Terms of Enlistment
Written by Marko Kloos
Narrated by Luke Daniels
4/5
()
About this audiobook
“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.
Marko Kloos
Marko Kloos is the author of two series of military science fiction, the Palladium Wars and the Frontlines, and is a member of George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards consortium. Born in Germany and raised in and around the city of Münster, Marko was previously a soldier, bookseller, freight dockworker, and corporate IT administrator before deciding that he wasn’t cut out for anything except making stuff up for fun and profit. Marko writes primarily science fiction and fantasy—his first genre love ever since his youth, when he spent his allowance on German SF pulp serials. He likes bookstores, kind people, October in New England, fountain pens, and wristwatches. Marko resides at “Castle Frostbite” in New Hampshire with his wife, two children, and roving pack of voracious dachshunds. For more information, visit www.markokloos.com.
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Reviews for Terms of Enlistment
606 ratings45 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I binged this audiobook which is HIGHLY unusual. Much of the credit for this review is due to the story and the PERFECT NARRATOR; LOVED HIM. I can't count the number of potentially good or great audiobooks that I put away bc of terrible narration. Certainly, many or even all you audiobook listeners know what I mean! For this guy I already scoped out most of everything else he's done and put it on my list. He has that perfect voice - this audiobook the mid to late 20s. Thinking more about it, he must have done ALL the voices and they were varied and perfect. On to the SEQUEL where he sounds older, 30s+, CLEARLY, he's a super narrator. I happen to like his tone.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It was good, but I have read other books in the genre that were similar. At this point I am not sure I will continue the series.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I couldn´t stop listening to it...... it was like a drug!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What a great book. It keep pace and did not drag. If you like military science fiction, read this book!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/53.5 rounded up. Solid mil-SF, well written and reliably entertaining.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Like Scalzi’s old mans war ? Like Starship Troopers? How about Haldaman’s forever war ? This really is right up there with the greats ! The narrator is superb to boot !Luke Daniels was made to read space combat!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was really good. The characters were well written and well voiced. I head no idea where the story was going and that made it really interesting.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am just so stunned - this is approaching Alistair Reynolds level of epic hard scifi
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fast paced and thrilling. Action packed, almost too much, but I love it!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5MilSciFi without any of the ponderous philosophical pitfalls all to common to the genre.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frickin fantastic. got me back into books action packed from start to finish.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Entertaining, witty and never a dull moment in this action packed space adventure
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Five F*in stars! Great attention to detail. Really pulled me into the story and made me actually feel the excitement the heart wrenches and triumphs of the characters!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5nice nice nice nice nice nice nice nice nice nice
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Modest and well paced. Light on the jargon often used to try and ground some world building.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good story line ! Can’t wait to read the next ons
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book was good enough but I’ll listen to the next one.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Perfect Text & Excellent Narration
Highly Recommended Sci-Fi
Except for one thing:
Russians aren't as threatening as mentioned - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The fact that it was a space adventure and coming of age and responsibility love distance the book itself with absolutely brilliant the narrator Luke Daniels is excellent he would have to be one of the best narrators I've heard I've heard him on a few other books and he's never ever done book anything but justice
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gutsy war story, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next in this series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cross between Star Ship Troopers and Black Hawk Down good reader.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Sounds like a great story line. I was really into for the first few chapters. Then it started dropping the f bomb everyother word. Profanity is just an excuse for poor writing!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book was a pleasant surprise. It is part Space Opera, part Military Sci-Fi and an all-around great story that keep me enthralled from beginning to end. For starters, the author describes a future that is believable. I especially liked how the slums are described and how desperate people must be to get out of them. Very realistic. In addition, I had a connection with the main character. I wanted good things for him and pulled for him because he tried hard, in the only way he knew how, to better himself. Lastly, I liked how the author developed the plot and the pacing was spot on. It all just worked for me. I got the right amount of prose and world development to satisfy my detail oriented personality. I am so looking forward to the next installment.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A perfectly servicable entry in the Military Sci-Fi category, with a strongly voiced (if rather generic) protagonist and a bit of interesting action. In my opinion the story would've been improved by being more focused. As it was the protagonist wandered forward steadily, occasionally through a firefight, but without ever really getting anywhere that others haven't been hundreds of times before.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book started off light and promised to be fairly entertaining along the lines of the usual shallow military sf. I had a couple of early sticking points like the protagonist apparently lacking empathy for quite a few people and yet effortlessly forming relationships. Needless to say the Mary Sue trope is prominent.
Nonetheless I was enjoying it as I never had too high expectations. Then suddenly the story shifts. I did not like or agree with this shift. Frankly the plotlines that were dropped seemed far too intriguing for me to just be ignored. This shift is followed up with a number of elements that seemed to indicate lack of research/planning on the author's part.
Things ramped up towards the end with the introduction of some quite interesting antagonists and I have a feeling that future books are going to be darker in tone. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My first Kloos book and it's an exciting read/listen. Our hero, an average kid, finds excitement. romance, and fun in his new life as a grunt, then as a sailor. Set in the not too distant future, the characters are all believable--I've met them all at some time. That makes the sci fi so much better--technology changes but people don't. Looking forward to the second book in the series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Terms of Enlistment is a fast-paced military science fiction adventure set in a dystopian culture. Unlike much of what is found in military scifi, it has a hint of depth which is seen most in the descriptions of and interactions with the disturbingly familiar society. However, this is done with a subtle enough hand that it doesn't diminish the pacing of the action.I'm definitely curious about the rest of the series. I'd love to read more about the societal conditions on Earth, but I'd be okay with more adventure too.I received a complimentary copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway. Many thanks to all involved in providing me with this opportunity.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Made it twenty pages. Really makes you put Tom Clancy on a pedestal.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5pulpy military sci-fi. Not usually a genre I like, but this worked well enough. Not too dark. Subsequent books in the series are more interesting and swash-buckly.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really, really enjoyed this one.Andrew Grayson is eighteen years old, living in public housing with his mom, and eating the reconstituted protein that is food aid in this future. He wants out, and the only real option is enlistment in armed forces of the North American Confederacy. Five years of service will get him five years of banked pay at the end of it, and might get him a shot at a berth on a ship to an offworld colony. So he signs up.He wants one of the space services, Navy or Marines, but after basic, where he demonstrates a good tactical brain but no other promising military aptitudes, he's assigned to the Territorial Army. The girlfriend he met in basic, Halley, on the other hand, is going to be a drop ship pilot in the Navy. They promise to stay in touch.They actually do stay in touch.Andrew's first six months as a Territorial Army soldier are, to say the least, eventful, and we learn a lot about this future America and future Earth. And when he gets his longed-for assignment in space, in circumstances that he wouldn't have chosen, we're about to learn how difficult and generally mundane life on a partially terraformed colony world is--when something no one expected happened, and things get really exciting.All of which could be a workaday, ordinary, somewhat interesting milsf story, except it's not. Kloos is giving us real characters, in a world real enough to be grounded and believable, and different enough to be engaging, with people who have strengths and weaknesses. I really enjoyed this, and look forward to the later installments.Highly recommended.I bought this audiobook.