologically advanced naval task force from the year 2021 is accidentally transported back through time to 1942. The early chapters of the first book in the trilogy, ''Weapons of Choice'', are set in the near future.

Plot

In 2021, a radical Islamic terrorist movement has declared a global

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

against the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

and established a

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, initiating a wholesale slaughter of Chinese nationals there. In response, a US-led multinational task force of advanced warships and submarines sails to

to launch a counterattack against the Caliphate forces and retake the archipelago. With the fleet is a research vessel, the ''Nagoya'', which is testing top-secret weapons and stealth systems that use the latest developments in quantum physics. As the task force lies at anchor off the coast of

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

preparing for deployment, the ''Nagoya'' conducts a full-scale test of its new systems but there is a catastrophic accident—the experiment generates a massive rift in the time-space continuum, completely destroying the ''Nagoya'' and sending most of the fleet back in time to 1942. Many of the 2021 ships materialize in the middle of the US fleet that is steaming to engage the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

at the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...

, including one vessel which materializes into the structure of a 1942 ship, with horrific results. When the mystery fleet suddenly appears, the Americans mistake them for the enemy (due to the presence of Japanese vessels in the 2021 fleet) and they begin firing on them. With the crews of the 2021 fleet rendered helpless by "transition sickness", the computerized battle systems on their ships automatically activate, inflicting heavy damage and thousands of casualties on the 1942 fleet until the two forces work out what has happened and halt the battle. As the nature of the event dawns on the two fleets, the two commanders strike an uneasy truce and the combined fleet heads back to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. The Americans then launch an intensive study into the 2021 fleet's futuristic computer and weapons technology, as well as the wealth of historical information which describes their own future – although many items of technology from the future fleet are stolen by unscrupulous sailors from 1942 and sold to the criminal underworld. Matters are further complicated by the fact that the chaotic nature of the ''Nagoyas "time bubble" has transported some 2021 ships to locations far from the main group, and these vessels variously fall into the hands of the Japanese, the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

and the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

. After the Japanese capture an Indonesian ship from the 2021 fleet, they discover what they did not know in the conventional version of history – that the US fleet had not been crippled by the Pearl Harbor attack, as they thought, and that the Americans have broken their military codes and are fully aware of the Japanese battle plans. Acting on these revelations, Admiral Yamamoto immediately turns his fleet around, and the Battle of Midway never takes place. Another vessel is captured by the Germans and as they learn more about the future outcome of the war they halt and abandon their ill-fated invasion of Russia and prepare for an all-out assault on the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

become allies and purge their military forces of anyone they believe to be a traitor. The series goes on to explore the far-reaching effects of the Transition, which radically alters not merely the balance of power between the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

and the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, but the entire course of WWII and global history. The Soviet Union uses the treaty with Germany to assemble a powerful and massive military and launch a large scale invasion into Asia and Eastern Europe, conquering a vast amount of territory. The plot shares a premise with the 1980 film '' The Final Countdown'', about a modern USN

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

which travels back in time to just before the 1941

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. The plot also has similarities to that of the series '' Zipang'', about a Japanese missile destroyer transported back in time right before the Battle of Midway.

Books in series

* World War 2.1: '' Weapons of Choice'' (2004), * World War 2.2: '' Designated Targets'' (2005), * World War 2.3: '' Final Impact'' (2007), * '' Stalin's Hammer: Rome'' (2012), novella, * '' Stalin's Hammer: Cairo'' (2016), ebook only novella * '' Stalin's Hammer: Paris'' (2016), ebook only novella * '' Stalin's Hammer: The Complete Sequence'' (2017), , all three novellas (Rome, Cairo and Paris) have been repackaged as a single volume * ''World War 3.1'' (2023), was announced on John Birmingham's blog in 2021.

Allusions

Birmingham names several minor characters after contemporary nonfictional people: * Venero Armanno, Brisbane novelist. Appeared as Lieutenant Veni Armanno. * Paul Brasch, Brisbane comedian. Appeared as Major Paul Brasch. * Karen Halabi, a journalist who has written for the Sydney Morning Herald, appeared as Captain Karen Halabi, captain of HMS ''Trident'', a major character * Piers Akerman and

Andrew Bolt Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959) is an Australian conservative social and political commentator. He has worked at the News Corp-owned newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both '' The Herald'' and its succ ...

, conservative Australian columnists. Appeared as SAS demolitionists. * Dale Brown,

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

, Stephen Euin Cobb, and

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''The Old Kingdom, Old Kingdom'', ''The Seventh Tower, Seventh Tower'' and ''The Keys to the Kingdom, Keys t ...

- thriller writers appearing as counterboarding specialists aboard USS ''Leyte Gulf''. *

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed on ' ...

(alternate history author) appeared as a

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

agent. The fictional town of Grantville,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, from his

1632 series The ''1632'' series, also known as the 1632-verse or ''Ring of Fire'' series, is an alternate history book series and Spin-off (media), sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by American author Eric Flint and published by Ba ...

is referred to as Dan Black's home town. In addition, it was mentioned that 1632 and its sequels were turned into movies, directed by

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

. *

William R. Forstchen William R. Forstchen (born October 11, 1950) is an American historian and author. A Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina, he received his doctorate from Purdue University. He has published n ...

(sci-fi/alternate history author) referred to as a fringe 'professor' who wrote an underground bio of J. Edgar Hoover. * Bill O'Reilly and

Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (February 13, 1944 – April 27, 2023) was a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, lawyer, and politician. He was best known for hosting the controversial tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' from 1991 to 2 ...

are mentioned as both being United States senators in the 21st century. *

Matthew Reilly Matthew John Reilly (born 2 July 1974) is an internationally bestselling Australian action thriller writer.
". Retrieved 10 ...

(Australian action/sci-fi author) appears as a lieutenant on the ''USS Leyte Gulf''.

Redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. * S.M. Stirling (sci-fi/alternate history author) appeared as a Secret Service agent. His ''Draka'' series is referenced when one of the characters remarks that, with all the events of the past year, he would not be surprised to hear of a new race of super-Nazis arising in South Africa, and a second time when a character mentions that the ''Draka'' series has been turned into movies by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

. *

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...

, one of the most prominent

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

authors, appears as "Commander Turteltaub", an aide to FDR. The President at one point asks him whether the space lizards have invaded yet, a reference to Turtledove's ''Worldwar'' series. *

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...

, creator of ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

'', ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in First-run syndicati ...

'', '' The Goode Family'' and ''

Office Space ''Office Space'' is a 1999 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes the office work life of a typical 1990s software company, focusing on a handful of individuals weary of their jobs. It stars Ron ...

'', commanding officer of the USS

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. * James H. Cobb,

Robert Dessaix Robert Dessaix (born 1944), also known as Robert Jones, is an Australian novelist, essayist and journalist. Early life and education Robert Dessaix was born in Sydney, Australia, and was adopted at an early age by Tom and Jean Jones, after w ...

, and

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

are namesakes for naval ships. *

is also the namesake of a naval ship, an American aircraft carrier. From the perspective of the series' 2021 setting, Clinton is a former President who led the country during a war and was later assassinated. * Phillip McGregor (co-author of ''Space Opera'' (FGU), ''Rigger Black Book'' #1 (FGU) and many other roleplaying games and supplements) appears as the Pilot of one of the Dakota gunships used to decimate German Paratroops taking part in Operation Sea Dragon, a thank you for helping provide the author with some historical background material as part of a discussion on the book on the soc.history.what-if usenet newsgroup. *

Tim Horan Tim Horan AM (born 18 May 1970) is a former Australian rugby union footballer of Irish descent, raised in Queensland. He played for the Queensland Reds in the Super 12, and represented Australia. He was one of the best centres in the world t ...

and

Peter FitzSimons Peter John FitzSimons (born 29 June 1961) is an Australian author, journalist, and radio and television presenter. He is a former national representative rugby union player and was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement from 2015 to 20 ...

(former rugby union players and in 'fitzys' case also journalist and author) appear as Australian military personnel * The French ship

, actually an Australian novelist, was commanded by

René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...

with First Officer

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo (), was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration wit ...

, the creators of ''

Asterix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...

''. * SAS Troopers Peter Hamilton (a British science-fiction writer) and Sir Vivian Richards (one of the greatest cricketers of all time). * Colonel Harry Windsor of the British SAS (

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

) appears as himself, obviously in no need of tuckerization. * Rosanna Natoli is a reporter/presenter for Channel Seven News

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. Was a 21st Century reporter murdered in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

by a Japanese officer. * Gia Dimarco, a female pornographic actress. Is a lieutenant in the USN, stationed in the USN Hillary Clinton. * Arthur Clarke, a predominant science fiction writer, is referred to as Private Clarke during the invasion of Normandy. * Amanda Lohrey is an Australian writer and novelist - there is a Lieutenant Amanda Lohrey in the RAN - Intelligence Officer, HMAS Havoc Birmingham names at least one place (USSR Demidenko facility) after controversial Australian journalist and author

Helen Darville Helen Dale (born Helen Darville; 1972) is an Australian writer and lawyer. She is best known for writing '' The Hand that Signed the Paper'', a novel about a Ukrainian family who collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust, under the pseudony ...

, who won several major literary awards for her book ''The Hand That Signed the Paper'', written under the pseudonym Helen Demidenko. Darville initially presented herself as being of Ukrainian ancestry but this was subsequently exposed as a hoax.

Adaptation

In September 2021, it was announced Luke Sparke is developing a television adaptation through his Sparke Films banner.

References

External links