“A new series that promises to be just as engrossing [as Frontlines]…the action just as exciting, the science just as solid, the tension just as high. I gulped down the first book in a day, and I am already eager for the next one.” —George R. R. MartinAcross the six-planet expanse of the Gaia system, the Earthlike Gretia struggles to stabilize in the wake of an interplanetary war. Amid an uneasy … war. Amid an uneasy alliance to maintain economies, resources, and populations, Aden Robertson reemerges. After devoting twelve years of his life to the reviled losing side, with the blood of half a million casualties on his hands, Aden is looking for a way to move on. He’s not the only one.
A naval officer has borne witness to inconceivable attacks on a salvaged fleet. A sergeant with the occupation forces is treading increasingly hostile ground. And a young woman, thrust into responsibility as vice president of her family’s raw materials empire, faces a threat she never anticipated.
Now, on the cusp of an explosive and wide-reaching insurrection, Aden plunges once again into the brutal life he longed to forget. He’s been on the wrong side of war before. But this time, the new enemy has yet to reveal themselves…or their dangerous endgame.
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Simply inhaled this.
Be warned: it’s the first in a series, and ends on the sort of cliffhanger that causes readers to breathe brimstone and pitchforks. If you can’t stand that sort of ending, then buy the book and stash it underneath that copy of Proust you’ve always meant to read, until the next comes out.
It starts deceptively slowly, as Aden, who has been a prisoner of war for five years, is released and told to get out of Rhodia. Everyone hates the Gretians who lost the war, but they really, really hate the military unit he was in.
We also are introduced to some other POVs. Some of these connect up toward the end, others don’t, but as attacks begin to happen, without anyone knowing why or who, it’s clear that all these POVs will be converging as action stars shifting into high gear.
Kloos is so good at military SF and worldbuilding. Terrific characters, fascinating setup, unpredictable turns in the plot. But how long O lord, how long, until book two????
I’ll be buying this in print.
Enjoyable sci-fi war story. Cliff-hanger ending leads you strongly toward the second book in the series.
Aftershocks is not poignantly titled book that begins this immersive Palladium Wars series but it brilliantly underscores the journey of reinventing oneself after the world you knew no longer exists.
For Aden Robertson, the former Gretian soldier and POW… he has a chance to start over and find a new path worthy of his new reality. He just can’t quite shake the shadows of family that seek to still dictate the road of his future. Featuring interwoven POVs that deliver not various view points of not only the new way of things but the complex planetary system and its secrets it holds onto. Wonderfully written, gritty and realistically raw in its narrative that you believe on what you’re seeing, the actions taken and unfolding consequences because of them. Highly recommended.
An interesting premise, a mystery centered among six different, yet related worlds, and four characters tangled up in it all. I had no idea what I was getting into reading this book but it’s clear Kloos is a master at his craft. It was engaging without too much backstory or technobabble and the alternating POV’s kept me interested. I found myself staying up later and later each night to read more. Looking forward to books 2 &3.
Set in the Gaia system, where human colonists have settled on different planets with different features, this series opener introduced a number of characters and worlds. Aden, the former POW being released, serves as the bookends to the story. Idina showcases the reality on the ground in occupied territory. Solveig adds a corporate perspective. And Dunstan gives it a touch of “The Hunt for Red October” in space. Overall, it has a futuristic feel of a defeated Germany between the world wars plus the zone-based occupation following WWII, except on a different planetary system and with advanced tech. The world building was phenomenal, and it does not overwhelm, so it reads easy. Because it’s a series opener, it leaves several questions unanswered at the end. Who attacked the power station? Who scuttled the mothballed ships? Who plotted the bomb attack on Principal Square? Those will likely come in a future book. But that does not detract from the marvel of the universe on display—unless you dislike cliffhanger endings. You’ll want to push yourself to reach the ending.
I love sci-fi and this series kept me interested and intrigued.
Kloos is great at building new worlds. We’ve read all his books and thoroughly enjoyed them. This is another great start for a new series. Can’t wait for the next one! Highly recommended.
I always enjoyed Marko Klos writing, starting with terms of enlistment. This new series is promising and I had a splendid time reading it.