Fields of Fire

Publisher's Summary

The time has come to take the fight to the Lankies.

Mars has been under Lanky control for more than a year. Since then, the depleted forces of Earth's alliances have rebuilt their fleets, staffing old warships with freshly trained troops. Torn between the need to beat the Lankies to the punch and taking enough time to put together an effective fighting force, command has decided to strike now.

Once again, seasoned veterans Andrew and Halley find themselves in charge of green troops and at the sharp tip of the spear as the combined military might of Earth goes up against the Lankies. But if there's one constant in war, it's that no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy...and the Lankies want to hold on to Mars as badly as humanity wants to reclaim it.

©2017 Marko Kloos (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Great continuation of the series!

One of my favorite science fiction/space opera series.A well written first person prospective that is refreshingly different to most of the military sci-fi books out there. Also Luke Daniels is on my list of favorite narrators. If anyone else read this series I would be disappointed. Overall, I am left wanting more and wished the next book was already out!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

1st half of book mostly rehash

The beginning of the book started fine what with a remnant of a previously thought destroyed Lanky settlement resurfacing in Greenland and Andrew taking part in destroying it and discovering an unknown aspect about the Lanky that will complicate further encounters. Then, for the rest of the first half of the story, both Andrew and Halley ended up visiting his Mom and the Chief and then Halley's parents which did nothing the move the story along. Then the rest of the time was spent with them rehashing previous encounters and ruminating on all sorts of stuff that, again, did absolutely nothing to move the story along.

It picked up in the 2nd half of the book where the fight to take back Mars from the Lankies took place and there were interesting encountered, if not predictable. The last part of the story was overly melodramatic and the ending was predictable.

Luke Daniels performance was good but was hindered with a sup-par story. It's unclear whether there will be another book to the series but I don't plan to follow the series if so.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The time to fight back is finally here.

The fifth of book of the Frontlines series brings the story to a turning point for mankind. The first four books have seen humanity dominated by the alien Lankies, losing battle after battle, and abandoning every human planet except for Earth. Even then, the relentless attacks coming from the Lankie inhabited planet of Mars have caused humanity to barely maintain a hold on Earth. With our existence on the brink, the only option left is to go "all in" and launch an offensive to reclaim our solar system. Gathering up the scraps of the space fleet to attack Mars is a desperate play, but there are no other alternatives left.

Marko Kloos offers up some more of his straight forward military sci-fi writing as this series continues to gain momentum with each new book. Both the series and the characters have grown on me over time and I must admit that I was excited to see this become available.  Following the career of Andrew Grayson wasn't that interesting at first, but now I am invested in him as a character, and his personality makes the overall story arc that much better. Experiencing the massive fight for survival against the Lankies from the perspective of one soldier is turning out to be more entertaining than I initially thought it would be. This was another solid entry in the series and left me eager for the next book.

With Luke Daniels narrating the entire series it is real win-win to listen to this. As soon as I hear Luke's voice it transports me back into the fight against the Lankies and makes me ready to do my part to help save mankind. If you have enjoyed the series so far, then don't hesitate to pick this one up.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

both better and worse than what I was expecting

Gave the series a long rest after the fourth book. Just couldn't hack our main character always being at the center of things, no matter how implausible. Though that continues, it's not as outlandish to me in as in book four. That said, the book is pretty dull. Lots of big battles, but I was not engaged. Seems like the series can safely end at this point. That would be the best thing.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Best book yet in an already great series

Luke Daniels could make the phone book interesting. This was the best yet in the series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The adventure continues!

Any additional comments?

First off I love this series. It has been surprising and delighting me right from the start. And while I still love the series and think this was a highly enjoyable book, it just fell a bit short of the greatness of the previous ones...and I'm not quite sure why that is. What's crazy is this is the type of story I've been anticipating since the very first book. Finally a book where the focal point in on the war with the aliens. I've expected this out of every book, and yet each time Marko weaves a tale that while touching on the war with the aliens also centers on much more broader issues, human interactions, human foes, where yes the aliens are a danger, but so much more is going on. In Fields of Fire we have a pretty much straight up action/war book. It's well told, exciting and fast paced, and yet it as much as I enjoyed it and wanted it to go on, I also thought it lacked just a hint of what elevated the previous volumes. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's better than most of the other stuff out there and I can't wait for the next volume. Seriously, this complaint is like saying I'm mad because my usual hot fudge sundae only had 2 cherries on top instead of three. It's still a heck of a ride, and one I will no doubt enjoy again during the long wait for book 6.

As always, Luke Daniels delivers a spectacular narration. He's definitely one of the best in the business and I always look forward to listening to him.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

love this series! please let there be another.

The narrator does an amazing job of capturing the MC's identity and personality. awesome story!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

these books aren't coming out fast enough

I've been waiting for these books one after another. they're​ so well written and suspenseful. I can't wait for the next in the series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

the series get even better

I have been a fan of this series from the beginning and it keeps getting better

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another EXCELLENT Entry in this Series

I cannot believe I've devoured this audio book so quickly. You will be on the edge listening to (the amazing) Luke Daniels deliver this latest story of Andrew on Mars. Very well done.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Smahing.

Great listening really enjoy it, thanks Amazon, will be buying next audiobook very soon still have other one to get through yet.

Awesome Military Sci-fi

Loved the witty performance and writing, emotional punches and developing story. Its the prefect military sci-fi book.

back on form gripping stuff

thought it absolutely great..very battle heavy but also the charactes are becoming more believable roll on the next installment

Excellent Part Five

Excellent next installment. Cannot wait for the nexth sixth part to come out to audible!

A solid work of it's genera

This book is a great addition to the series, Marko delivers a consistently good story line with all the thrills of combat while maintaining a human touch throughout. I look forward to the next instalment and the eventual triumph of earth.

"Still kicking."

Any additional comments?

The Lankies are on Mars, terraforming it to suit their requirements, which means that the already established human settlers will die. With a rebuilt fleet and new (barely) trained troopers, it's time to mount a rescue attack and remove Lankey threat from the solar system. As seasoned officers, Andrew and Halley will be part of the offensive, apart, and each hoping for the other's survival.

Frontlines is a marvellous and innovative series, which has charted Andrew's life from the relatively carefree days of recruitment and training, through first contact with the seemingly unstoppable Lankies in far space, to the aliens threatening Earth itself from the Red Planet. Each character is powerfully portrayed, especially Andrew, through who's eyes we not only see and are immersed in the action but also experience his hopes, fears and terrors. Narrator Luke Daniels is Andrew. His pleasant to hear voice conveys all of the emotions, subdued but all the more powerful because of it. His voicing of the other protagonists is distinctive, fitting their origins and personalities With his reading, an already excellent story becomes fully alive. And frighteningly real.

This, the fifth in the series, can be read/heard as a standalone​ but is so much better with knowledge of previous books. Those who have already travelled this far with Andrew will have no need of my urgings to buy Fields of Fire. For readers yet to discover Marko Kloos' Frontlines series, how fortunate you are to have this exciting journey still to enjoy. Buy this book now, then go back to the beginning ...
Only one criticism: it will be a long wait until the next book.