Terms of Enlistment | Basic information
Terms of Enlistment is the first book in the Frontlines series, a fantastic military sci-fi series written by Marko Kloos. Up until now the series consists of six published titles, with the seventh, Orders of Battle, scheduled to release on December 8th 2020. They are all your standard length novels with Terms of Enlistment specifically coming in at around 90k words in length or 9 hours and 36 minutes for the audiobook.
Terms of Enlistment | Story and Structure
As mentioned above Terms of Enlistment falls into the military sci-fi genre. The novel follows a sole point-of view character and is entirely narrated in the first person and present tense. This was my first experience with this particular writing style, which made the first few paragraphs a bit disorientating to read. But not five minutes into Terms of Enlistment my brain had already adjusted and I was happily taking in the novel's story. In fact as I got further into the book, I found this style of storytelling more immersive compared to other novels, especially during the action set-pieces.
In terms of story Terms of Enlistment takes you into the front-row seat in the life of Andrew Grayson. He is a young man who grew up the Boston Metroplex, a public residential district which more or less functions like a futuristic American slum or favela. Determined to escape the life of poverty and constant threat of muggings, Andrew takes his best shot at moving up the social ladder by enlisting in the armed forces. From there the novel follows his enlistment process, his indoctrination at boot-camp, his graduation and then his start in the army proper. Along the way he makes many friends and has plenty positive experiences, although it should be said that he ends up in a far more diverse and turbulent career path than he had ever intended.
Terms of Enlistment | Sub-genres
As you make your way through the novel you can expect to find mostly action since this is a military sci-fi novel after all. The combat set-pieces are very diverse covering land, air, space and even a bit of cyber warfare, all of which will have you twitching to turn the page and find out if and how Andrew makes it out alive. There's also plenty of drama present in the novel in large part connected to the bureaucracy and constant chest-thumping tied to any military. On somewhat surprising note, the novel also features a prevalent romance sub-plot which is surprisingly wholesome given Terms of Enlistment's militaristic focus.
In a more supporting role, you'll also find some comedy driven by the main characters smart-ass personality. Next are world-building and philosophical elements which mostly center around the socio-political state of this future version of the USA and how that ties into the moral decision-making of it's enlisted personnel. Lastly you'll also find a suspense oriented section towards the end of the novel, but I won't go into further detail to avoid spoilers.
Terms of Enlistment | Conclusion
Terms of Enlistment as well as the whole Frontlines series is my favourite military sci-fi series, so I would recommend it to anyone even vaguely interested in the genre. For me, it perfectly walks the line of being a serious and mature look at military life in the future while still providing moments of levity or heartfelt emotional moments. The novel's otherwise simple approach to narration makes it very accessible to both newcomers and veterans of the genre. Although if you're unfamiliar with basic military jargon, you'll likely often find yourself visiting the wiki or a dictionary in the first quarter of the novel.
Should you be interested in snagging a copy of Terms of Enlistment you can do so HERE. This and all the other links featured in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which may earn me a commission should you make a purchase through them. This is of course at no added cost to you, but it does help to support me and what I love to do. If you don't feel comfortable with this arrangement, feel free to circumnavigate the affiliate links by visiting Amazon's website independently.
Have any questions about this book or series? Drop me a comment at the bottom of this post or my YouTube video, and I'll do my best to answer it! Also, if you liked this review, consider sharing it with your book-loving friends or check out some of the other books I've covered!
Terms of Enlistment | Lessons
Aspiring novelists can also find a lot of inspiration in this author's work, from his incorporation of a mature romance subplot in the otherwise military focused plot, to textbook examples of foreshadowing, which were likely the product of a well laid out outline. I cover these and some others in grater detail in the video linked at the top of the post.