March 19, 2014

“Terms of Enlistment” by Marko Kloos – One Way Out

Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos (Book Cover)
The year is 2108, and most of humanity living on Earth doesn’t have it easy; overpopulation led people down to a spiral of crime and poverty, with countless living in slums where the daily ration consists of two hundred calories of soy.

Andrew Grayson is sick and tired of living his life, and so he decides to take one of the two options available to him: join the military (the other, winning a lottery-ticket off-world was never going to happen anyways).

Though the deal seems really sweet to Andrew at first, with there being real food available, slowly he discovers that there are many things he did not sign up for. In other words, the tough life he led on Earth starts to feel like some kind of fairy tale in comparison to the terrible dangers lurking in the vast infinity that is space.

Such is the premise of Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos, the first book of the Frontlines series , and from the very beginning one can tell that this is the kind of book where the world and story are crafted with extreme detail.

Kloos really went out of his way to create a world we can almost reach out to, smell, feel and touch, with the descriptions touching not only upon the environments, but also on the many grievances and routines of its inhabitants.

As you can probably tell, the story told in the book is rather extensive one, spanning a relatively long time and following Grayson as he matures from a young and ambitious slum-born Earthling into an internally-powerful person whose purpose is clear and important, at least in the moment.

The supporting cast of characters is interesting to study in itself; whether the characters are stereotypical or not in their nature, each one still has something to make him/her memorable and relatable, regardless of whether it’s on a good or bad level.

What really struck me in this book is that Kloos approached it a genre as classic as sliced bread with a lot of grit, brutality and ugliness, succeeding in creating something which feels entirely fresh and seldom-done before.

Rest assured, the story in this book doesn’t stray from its main course (at least not for long), with descriptions of the surroundings, economics and politics only being sufficient to justify what the characters think and do.

This is a journey which is centered on the development of its participants and their decisions in the face of seemingly-insurmountable odds.

With all being said and done, Terms of Enlistment is probably one of the best, classically-styled science-fiction novels to be released recently, if not the best.

Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos (Book Cover)
It has everything from a compelling story and rich characters (personality-wise) to enthralling descriptions and a world that simply draws you in from the first moments.

If you are looking for gritty a science-fiction story that tells of a hero’s journey while managing to feel completely fresh, this is a book you can’t afford to miss out on.



Marko Kloos


Personal site

Marko Kloos is a freelance novelist and writer, as well as being a father to two children. Kloos’ primary area of literary expertise is science-fiction, and perhaps fantasy as well.

He is the kind of writer who knew what he wanted to do ever since he set foot in a library, which resulted in some acclaimed books such as Terms of Enlistment and Lines of Departure.

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