Terms of Enlistment

Frontlines, Book 1

By: Marko Kloos

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

“There is nobody who does [military SF] better than Marko Kloos. His Frontlines series is a worthy successor to such classics as Starship Troopers, The Forever War, and We All Died at Breakaway Station.” - George R. R. Martin

The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements: You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world...or you can join the service.

With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth. But as he starts a career of supposed privilege, he soon learns that the good food and decent health care come at a steep price...and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or the gangs that rule the slums.

The debut novel from Marko Kloos, Terms of Enlistment is an addition to the great military sci-fi tradition of Robert Heinlein, Joe Haldeman, and John Scalzi.

Revised edition: This edition of Terms of Enlistment includes editorial revisions.

©2014 by Marko Kloos. (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

TICKET PUNCHER

This came within a hair's breath of getting a 5th star from me. If I was a military sci-fi lover it would have, but I am not a fan of endless shoot-em ups, which is what chapters 10-13 are. Other then that it is a pretty good story, certainly entertaining. It has good character development and I have already bought the sequel. It does not really have anything new, but some old favorites done well.

It's a dystopian future, were most of the country is on welfare. There is the beloved boot camp chapters, a sort of love story, a reenactment of Black Hawk Down, and even Godzilla. It is worth your credit.

Narrator is good.

Makes me wanna read more military sci-fi

I think I might like military sci-fi a little bit more than I thought I did. Seems to me that, lately, I've been reading the books I thought I liked (zombie, apocalyptic) and they are crap, and not reading enough of the books I just casually read (military sci-fi) but like way better...

I read another reviewer who said this book was self-published. That was a bit of a surprise - it is GOOD. And for a self-published book, it is VERY GOOD (have you read some of that drivel?)

There is a great blend of action, detail and setting. No gun porn, women aren't useless, the moralizing is minimal (and not "right-wing" as it usually is in military books) and we actually care about the main character. Sheesh... what more can you ask for? Oh, right, aliens... they're there too!!

I never did read Starship Troopers because I don't read Heinlein on principle, so I have no input on how much this story is like that one... Though, the very fact that Kloos' main character is not full of himself and women are present and intelligent makes me doubt it really is very much like Heinlein's book.

The narrator is very good (actually, I don't really recall him, he just blended into the story), there is no sex or gore and, while someone else said there was swearing, I didn't notice any (but I'm a bit de-sensitized). I bought the next in the series on Audible.

Overall it's a good book.

Any additional comments?

Let's talk about what the book did wrong first. There was hardly any character development and just enough dialogue to not be a narrative. The story skips through time a lot. It's like the author only wants to write the action scenes and just never got back to filling in the spaces between. Even the action scenes leave you hungry for more and it took me a while to figure out why. Without the scenes between the action parts of the story you can't put yourself in the character's shoes and grow detached from the story rather than drawn in. The author should have gone back through and filled in the time between the action scenes. I'm not saying I want a play by play of this guy's life but I feel cheated out of a lot of this story.
The narrator saved this book with his voice acting. The story is a fun one though I wished it had stayed on Earth. I found that the story on Earth was more entertaining than the one the author chose to go with. Like this plot twist hasn't been done a billion times before.

Simple space military cliche told extremely well.

If you could sum up Terms of Enlistment in three words, what would they be?

Space. Marines. Fighting.

Would you be willing to try another book from Marko Kloos? Why or why not?

Yes, because he created a space marine that actually felt like a person I could bump into at the bus stop. There is something to be said for an author that can do that with a cliche, make it work and make an audience want more of it.

Which scene was your favorite?

There is a seen where the main character does something to defend himself and his team, realizes that seconds later that it had horrible consequences, and gets unfocused and disturbed by it in ways that nearly get him killed. It was a "Oh crap! God, what did I just do?" moment that seemed well thought out.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There was a simple scene at a hospital when Grayson's squad leader explains the limited economic choices a soldier has once they actually enroll in the military in a universe with practically no non-civilian middle class left on Earth. I'm not sure if I can say it "moved" me but it was interesting to think about.

Any additional comments?

It's the future. A young disgruntled man wants a better life and joins the military. Space marines fight stuff. There is a "surprise" for the main character in space, but it's so basic that no one will be shocked about it. In fact the whole story is basic space military stuff and this book is clearly intended to start a series, but it's so well told by both the narrator and author that it just begs to be finished.

Andrew Grayson is a great character to tell the story around, because he is so normal. He joins the military for a paycheck and a ticket into space and the audience witnesses him stumble around in basic training, get his first assignment, wade through annoying military politics, get a girlfriend, and transfer into space...where something happens that blows the minds of humanity and places him in the middle of a bunch of chaos. The character and his every man goof ups, strengths and naiveté are the big draw here. To often space soldiers of every race, species, age or gender are depicted as being born as all knowing bad-to-the-bone cynics who just want to win the war and do nothing else. Andrew Grayson as a character in such a role is surprisingly practical and flexible in his attitudes and point of view in life. He doesn't seem to know what he is doing and the story is better for it.

Oh, and it's narrated by Luke Daniels who is very good at his job and somehow makes everything sound funnier, so this book is very recommended as an audiobook.

Genre: Sci-fi space marine adventure! Oorah!
Audience: Young Adults / Adults
Next book in "Frontlines" series: Lines of Departure

Entertaining Sci-Fi Story

I started listening to this book mainly because I was looking for more work that was narrated by Luke Daniels. I'm a fan of his work in the Magic 2.0 series and was looking to see how well his work translated to other book series. Not only is Luke Daniels narration work still great, but what I also found was an entertaining sci-fi book that packs in some great action scenes and world building.

awsome

I loved the story line and the performance. I was pleased and it out shined my expectations

Fun book and yet not at all what I expected.

Any additional comments?

WOW. Fun book and yet not at all what I expected. I kept expecting it to be a major war against aliens, which yes eventually aliens do show up and play a role, though their role is minimal in the overall story of the book. It was just a very gripping story of a man enlisted into military and his time spent serving. Marko's vision for the future is brutal and yet also hypnotic. Immediately started reading the second book when I finished.

Luke Daniels is one of the best narrators out there and does an excellent job in his delivery.

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What made the experience of listening to Terms of Enlistment the most enjoyable?

The characters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Terms of Enlistment?

First contact.

What about Luke Daniels’s performance did you like?

Mr. Daniels is a very good narrator and I have enjoyed his work in a number of books. The Iron Druid series for one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It mostly just makes me sad. Mainly because I can see the real world in the story and feel the author has hit it dead on.

Any additional comments?

The story is good and the execution is good as well. Mr Daniels narration is as good as ever and I find him very easy to listen to. I definitely recommend this book and the series to anyone looking for a lengthy escape.

Good book

loved it. good twist in the story. will get the follow up. get it. you won't be sorry

The author must have served in the armed services.

The author was able to capture the essence of being a soldier. A must listen for any prior serviceman. More please !