Terms of Enlistment

Good, not great Military Sci-Fi

Kloos has a written an enjoyable book that is performed well by Luke Daniels. It is not in the same category as Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series (at least the first ten books of that series), but the characters are likable, and the plot line believable. This strictly a setup for the ongoing series, there is no attempt to reconcile any of the threads. But the price was right, and it was good enough that I'll get the second book.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Solid military sci-fi.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book. It was a solid showing for a first book and a good lead into a series. The author has an interesting view point of humanity and the future. Kloos does a good job of balancing the tech. So many authors go over the top on tech to the point of drowning out the story. There is enough tech here to keep you interested. The characters were not over the top. I like books that make almost ordinary people into the center of the story. They were believable and I was able to relate to them easily. I enjoyed the boot camp part and it brought back a lot of memories for me. The narrator was easy to listen to and different characters were distinguishable. I would be interested in other books this narrator performed in.

60 of 66 people found this review helpful

passable, standard scifi tropes... blah

Not very compelling. but it was worth what i paid for it. on sale. if you commute a lot, it will do. But if you want the best, if you want feels, keep searching.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

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.

68 of 77 people found this review helpful

Right On Target

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

Good Story combined with excellent narration.

What other book might you compare Terms of Enlistment to and why?

Marko Kloos is as good or better than John Ringo or David Weber. I hope this is a start of a series.

Which scene was your favorite?

I was a Marine and a D.I. and the boot camp scenes were pretty good. There was a lot of difference between our ultra controlled boot camp and the one in Mr Kloos's book, but I can see how his would have been effective, plus his had the advantage of "washout" which meant going back to a life of extreme poverty and desperation. Those with nothing left to lose make the best recruits.

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

I was disappointed that the book ended. Been a while since that happened.

47 of 54 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed The Story

Terms of Enlistment is by no means a perfect book but it was one I enjoyed immensely: a non blustery military sci fi that isn't in love with its tech, its military, or right wing politics. Rather, we have an everyman navigating the military as a way out of a dead end life on welfare, who won't suddenly end up captaining a ship or becoming an insta-leader. As well, I appreciated that we didn't have a gender-specific army but instead had capable roles for male and female characters. I read the second book in the series, Lines of Departure, first and liked it enough to buy this first book.

Story: Andrew Grayson joins the military as a way out of an untenable life in the welfare system of the North American government. He will go through training school and then end up tackling the problematic situation of the deteriorating social structure on Earth. But what is happening on Earth is only one problem in a universe that is about to expand rapidly - and the military is suddenly going to become very needed.

What I liked about the books is that we have a very ordinary guy. Although he sounds far too educated to have come from a welfare system in which he didn't get higher education (there are no colloquialisms, slang, dialects, etc.) I actually preferred that simple talk for a simple man. Both this first book and the second book start slowly but really pick up steam by midway through. And then, when the action kicks in, Kloos really knows how to escalate it - his characters don't have bad days, they have *really* bad days.

This is the type of story that isn't about kick butt marines, balls out action, or being macho. It's about being lucky to survive, a feeling of futility but also hope, and living in a world on the brink of falling apart on many levels.

I listened to the audible version of this and enjoyed the narration.

44 of 52 people found this review helpful

Fantastic Narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend the narrator to a friend. The book was generally good, especially the first 15 chapters or so. It takes a twist into an area that I didn't care for towards the end.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Not satisifed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

ok i guess

it just never got me deep into the character for some reason. it could be me though. the ending was way too abrupt. when it was over i wasnt left wanting.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

good but generic

The narrator is great. Story is ok. Writing is pretty solid. If you like military scifi you will like but it is not that deep of a story.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Terms has a Starship Troopers feel to it

Not that I am saying that Terms of Enlistment and Starship Troopers are all that similar, it's just the feel of the stories. I especially enjoyed the boot camp chapters.

As for this book itself, the author focuses on the story and not the tech. Granted there are cool gadgets. but he doesn't get bogged down in describing every little thing. He emphasizes the story. And this story is about Andrew Grayson. He wins the lottery and that allows him to leave the projects and join the military. He makes his way through boot camp, but (no spoilers) things don't all go his way. Grayson is just a regular guy put in extraordinary circumstances and that is very enjoyable and refreshing to read. He deals with few bump in the roads. The battle scenes are good and there are more than a few.

The down side, some of the characters are 2D cardboard cutouts, and much of the dialogue is cheesy and stereotypical. I have heard dialogue like this in bad movies, likely written by people who's never spent time around military officers actually doing their jobs. Luke Daniels does a good job narrating. That aside I think Marko Kloos does an alright job with this one, but it falls short of great.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful