“Angles of Attack” by Marko Kloos – The Details in War

With the previous two books in the Frontlines series by Marko Kloos we've become somewhat acquainted with Andrew Grayson and the universe this grand space opera takes place in.

Basically-speaking, the whole thing begins with an alien invasion, beings of a rather mysterious and undescribed nature possessing immense power.

Though the fight does seem like a relatively hopeless one, humanity nevertheless forges onwards in its resistance, leading to the latest book in the series, Angles of Attack.

The story has come to a point where humans are coming to a decision to set their differences aside and join forces to fight the Lankies, with the main objective being to breach their blockade which cuts off Earth's supply lines.

For the purpose of this mission a hybrid task force was put together with specialists from different armies, though it still remains a long shot for their enemies are capable of outmanoeuvring them at every turn, not to mention outgun and outlive in general.

When looking at the book from a technical standpoint, it certainly lives up to the standards set by the previous two. The writing itself is rather solid and the author knows how to use the right words to his advantage in order to create tense and suspenseful situations. The sentences flow pretty easily from one to the next and the brisk pace is rather evenly maintained throughout the whole thing.

Looking beyond that though, in terms of content I'd have to say that there really is something missing in this third book in the series. There seem to be all too many events leading into unimpressive dead ends and unrelated to the main plot in any way; at some points it feels as if you're just stumbling from one scenario into the next without any meaningful connections to be found.

While the first two books offered a few things that set them apart from the tired cliches of the genre, this one seems to do a bit less of that, contenting itself with following the logical yet predictable route.

In terms of the importance of the events that take place in this book in relation to the entire series, it is safe to say that barring any future unforeseen connections less than twenty percent of them will be worth remembering.

As far as the characters are concerned, there is also disappointingly little development to speak of, both with the good and the bad guys. A new character appears and then just as skillfully makes his exit, while the protagonists don't really get confronted with many new challenges or character-changing moments.

In other words, most of the focus is placed on the action which is a bit of a shame considering the length of the series and the potential for development the characters have.

With all of that being said, Angles of Attack is certainly not a bad science-fiction book, and will most certainly entertain you if you like the genre and have read the previous novels in the series Terms of Enlistment and Lines of Departure). It's just that it fails to meet the high bar that was set for it and doesn't advance the main plot all that much.

It still has entertainment in spades and can be very well enjoyed if approached with the right attitude, which is why I recommend it to all science-fiction fans who are looking for a lighter type of read.

Favorite quote: "To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late; and how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods?"

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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.