Finally, the Lankies spaceships are so large and tough that not even nuclear weapons are able to bring them down. What’s worse is that they arrive at Earth colonies and immediately begin terraforming them so that within two weeks, humans have to learn to breathe carbon dioxide or, well, you get the idea.
These are very bad dudes: 80 feet tall and impervious to small arms fire you have to use a rocket launcher or multiple grenades to bring one down. On top of this, the colonies start getting hit by an alien race referred to as the Lankies. In addition to the world being divided between the North American Commonwealth (NAC) and the Sino-Russian Alliance (SRA), both governments just about as corrupt as each other, there are constant riots by starving civilians that have to be put down by the military. Kloos has painted a future where the world is overpopulated (30 billion) with about a hundred colonies in space. Now Lines of Departure continues that story. Not only was the action great, the dialogue and characterization realistic, but Kloos impressed me on his ability to tell a futuristic military story in a way that made me actually believe he knew what was going on. Judging a book by its cover (which I wasn’t that impressed with), and the fact that it was self-published (another mistake by me) told me not to expect much. I first came across Terms of Enlistment, the first book in Marko Kloos’ Frontlines Series, a year or two ago. The best that I have ever read–classics–are Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (the book, not the movie!) and The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. 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.I’m a sucker for a good military science fiction story. and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or the gangs that rule the slums. 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.
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. 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. The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. 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. "There is nobody who does military SF] better than Marko Kloos.
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