View source for Axis of Time

{{short description|Alternate history novel series by John Birmingham}}
{{about|the John Birmingham novel series|other uses|axis of time (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Stalin's Hammer|Stalin's Sledgehammer|203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4)}}
{{Infobox book series
| name            = Axis of Time
| books           = [[Weapons of Choice]], [[Designated Targets]], [[Final Impact]], Stalin's Hammer
| image           = 
| caption         = cover of first novel in the series
| author          = [[John Birmingham]]
| country         = Australia
| language        = English
| genre           = [[Alternate history]], [[Science fiction]]
| publisher       = [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]
| pub_date        = June 2004 – ongoing
| media_type      = Print (hardback & paperback)
| number_of_books = 4
| followed_by     = The Disappearance Series
}}

The '''''Axis of Time''''' [[trilogy]] is an [[alternate history|alternative history]] series of [[novel]]s written by [[Australia]]n journalist and author [[John Birmingham]], from [[Macmillan Publishing]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/john-birmingham/axis-of-time/|title=Fantastic Fiction.com: Axis of Time Series by John Birmingham|website=Fantasticfiction.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/john-birmingham/axis-of-time-stalins-hammer/|title=Fantastic Fiction.com: Axis of Time: Stalin's Hammer Series by John Birmingham|website=Fantasticfiction.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uchronia.net/label/birmaxisof.html|title=Uchronia: Axis of Time Series|website=Uchronia.net}}</ref>

The novels deal with the radical alteration of the history of [[World War II]] 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]] against the [[Western world]] and established a [[Caliphate]] in [[Indonesia]], initiating a wholesale slaughter of [[Chinese Indonesians|Chinese nationals]] there. In response, a [[United States|US]]-led multinational task force of advanced warships and submarines sails to [[Indonesia]] 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]] 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 [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] at the [[Battle of Midway]], 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]]. 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 ''Nagoya'''s "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 [[Nazi Germany|Germans]] and the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]]. 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, [[Isoroku Yamamoto|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 [[Operation Barbarossa|ill-fated invasion of Russia]] and prepare for an all-out assault on the [[United Kingdom]]. [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Joseph Stalin]] 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 powers|Axis]] and the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]], 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 (film)|The Final Countdown]]'', about a modern [[USN]] [[aircraft carrier]] which travels back in time to just before the 1941 [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].  The plot also has similarities to that of the series ''[[Zipang (manga)|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), {{ISBN|0-7329-1199-0}}
* World War 2.2: ''[[Designated Targets]]'' (2005), {{ISBN|0-345-45714-5}}
* World War 2.3: ''[[Final Impact]]'' (2007), {{ISBN|0-345-45716-1}}
* ''[[Stalin's Hammer: Rome]]'' (2012), novella, {{ISBN|978-1743341391}}
* ''[[Stalin's Hammer: Cairo]]'' (2016), ebook only novella
* ''[[Stalin's Hammer: Paris]]'' (2016), ebook only novella
* ''[[Stalin's Hammer: The Complete Sequence]]'' (2017), {{ISBN|978-0648003625}}, all three novellas (Rome, Cairo and Paris) have been repackaged as a single volume
* ''World War 3.1'' (2023),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birmingham |first=John |url=https://www.amazon.com.au/World-War-3-1-Novel-Reloaded-ebook/dp/B0CJCJBP96 |title=World War 3.1: A Novel of the Axis of Time |date=2023-09-18 |publisher=Gigantic Bombs Corporation |language=English}}</ref> was announced on John Birmingham's blog in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cheeseburgergothic.substack.com/p/ww-31-a-sneak-peek-at-the-new-axis/comments|title=WW 3.1. A sneak peek at the new Axis of Time novel.|first=John|last=Birmingham|website=Cheeseburgergothic.substack.com|date=24 June 2020 |access-date=19 December 2021}}</ref>

==Allusions==
Birmingham [[tuckerization|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]], conservative Australian columnists. Appeared as [[Special Air Service|SAS]] demolitionists.
* [[Dale Brown]], [[Tom Clancy]], [[Stephen Euin Cobb]], and [[Garth Nix]] - thriller writers appearing as counterboarding specialists aboard USS ''Leyte Gulf''.
* [[Eric Flint]] (alternate history author) appeared as a [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] agent. The fictional town of [[Grantville (1632 series)|Grantville]], [[West Virginia]], from his [[1632 series]] 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]].
* [[William R. Forstchen]] (sci-fi/alternate history author) referred to as a fringe 'professor' who wrote an underground bio of J. Edgar Hoover.
* [[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] and [[Jerry Springer]] are mentioned as both being United States senators in the 21st century.
* [[Matthew Reilly]] (Australian action/sci-fi author) appears as a lieutenant on the ''USS Leyte Gulf''. [[Redshirt (character)|Redshirted]].
* [[S.M. Stirling]] (sci-fi/alternate history author) appeared as a Secret Service agent. His [[The Domination|''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]].
* [[Harry Turtledove]], one of the most prominent [[alternate history]] authors, appears as "Commander Turteltaub", an aide to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR]]. The President at one point asks him whether the space lizards have invaded yet, a reference to Turtledove's [[Worldwar series|''Worldwar'']] series.
* [[Mike Judge]], creator of ''[[Beavis and Butt-Head]]'', ''[[King of the Hill]]'', ''[[The Goode Family]]'' and ''[[Office Space]]'', commanding officer of the USS [[Hillary Clinton]].
* [[James H. Cobb]], [[Robert Dessaix]], and [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] are namesakes for naval ships.
* [[Hillary Clinton]] 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 (role-playing game)|''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]] and [[Peter FitzSimons]] (former rugby union players and in 'fitzys' case also journalist and author) appear as Australian military personnel
* The French ship [[Robert Dessaix]], actually an Australian novelist, was commanded by [[René Goscinny]] with First Officer [[Albert Uderzo]], the creators of ''[[Asterix]]''.
* SAS Troopers [[Peter F. Hamilton|Peter Hamilton]] (a British science-fiction writer) and [[Viv Richards|Sir Vivian Richards]] (one of the greatest cricketers of all time).
* Colonel Harry Windsor of the British SAS ([[Prince Harry]]) appears as himself, obviously in no need of [[tuckerization]].
* [[Rosanna Natoli]] is a reporter/presenter for [[Seven Network|Channel Seven]] News [[Queensland]] [[Australia]]. Was a 21st Century reporter murdered in [[Hawaii]] 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 [[tuckerization|names at least one place (USSR Demidenko facility)]] after controversial Australian journalist and author [[Helen Darville]], 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.<ref name="Adaptation">{{cite web |last1=White|first1=Peter|title= 'Axis Of Time' Book Trilogy Set For TV Remake From 'Occupation' Director Luke Sparke |url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/axis-of-time-tv-adaptation-luke-sparke-1234827075/|website=[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]] |access-date=September 3, 2021 |date=September 3, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
* [[List of Axis of Time characters|List of ''Axis of Time'' characters]]
* [[The Final Countdown (film)|''The Final Countdown'' (film)]]
* [[Worldwar]]
* [[Zipang (manga)|''Zipang'' (manga)]]
* [[Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II]] – Other depictions of Nazi Germany/Axis/World War II [[alternate history]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cheeseburgergothic.com/ John Birmingham's blog]
* {{isfdb series|id=11572}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080829171758/http://www.americanheritage.com/entertainment/articles/web/20060506-alternate-history-mark-twain-lest-darkness-fall-connecticut-yankee.shtml ''Alternate History: When You Travel From the Future to the Past'' by Fredric Smoler] – Magazine column which discusses alternate histories involving time travelers who alter the past, with special attention given to the first two volumes of ''Axis of Time''.

{{Axis of Time}}

{{italic title}}

[[Category:Axis of Time| ]]
[[Category:Book series introduced in 2004]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1942]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 2021]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 2020s]]
[[Category:Alternate history book series]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian novels]]
[[Category:Science fiction book series]]
[[Category:Novels about time travel]]
[[Category:Novels about World War II alternate histories]]
[[Category:2004 Australian novels]]