Bart Gauvin and Joel Radunzel are excited to announce that we’ve partnered to write a series of alternate history “Cold War goes-hot” novels. The first novel in the series, Northern Fury: H-Hour, will be available in winter of 2018. Read on for the details!
Welcome to the Northern Fury world. This is a story of what might have happened if the Cold War had continued another five short years; the Warsaw Pact is disintegrating, NATO is fragile, a hardline resurgence in the Soviet Union is feeling strangled by western sanctions and threatened by the continuation of NATO as an alliance. What could possibly go wrong?
Bart Gauvin (AKA Gunner98) and Joel Radunzel (AKA Airborne Rifles) have combined forces to translate a fascinating historical "what if" into a story that is gripping, believable, and compelling. We created Northern Fury: H-Hour, the first in our series of World War III novels, through a unique process. Using Command Modern Air/Naval Operations (CMANO, or simply Command), an excellent game/simulation developed by Warfare Sims and published by Matrix Games, we crafted a series of scenarios that encompass the key engagements of our hypothetical conflict. Then by playing those scenarios and imagining the events through the eyes of the people who would have fought these battles, we were able to discover and write a story of conflict, heroism, sacrifice, and leadership that we are excited to pass on to you.
In addition to the human drama, our alternate history showcases the evolution of military technology and doctrine that was emerging at the end of the Cold War. The Soviet Union was on the brink of crucial improvements in air defense and surface-to-surface missile technology, its ships were as or more capable than many western counterparts and its aircraft were reaching a level of parity with those fielded by the US. On the other side of the coin, the Seawolf class submarine was a major improvement in undersea technologies. The new weapons like the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile represented an impressive enhancement in air combat capability.
But the early ‘90s were also a transitional era. Countries retained older equipment as they struggled with the exponential growth in cost of new technologies. Nations who were banking on the "peace dividend" found themselves either short on modern military hardware or had to mortgage huge sums of capital to maintain an edge. The war that was about to come would see the ultra-modern pitted against the obsolete. For both sides, the balance would go to the nation who made the right choices in development, deployment and employment.
The first book in the series, Northern Fury: H-Hour, will be available by winter 2018. In the meantime feel free to peruse the website, play the scenarios and join the discussion!
Click here for more information about the book and the world of CMANO
Bart and Joel have been interviewed by Grogheads too! Check here the podcast
Game on!
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