Angles of Attack

Frontlines, Book 3

By: Marko Kloos

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

The alien forces known as the Lankies are gathering on the solar system's edge, consolidating their conquest of Mars and setting their sights on Earth. The far-off colony of New Svalbard, cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the Lanky blockade, teeters on the verge of starvation and collapse. The forces of the two Earth alliances have won minor skirmishes but are in danger of losing the war. For battle-weary staff sergeant Andrew Grayson and the ragged forces of the North American Commonwealth, the fight for survival is entering a catastrophic new phase.

Forging an uneasy alliance with their Sino-Russian enemies, the NAC launches a hybrid task force on a long shot: a stealth mission to breach the Lanky blockade and reestablish supply lines with Earth. Plunging into combat against a merciless alien species that outguns, outmaneuvers, and outfights them at every turn, Andrew and his fellow troopers could end up cornered on their home turf, with no way out and no hope for reinforcement. And this time the struggle for humanity's future can end only in either victory or annihilation.

©2015 Marko Kloos (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

3.5 stars

This is a fun listen. The pace is fast. The narration is first rate. And the story is pretty good.

Its not great. The story arch continues here in this 3rd series installment. But the story is not overly complex. Also, standing alone, this book lacks much in the way of new ideas or universe development. All of that was taken care of in the first installment.

This series is worth giving a try. But its not up there with the very best. And the overall story is pretty straight forward and unimaginative. But the character development and the writing style gets above that.

Great story! Preformance was well done!

Any additional comments?

Having read the two previous books and the short stories, this book is a strong and worthwhile addition to the universe Marko has created.

Some commentary in the reviews has indicated the story is depressing, leaving the reader without hope. I see this story as full of hope, just not Pollyanna. The likelihood of humans running into a space faring race, that doesn’t want to kick our tail seems vanishingly small, if human history is to be any judge. The themes of powerful bureaucrats looking out for themselves shouldn’t surprise anyone who has read any news in the last twenty years. The themes of poverty and lack of self-reliance in government housing are played out everyday around the world.

The depressing parts of this story are simply the backdrop upon which the author chooses to paint many stories of bravery, self sacrifice and heroism. Without the fall there can be no up from the ashes story.

This is a very good read! I anxiously await the next (final?) installment in this universe.

Aliens

I have gotten through 3 of the main novels and 1 of the short side stories. I'm quitting. The main reason is because I'm so exhausted with alien species being "buggy" or having senses that can't be explained without having eyes. I'm tired of biological technology that aliens use. Why does every alien species we fight need to be either an insectoid or some sort of organic-tech centric species? Not scary. Just lame. Just typical and played out.

I am a Marine comvat veteran from before the time when women were allowed in combat units. While this absolutely does not bother me in any story, especially future scifi because I believe it to be reflective of reality, I'm bored of making women to be superhumans who kick every man's ass. It's ridiculous. Noone with real experience buys it and it's an equally lame concept alongside boring aliens.

Aside from those points, the stories are pretty good. I like the description the author uses, the detail in military ranks, rates, culture... The weapons, equipment, personal gear, technology, ships, etc are all very well thought out and I really enjoyed those aspects of the books best.
The reader performing the audio does a good job, although there are inconsistencies with characters from book to book (notably Col. Campbell). He does an entertaining job, though.

Riveting

I had forgotten all about this series, I saw it on Audible and realized I had not read book three of the series. I understand book four should be coming out at the end of the year so I made a note on my calendar to look for it.

“Angles of Attack” continues the story of Andrew Grayson, marine staff sergeant. The Lankies, those aliens who are impossible to beat, trapped a coalition of former enemies on a planet with diminishing fuel, ammunition and food. It appears they are being forced to run the gauntlet home to earth. The story has both exciting land and space battles.

Kloos has a good plot and excellent characterizations. The story forces the characters to their limits. The pace is fast with swashbuckling action and suspense. The ending leaves us with a cliff hanger. Luke Daniels narrated the book.

love this series.

as an ex soldier and life long sci-fi fanatic this series just does it for me . I hope this isn't the end for this series.

New twist on great military SF

The third book in this no-longer-a-trilogy (it was originally supposed to be three books, now it will be at least four) is the strongest yet. Kloos pulls off a neat trick for a military science fiction series. He first gives us the usual satisfying tropes with a likeable hero who progresses up the ranks, political machinations, propulsive action, and ever-increasing-in-scale conflict. All of this is delivered at least as well as any classic Hornblower knock-off (Honor Harrington, Lost Fleet, etc) and is worth it in its own right.

But, there is a twist, which is that, unlike these other heroes, Kloos's characters remain cogs in the machine: the death of the captain does not suddenly place them in charge, they do not come up with the amazing idea to slay the aliens, they are not the ones to turn every battle. Kloos plays with this idea in interesting ways as the book (and series) progress, creating shifting sympathies and continual surprises.

On top of that, and the thrilling military scenes, the book is held together by terrific characters who actually feel human, witty, and meaningful. The reading is terrific as well. You obviously should start with the first book, but this is a great addition, and I am glad there are more books to come.

great story. narrator tries too hard

it's a great series and a great story. The only problem is the narrator tries way too hard on the voices. everybody sounds like they're either pissed off or spent the last 20 years smoking 10 packs a day while guzzling whiskey and turpentine

This series keeps getting better

Things have gone to hell for humanity. We have been driven back time and time again by the Lankies and we have no colonies left beyond 30 light years from Earth. As we set up defenses on the new border the Lankies suddenly jump all the way to our solar system and deal us a crushing blow by taking Mars. This wipes out the majority of our fleet and effectively cuts off our remaining colonies from Earth. Staff sergeant Andrew Grayson is now stranded on the colony moon of New Svalbard along with a small task force of ships and little food. Caught between a rock and a hard place Andrew knows they will all starve to death if they stay where they but they would be blindly jumping into an unwinnable space battle if they try to go home.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and a plan is hatched by the New Svalbard task force to send a stealth recon mission back to our solar system to find out if any humans are still alive. Resupplying from Earth is the only thing that will prevent their impending death by starvation so Andrew joins the crew of the Indianapolis on their potential suicide mission back to Earth. The small task force at new Svalbard is composed of ships from both the Sino-Russian Alliance (SRA) and the North American Commonwealth (NAC) and their cooperation has been the only thing that has kept them alive so far. Most of the ships are old but the Indianapolis is actually a newer ship and certainly the only one in the task force with a slim chance of remaining undetected after the jump. The SRA commander agrees to allow their secret Alcubierre jump node to be used for the mission back to Earth since the North American Commonwealth node was compromised by the Lankies when they invaded the solar system. This places a single Russian soldier who knows the activation code for the node on the Indianapolis and Andrew is charged with keeping an eye on him.

The mission back to Earth is high tension and that is what makes this the best book of the series so far. Things continue to get more dire for humanity and cog in the machine Andrew Grayson continues to grow as a character and become more interesting. Cut off from all communications, Andrew has no clue if his Mom is still alive on Earth or if his fiancé Halley is still training pilots on Luna. This mission will put him tantalizingly close to them, if he survives it, and pull him in multiple directions as his duty to the military and his desire to be with his loved ones war with each other.

Luke Daniels has been the voices of all the main characters from the start and he continues to do an excellent job. This series continues to get better and while the storyline isn't always perfect this is definitely worth picking up.

Poor continuity and editing.

What did you like best about Angles of Attack? What did you like least?

The best aspects of the novel are the Audible narrator, who is enthusiastic, and the "space opera" story that is an unabashed throwback to the juvenile age of SF. It's as if Kloos recently discovered Heinlein, Dickson, and Herbert, and then said to himself, "I can do that." But, of course, he can't, though he proudly leaves a trail of embedded, unsubtle references to his SF sources. Every scene is derivative. The least appealing aspects of the novel are the poor continuity and editing. I can almost understand a writer failing to keep track of continuity, but the editor's job is to make sure that continuity is maintained. Here are a few examples from the first and second books in the series: Grayson joins the defence forces at age 19 ... later we are told that he was 21 when he joined; the North American Coalition and the Sino-Russian Alliance do not use "nukes" against each other ... the NAC lays a thermonuclear minefield to destroy SRA space ships; a colony constable is (first novel) tall and lanky (think Gary Cooper), and then the same character is (second novel) he is tall and massive (think John Wayne). An editor should have demanded rewrites to eliminate awkward repetitions in sentences; for example, "I felt a presence over my should. I turned around to look over my shoulder. The constable stood behind me looking over my shoulder." Far too many of these sentences, to the point that they become intrusive, distracting, and not at all humorous.
Kloos also doesn't seem to have a firm grasp of basic physics. Communication between the earth and moon follow light speed and have a two second lag time; but the conversations between Saturn and Luna are instantaneous. Apparently mass and weight are interchangeable terms, as are momentum and acceleration.

Has Angles of Attack turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. I'm all for "willing suspension of disbelief," but in SF a story must be bound by its own internal logic and physical laws, otherwise it is fantasy. I know that SF is often the genre in which novice writers first try out themes and styles; Kloos fails to comprehend that it is also the genre that at its best is a demanding literature. These books aren't the best, not the worst. Take them or leave them, just don't expect anything profound or thought provoking.

What about Luke Daniels’s performance did you like?

He's enthusiastic and fairly good at conveying intonations--the voice that carries meaning when printed cues are unavailable. His inability to broaden his range enough to distinguish between male and female characters is bothersome; all the characters who don't have accents sound the same. He does do an excellent performance with regional and international accents.

Did Angles of Attack inspire you to do anything?

You've got to be kidding.

Any additional comments?

For the price and length, worthwhile, especially if you are looking for mindless (in both senses) SF space opera. Fun, but ultimately unsatisfying.

lots of important stuff happening here

This is a decent addition to the series but not as exciting as the first two. The best action is the rescue from detention on Luna. The Lankies are attacking Earth and the rats, er, powers that be are abandoning the ship! Very scary.

If you have liked the previous books, this one will get you to the next. There are a couple important events that change the direction Grayson is going, so you need it for the story line.

I have liked the characters and general story. I just do not understand why no one has considered trying to talk to the Lankies. Yeah, I know, how do you communicate with a building-sized creature that can out-perform you in survivability, armaments, and terra-forming? But it does look as if they want the same things humans want.

In any case, I will continue with the series.

Best in series so far.

Really enjoyed this. Possibly the most enjoyable of the series yet. Plenty of turns and twists in the story.

OK but treading water

Any additional comments?

Enjoyable and very well presented. However by halfway through you realise that the overall series plot is not going to progress very much. By the end I was mildly disappointed. No evolution or explanation of the Lankies. How do their ships survive thermonuclear missile hits? If they had taken Mars, why did they leave earth? Good stuff, way better than some of the military SciFi available but please move the storyline on next time Mr Kloos.

Well read by Daniels but Kloos is no Ian Douglas

This is trashy but enjoyable Scí-fi fantasy supurbly read by Luke Daniels. Worth a listen if you are a true fan of the genre but otherwise maybe give this one a miss. Kloos, while ok, is not in the same league as someone like William H. Keith Jr. (aks Ian Douglas). I strongly recommend you try out the Star Carrier books by Ian Douglas or even the Ender's Game series of books by Orson Scott Card.

finally doing something right

humans are idiots, but when push comes to shove they can actually work together though in extreme circumstances.

Still a great series.

Addictive series, listened to first 3 books in just over a week. Recommend to any Sci-Fi fan.

Smashing.

Really enjoyed this audiobook, the reader does it very well, i am impressed, am going to buy the next one in this collection. Great story line and it packs a punch. I can honestly say I look forward to hearing more,This is the 3rd book in this series I have read, keep up the good work.👍. Thank you.

Good follow-on

Good action scenes; good storyline, but I think I’m all lankied out!

If I’m honest, I have had trouble finding the lankies believable and I just can’t see this storyline going much further.

Gripping

What did you like most about Angles of Attack?

It is a fast moving action story that has characters you can identify with

What was one of the most memorable moments of Angles of Attack?

the last battle with the Lankies on either

Have you listened to any of Luke Daniels’s other performances? How does this one compare?

yes and he is well worth listening to

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

I could identify with with the different personalities

Any additional comments?

well worth reading/listening to

Great story

A great story with characters you believe in and route for. Can't wait for the next book in the
series

great storyline and great recording

this book leaves something for us to look for in the 4th book. I'm definitely going to get it when it release.