It has been a long, long time between posts; longer than I care to admit. And before anyone declares me lazy or uncaring about my work, I actually have a valid excuse. For the past 6 months I have been suffering on and off through not 1, but 2 herniated discs in my lower back. So much so that I was in hospital for 1 full week, and off work for another 6. A MRI revealed that my L3 and L4 discs were crushing into my spinal canal, pressing several nerve roots in the process. What followed was severe sciatica that left me unable to think, sleep, or walk.

As the pain increased, my motivation dwindled into nothing. Pain was all I could think about as surgery loomed over my head. Luckily, with the help of some of the best doctors and specialists, I managed to escape surgery and have slowly gotten to a point of rehabilitation. With the loving support of my wife, friends and family, I was able to beat the scalpel and recover using good old natural, intensive prescription medication.

Under a heavy load of mind altering drugs, my ability to write was hampered. Pain was slowly replaced by strong side effects. Several attempts to write always ended in a foggy cloud of frustration. Even coming down from the medication brought on flu like symptoms of withdrawal that got the better of my creative drive.

Finally, I am off the meds, withdrawal free, and ready to pick up the pieces. I am currently back to working full time and able to think outside of a small window of time, so I thought I’d open things up with a quick review. Reading – as much as writing – has been a challenge for me up until recently. I’ve hardly read any books this year and feel that I’ve lost a lot of ground. So I thought what better way to get back into it than with a review of a sci-fi military novel.

Anyway, enough complaints, it’s time for something positive.

REVIEW:

Title: Terms of Enlistment (Frontlines series)

Author: Marko Kloos

Link: http://www.amazon.com.au/Terms-Enlistment-Frontlines-Marko-Kloos-ebook/dp/B00CIXX144

I first found this e-book by randomly browsing the science fiction section of the kindle store, hoping to find some inspiration in the sea of creativity that is science fiction. Stumbling across the sequel to the series titled “Lines of Departure”, the description intrigued me enough to want to seek out the first book and start reading it within straight away.

The first thing I noticed was the novels format: first person, present tense. Admittedly this is my least desired format. There is often something I find odd about present tense. The way the action is being described as it happens, from the character’s perspective just feels somewhat strange to me.

This feeling did not last. Within a few paragraphs, I neither noticed or cared about this format choice. A true sign of great writing. Instead of being annoyed by the format, the story overshadowed my view, pulling me deep into the character’s world before long.

Format aside, Terms of Enlistment is centered around a young man named Andrew Grayson. Living in the year 2108, Grayson exists in a time where Earth’s population has swollen to such epic proportions that cities are divided up into giant welfare tenements. Food (recycled from sewerage and reconstituted through soy) is rationed out the the public in strictly controlled proportions. As poverty and crime run rampant, Grayson feels he is so limited in this world, that he decides to join the military.

The military is the only way out of his dangerous tenement and off the planet into colonized space. Shipping out into the unknown, Grayson embarks on a long journey of self discovery, hoping to venture into space. Surviving through Basic training with his new girlfriend Halley, Grayson is given his first order.

Assigned to Earth side defense – a job considered to be the worst in the service – Grayson can’t help but feel jealous that Halley has been assigned to flight school. With no choice but to embrace the military’s decision, Grayson is eventually sent back to the slums he came from, this time on the other side of the violence.

Experiencing full blown military combat, Grayson quickly goes from his his first kill to carelessly mowing down scores of rioting “welfare rats”. Packed with advanced armor and weaponry, Grayson and his outnumbered squads must fight to the last bullet to survive.

From here the story transitions into space with what appears to set the overall theme of the series (something that I can’t go into without some serious spoilers), building up Grayson into what he must become in order to thrive in the service.

In terms of enjoyment, I must say I enjoyed the first half of the story over the last. Experiencing Grayson’s mindset as he kills his first man, kills fellow welfare rats, and even kills a beautiful women out of defense, is what made this book hard to put down. The intense city battle kept me edge, despite the fact that I assumed the character would survive.

The theme of solidarity was something that really stuck with me throughout the first half of the story, as the author continuously reinforced the military culture that Grayson came to swear by.

The second half of the story, while still being intriguing and entertaining, was somewhat sped up in order to set the stage for the next book. It was this general pacing that often left me wondering where the story was headed. It wasn’t until the last quarter of the book that I felt there was a goal or finish line to get to. Up until that point it seemed to be a just a series of events unfolding around Grayson. When the goal became clear, the ending became predictable. It wasn’t a bad kind of predictable, just one that felt a tiny bit anti-climatic, but necessary for the series.

Criticisms aside, the writing is damn good for a debut novel. The author’s efforts really shines through in this sci-fi / military adventure. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get into a new series with an enjoyable character that evolves before their eyes.

Similar to: Steel World (Undying Mercenaries Series) by B. V. Larson