Kloos does a great job of keeping the story moving while effectively developing the characters. Even though the undertones of Terms of Enlistment are dark and dystopian, the overall story in not one of hopelessness and despair. In some ways, Terms of Enlistment reminds me of the movie Elysium (which I didn’t see by the way) in that it paints a picture of the future where Earth has become a place of squalor and despair while space is a place of hope and plenty. You’ll have to read the book to find out. Eventually, Grayson makes it into space, but I’m not going to ruin the story and tell you how.

Unfortunately, during his military training, it’s discovered that he has more aptitude for ground fighting than space support, and Grayson is assigned to the Earth’s Terrestrial Army that has responsibility for protecting the foreign interests of the United States as well as maintaining domestic peace. His ultimate desire is to see the colonized planets and eventually settle on one.

In the case of Andrew Grayson, he decides to join the military to escape the slums of Boston.īy joining, Grayson wants more than to leave Boston. America’s major cities have deteriorated into welfare slums where people have no way out unless they are selected by lottery to colonize other planets, or they join the military. Terms of Enlistment paints a dystopian view of the future. Given that I could read it for free via the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, I figured that I’d give it a try. Revised edition: This edition of Terms of Enlistment includes editorial revisions.In searching for my next entertainment novel, I stumbled across Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos. 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. 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 better than Marko Kloos.

Terms of enlistment book