DNF at 45%.

I love me a good space opera from time to time. Heck, I'm both a Star Wars and a Star Trek fan. I watch and read plenty of scifi. Problem is, I want my space opera to be, if not smart, then at least entertaining, with a good story and relatable characters I want to invest my reading time into. Not the case here.

The characters here are absolutely lifeless. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they are not characters at all, but cardboard cutouts with a series of threats needed by the author to progress the story. Heck, even the protagonist is so bland that I can't remember his name a week after I gave up on this book. We don't know his motivations, we don't know his needs or wants, or even his fears. Yes, we are told that he is married and misses his wife, but it's told in such a clinical manner that there is no sentiment behind it. The side characters are even less defined

My other problem is that there really isn't much of a female representation in this book. And the little we have are either guys in skirts, or a guy's wet dream. Which we often see in books written by men, unfortunately. It takes talent to create tridimensional characters, especially those of the opposite sex. And effort. In my opinion, the author simply didn't put in the effort here. Which might be okay for some if action is all they had come for. Unfortunately, action is usually not enough for me.

Speaking of action, this book takes way to long to set up the stage for it. The first 30-40% is basically set up where nothing happens. Characters fly through space. Characters talk. Characters walk. Characters make plans. It can be made interesting if the characters were interesting which is not the case here. The writing is... serviceable when it comes to description and action scenes, but sucks when it comes to dialog. All characters sound the same, which, since they have no personality to speak of, is not surprising. But the dialog also doesn't sound natural. People don't speak like that, even in the future. This is when I'm glad that I don't listen to audiobooks, because good luck trying to instill life into those conversations. 

In summary, this is definitely not for me. I mean, the action might be phenomenal in the second half of the book, but I didn't care enough to stick around for it.

PS: I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was totally lost here because I didn’t realize when I requested it that this was the 8th book in the series. Maybe had I read the previous 7 I would’ve enjoyed it. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

Until the end we still don't know much about the Lankies, and I think the ending could be less cheesy while the plot could be better. I am sorry to give this two stars. I did enjoy most of the series but truly I am disappointed with this last book.

Another masterclass by Marko Kloos. He is my favorite MilSciFi author that I have come across. His way of story telling, character and plot development is well-honed. Centers of Gravity is no different.

The evolution of the battle against the Lankys is intriguing and Centers of Gravity takes it a step further. Finding the potential home land of the Lankys and fighting for survival while stranded pushes Andrew Grayson to the brink. If this is the end of the frontlines series, it is a fitting send off to Grayson and Halley. I am looking forward to the spin-off series that Kloos has planned to see where he takes this universe next.

This book was recommended by a friend of mine and I was able to get a copy via Netgalley.

This was book 8 in the Frontlines series and though I have not read any of the earlier ones, my loss, this book was one of the best reads of the year. What I enjoyed the most of this book was the ground based action which was very well managed here. Alone and cut off from home almost 900 light years away, our hero Andrew Grayson plans and works with his crew to take them back home. The ending was quite sentimental and overall the book definitely is worthy of a read.

Thank you NetGalley and 47North for a copy of this eArc. Was this the last book of the series?? It felt like it and I can only feel happy for Andrew Grayson. This book was really great and built on Kloos' fantastic writing in the Palladium Wars series. I can see the author coming back to this series at a later date, but I am really satisfied with how this book wraps things up.

Kloos continues his fascinating Frontline series as his characters struggle with dwindling resources, a growing awareness of the Lankie presence while stranded in a sunless system with no way home. They must explore this system while hiding from the Lankies and discover some way to return home before the overwhelming enemy presence discovers them. This is another good read in this interesting series with both well paced plot development and twists.

I just finished THE MAGICIAN KING by Lev Grossman before reading this, and the number-one complaint you get from people who've read those books is that the protagonist is just an awful person and nobody likes him. The single nicest thing about the Frontlines series is that you never, never, not even once have that problem with Andrew Grayson. He starts out the series as a punk kid in the mean streets of Boston, and rises through an extraordinary series of miserable failures and ridiculous successes to being a major in an elite combat unit, battling against the "Lankies," impossibly big and tall spacefarers with out-of-this-world (heh) technology that lets them move onto whatever planet they like and crush everyone and everything that's in their way. Grayson is humble, loyal, makes mistakes, and fights as hard as he can for humanity. How do you not like that?

This is likely (although one suspects not) the last book in this series, which begins with the brave crew of an Avenger-class starship way out in the back end of beyond, with no support and everyone on board eating recycled everything. Grayson's task is simple; he's got to land a small crew on a forbidding moon to see if there's anything there to eat.

There's an abandoned bar, later in the novel, named "Bad Calls," and Grayson ends up making a series of decisions, all of which seem eminently reasonable at the time, and all of which turn out horrid, which leads to a series of space battles, a daring escape through a wormhole, a landing on an alien planet, and a rousing last stand against alien invaders. All good stuff, and Grayson is there to walk us through it all.

I grew up reading stuff like Heinlein's STARSHIP TROOPERS, which is of course epic in his own way, but reading the descriptions of Heinlein's technology against what Kloos has thought up would have made the Grand Master chew his knuckles in frustration. But it's not really the tech, or the tactics, or the bravery that gets you through the series. It's Grayson, calm, centered, focused on getting back home to his wife, that's the steel backbone of these books, and one hopes that Kloos allows him his happily-

Centers of Gravity by Marko Kloos is the 8th book in the series Frontlines. I was unaware that this was part of a series when I got the copy from NetGalley. (I would recommend to those interested that you start out with the first book in the series--Terms of Enlistment.)
This book is a well written and fast paced military Science fiction novel. I think my enjoyment of it would have been greatly enhanced by a familiarity with the series and the characters. I got the impression that there was some important and dramatic events transpiring but I had only a superficial appreciation of them unfortunately.
I was reminded of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers but also of the old series Perry Rhodan.
I plan on checking out the first book in the series.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #47North, and Marko Kloos for the ARC of #CentersofGravity.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley (but still plan to buy a copy given how much I enjoyed it).

I discovered Marko Kloos in 2019 when I came across the Frontlines series, and binged all the Frontlines books available at the time. I really enjoyed them - I found them well written, they came across as pretty realistic when it came to people in the military (and more so than a lot of other military sci-fi I’ve read), and I really liked the plot.

When Kloos started the Palladium Wars series, my initial reaction was “No! Does this mean Frontlines is over?!” Fortunately that was not the case and I also really love that series, but was happy to see Frontlines continued.

I had been saving the previous Frontlines book, ‘Orders of Battle’, and ended up reading this one right after ‘Orders’. Wow. I got my fix of interesting characters, action and a compelling story, but it also changed the recipe enough so that it didn’t feel repetitive, and brought a new angle for me to look at events from. It was also a great end to what is hopefully just this part of Frontlines (told from Andrew Grayson’s perspective), but not the whole Frontlines universe.

Fortunately, Kloos has said that while it’s (for now) the final one of the Andrew Grayson books, it’s not the final in the series…

Until then, I’ll need to read Kloos’s works in the Wild Cards series and other short stories!

It was the summer of 2014 when I first discovered Terms of Enlistment, the first book in the Frontline series. I was instantly hooked. I tore through the first two books and then eagerly awaited each new book. I was actually upset when Marko Kloos launched his Palladium Wars series, not because it’s not good but because it slowed down his work on the Frontline series! It’s been nearly two years since the release of book 7: Orders of Battle and given how that book ended I’ve been dying to catch up with Andrew Grayson and our war against the Lankies. And boy was it worth the wait. As always, the book features excellent characters that I truly care about and a spectacular story. I’m not going to give a story recap as I don’t want to spoil a moment of the story, but Centers of Gravity is another spectacular addition to the series, and while I hate to think this is the end (and honestly pray that it isn’t as I really don’t want to say goodbye to this universe) but if it is then it’s a wonderful send off. Thanks so much to 47 North and NetGalley for allowing the opportunity read an eARC of Centers of Gravity.

On a side note, not only have I read all the books multiple times, but I’ve also listened to them. I wholeheartedly recommend picking up the audio versions alongside the kindle or paperback versions. The first 6 books in the series were narrated by Luke Daniels (one of my favorite narrators). The 7th book was narrated by Eric G. Dove. While I’m not sure why Luke didn’t narrated book 7 (my guess is a scheduling conflict), Eric was a solid replacement, and ironically he actually sounds like Luke Daniels crossed with Nathan Fillion. As of the time of my writing this review it’s not listed who will be narrating book 8, but I know I’ll be picking it up day one to experience it again.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3KITZOT1CDXSZ/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Another wonderful addition to the Frontlines series. Like the others, I read it in a day even though I was trying not to rush through it! This continues to be one of my favorite series ever, one that continues to get better with every installment.

Kloos is a safe bet for sci-fi fans. He's been around a while, and knows how to write to his sweat spot. This is a fun story that cooks right along, and does a good job being engaging. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

A fantastic series finale. Kloos brings to a close his very grounded military sci fi series in grand fashion. if you have made it this far into the series, you know what to expect - great battle scenes but more so solid plotting, pacing, and characters. all the main characters get resolutions i felt good about, without any 'oh gotcha' moments. sure there are some times when the stakes get so big its a bit of a stretch but what space opera / sci fi military series doesnt have them? i fully recommend this series to any sci fi military fan. (audio books are also fantastic)
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Centers of Gravity is the eighth and final book in Marko Kloos' Military Science Fiction series "Frontlines". This is basically the only MilSF series I actually read, because Kloos' prose and characters are highly enjoyable, as are the situations they get into against mostly the seemingly unstoppable and highly alien Lanky forces (with occasional human-human conflict as well). Kloos' ability to play the human v aliens thing somewhat straight, while also adding in real human on human conflicts and issues with our future along the way has made this series highly enjoyable to follow, even if it never really approaches anything must read, and after the seventh book ended on a major cliffhanger, I was excited two years later to get to this eighth and seemingly final book.

And well, Centers of Gravity is a solid finale to the series, resolving the character arc of series protagonist Andrew Grayson as he finds himself hopelessly in deep space, well away from his wife, in an area that no human has been before...and where their battlegroup seemingly has no way to get back. It still, like the last book, elides the issue of Andrew's PTSD somewhat, but it still tells a strong story of the battle-weary Andrew forced to make some tough choices, with some disastrous consequences, and features one more struggle between he and his human allies against the alien threat as they try to survive and make it home. If you're this far into the series, you will enjoy this finale, as more of what you expect from it and a reasonable way to put it all to bed.



----------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------
Major Andrew Grayson and the crew of the NACS Washington find themselves impossibly 900 light years away from Earth, far beyond the travel capabilities of any human ship, in a system clearly known to the alien enemy: the Lankies. Even worse: the system they're in does not even contain any sun, and the only objects within it is a rogue planet and its several moons, making an attempt to settle down in this system practically impossible. To survive long enough to find a way homme, Andrew and his Special Tactics Team will have to be deployed to the planet's various moons to discover if water and - somehow - food could possibly exist....because if they don't find any, they'll starve to death before they can even think of a way back home.

But it was the Lankies who towed the Washington to this system, and it's not because this is an unknown system to them, that's for sure. And the moon most likely to contain the supplies they need is the one whose climate seems almost ideal for the Lankies....and thus poses the most danger for anyone to investigate.

So of course Andrew will find himself and the Special Tactics Team under his command tasked with investigating it. This time however, the mission might be so dangerous that Andrew won't come back unscathed....and lives will be lost....if the humans can even find a way back home at all.....
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Centers of Gravity is yet again more of what you expect from the Frontlines series at this point. Circumstances - in this case crazy and disastrous ones - lead Andrew to once again set down on a Lanky infested planet, to try and sneak around without being detected and to coordinate his team so that there are minimal casualties if they are....except naturally things don't go that easy. You have a few side characters - like a scientist who is a bit too risky for everyone's own good and the XO who remains bitter about her father (Andrew's first commander)'s sacrifice - who are solid and enjoyable, but really again the main focus is on Andrew.

And Andrew's story concludes here in very satisfying fashion, with him finally running out of luck in some ways and facing consequences he's long been lucky to avoid, and with him and his weariness reaching a maximum level. Andrew has for a few books now been in this position of "almost too tired to keep fighting" but also "doesn't know what else he would do if he ever left the military." Here that comes to a head, with him given no choice but to keep fighting - and to keep going into his most dangerous combat zone yet - if he wants to get back to Halley and yet being even wearier than before. It doesn't help that his actions put others in danger now and can often be misinterpreted in wrong and bad for morale ways. The end result, without spoiling, is the perfect end to his character arc, and if Kloos ever returns to this world, it seems certain that Andrew will no longer be the central character.

And again there's a bunch of really fun MilSci scenes, as Andrew and his team has to invade a planet with unknown biologies and almost certain Lanky presence, has to find their way out, and then in space, their team has to figure out a way to outmaneuver and escape Lanky forces like never before. If you like the MilSci stuff from prior books in the series, you'll enjoy this one, even if there's little here that you haven't seen before.

Which isn't to say Centers of Gravity is among the best of the series - there's a bunch of plot elements here that are kind of disappointing and go nowhere (a rumor is brought up by someone that Andrew is having an affair which is impeding his judgment, which he dismisses and then it never comes up again for instance), and the secondary characters remain weaker than compared to earlier in the series. But the ending works pretty perfectly to wrap up Andrew's story, in a way that is very fitting. If you've enjoyed this series so far, this will be an excellent way to wrap things up.

First, I would like to thank 47th publishers, Net Galley and Mr. Marko Kloos to allow me to read and review his latest book in the Frontline series. This is an exceptional addition to the series. As a reader, when I begin a new story series, I start to become invested in the characters and their story. I feel for the pain and sympathize with the grief they feel through out the book, Mr. Kloos creates characters that are believable while the setting of the book is if a far distance future where anything is possible.

Andrew Grayson, the main character is stranded 900 lightyears from Earth in a hostile environment. He has to not only keep his moral alive trying to get home but he has to lead his men to find food and fuel, battling odds to find food and water as well as evading the hostile Lankie forces.

Spoiler Alert
This is the end of the series and it ends on a high note the heroes are Back home and safe. Their war is over and they are starting a new chapter of their lives building a family. But, the journey to get there was not an easy one.
By ending the series where he did in the story line, Mr. Kloos has avoided the trap that other authors of long running series have in which the reader loses interest in the characters.
The promising note is that Mr. Kloos has introduced several new characters and positioned them to continue the fight against the Lankie forces in a new series,

All in all. This is a GREAT book and a fitting end to the series. I enjoyed reading it and next year when I am looking a good book to read I will definitely pick this up read it again

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher 47North for an advanced copy of this book of speculative military fiction set deep in the stars.

Space opera has always been one of my biggest enjoyments when reading. Big battles, bad nasties, super men and women fighting huge battles among the stars, I love them all. Perry Rhodan, Lensman and books with odd ships and lasers on the cover I was willing to try it. The more well adult space opera stories say by Jerry Pournelle, or Lois McMasters Bujold kind of lacked that spark to me, though I enjoyed the more real world tactics and science, and I drifted away. However Marko Kloos in Centers of Gravity book the eighth book in his Frontlines series offers me the best of both worlds with a solid story, strong characters and an enemy that seems both mysterious and unstoppable.

Major Andrew Grayson joined the military to escape a life that seemed like one long cycle of failure. Soon he found himself defending and liberating planets from the Lankies, super strong and tall aliens whose only agenda seemed to be killing humans and taking their land. Grayson rose through the ranks as the war continued, and in this book he has found himself and the crew of the NACS Washington trapped 900 light years from home, after being swept up in the wake of a Lankies seed ship. Their ship is trapped in a system with only one gas giant and 4 moons, and food, water and even munitions are becoming a priority. Grayson leads an expedition to one moon, but finds much more than he planned for.

A book that starts quickly, reminding previous readers and introducing new ones to one has gone before, the stakes and what is being planned. I wish all books would do this. Even for familiar readers a nice solid reminder is good for people who read a lot of books. The characters are all different, some are gung ho, some introspective, and in a first, the scientists in this aren't written as uncaring and dumb, but curious and as desperate to go home as anyone else. Grayson is a good man, trapped in a war that he is tired of, caring for both his people, and those trapped on the ship, and his wife. He's not a super-soldier, nor an automaton, as many militaristic science fiction characters are, but a guy who has a job, wants to go home, and make sure that everyone else does too. The action is good, the science is easy to follow, and the plot makes sense based on what the find out, or think they know. Mistakes are made, people die. A book with a lot of atmosphere and ideas.

This is the first book in the Frontlines series I have read, and had no problems jumping in, and will look for the others. I have read Marko Kloos' other series The Palladium Wars, and like this book recommend it. Kloos has a good way with story, and with characters that readers want to root for. For fans of Heinlein science fiction, especially if one likes aliens that truly seem alien.

Andrew Grayson enlisted years ago to escape his horrible life, just in time to fight in the war against the alien Landies to prevent humanity's extinction. In this, the eighth book in the series, he has been promoted to Major and is lost on a ship 900 light years from Earth. The humans, alone and with no way home, have to find the resources to survive without attracting attention from the Landies that infest the area.

I've enjoyed all the books in the series, but this book is the best since the first. The earlier books depict the exciting ups and down in the war against the Landies, but this book is different - it takes place in a new environment, with Grayson in jeopardy in a new and interestingly different ways. Plus, after seven books with minimal new information about the Landies, we finally learn more about them.

If you are new to this series, I recommend starting at the beginning to enjoy the full story. Otherwise, you'll enjoy this book as a great addition to a great series.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book..... Wow! I just finished reading Centers of Gravity and I'm a little speechless right now. Which is probably not the best time to write this review, but I feel like I have no choice. This book is excellent! Truly! While I have enjoyed every single book in the series, the last one (Points of Impact) was a little underwhelming in my opinion. Therefore I was a more than a little apprehensive about Centers of Gravity. But Mr Kloos blew even my wildest hopes for this book out of the water. This book had everything; a life and death struggle, impossible odds, amazing discoveries, great characters, vividly imagined new worlds and last but ABSOLUTELY not least, an ending to die for! Serious this book, is in my opinion, the best that Mr Kloos has written in The Frontlines series to date! I really don't have any negative things to say about this book, and even if I did, the ending of this book is so amazing, so fantastic, that it would overshadow almost any criticism for me. The only minor critique I do have, and really it is more a critique about the series as a whole rather than just this book, is that the Lankies still remain a complete mystery. Given that this is book 8, I would have expected at least a little bit more solid information about the Lankies by now. And if anything this book only added even more questions to the already long list. And while I like the ever deepening mystery that surrounds the Lankies, I can't see how Mr Kloos can possibly end the series any time soon. At this rate the Frontlines series will stretch to beyond 20 books. And honestly, after reading this book, that would be no bad thing.

In summery, I absolutely loved this book. Any fan of the Frontlines series will love this book. And any fan of well written Sci-fi who haven't yet read the Frontlines series should do so immediately.

Another excellent addition to the Frontlines series. Kloos continues to work through not only the implications of humanity fighting against a much more powerful foe that they cannot communicate with, but the profound impact that that war has on its soldiers.