First, I would like to thank Marko, Kloos, Net Galley and 47th North publishers for allowing me to preview this book.

I am a book reader and really do not really feel qualified to critique any book. I know I do not have the talent or imagination to write ay book, much less 12 of them like Mr. Kloos has but I want to give my honest opinion of his latest book “Scorpio”
I have been an extreme fan of Mr. Kloos since his first book and remain one still. I was so happy to see this book come out because it came out just after the end of his first series “Frontlines” and it continues to detail the human struggle against the Lankies

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If I were a first-time reader of one his Mr. Kloos book, I would be completely happy with the book, and I did enjoy it quite a lot. However, the book did not really live up to my expectation. The book did not really explore the underground environment of the colony or their struggle to survive. Which is somewhat understandable since the book was 90% about just the return trip from a foraging mission to find supplies. One of the main characters of the book was the German Shepard dog named “Ash”. The partnership of Alex the protagonist and her dog ash was a “complete” throwaway as the colony is rescued by the Terran Navy. Since this had been such a focal point for 90% of the book to see it dismissed as casually as it was, made the character development of Alex Archer seem pointless, although it helps to explain her enlistment in the final pages of the book.

This book could be described and a preamble to Mr. Kloos next series and I am really looking forward to it, but I felt that the entire book was a letdown, All it did was set the stage for what I would consider the real first book in the new series.

I am also counting down the days until his new book Descent (The Palladium Wars Book 4) is released in July.

Marko Kloos continues his long running tale of humanity’s long running war against the Lankies. These huge beings attacked Earth at a time when colonies had been settled on planets on other solar systems. It’s been eight years of mere survival for the one hundred and fifty survivors on Scorpio (ebook from 47North). The atmosphere has become unbreathable, and they live in an underground community carefully avoiding Lankie attention. Alex Archer is part of a salvage team as dog handler for Ash, black shepherd who can detect the alien. Then she and her crew have a real horrible day and all looks lost. Since this is the first book following Alex, it’s obvious that things turn for the better. Lots of fun and I look forward to Alexis future adventures.

Very interesting book, I liked the story and the characters it and they really kept you engaged from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for an advanced copy of this book.

Scorpio by Marko Kloos had me gripped in suspense during its initial half, eagerly turning pages to unravel the unfolding events that our main character found herself in while out on a mission in a hostile environment on a far away planet. The tension was palpable, and the plot had a promising trajectory. However, my excitement took a sharp nosedive in the second half as the story underwent a drastic shift in momentum and plot development, leaving me bewildered and detached.

The overall story, initially so intense, veered in an unexpected direction, and the narrative lost the grip it had on my attention. While our main character Alex is extremely compelling and the planet she struggles to survive on is intriguing, the events that take place in later half of the book were so jarring in terms of pace and execution that I found myself skimming most of it just to get to any sort of action. It was a bit disappointing after a such an exciting start to the novel.

While the beginning was riveting, the abrupt change in the latter part diminished the overall impact, resulting in a read that left me conflicted and somewhat unsatisfied.

Published by ‎ 47North on January 1, 2024

Scorpio is a novel in Marko Kloos’s Frontlines universe. There are, I think, eight Frontlines novels. Scorpio begins a new series called Frontlines: Evolution.

Humans colonized and terraformed various worlds and were getting along just fine fighting with other humans until aliens known as Lankies appeared. Scorpio is a planet that was being terraformed when Lankies showed up and began stomping on people. Most colonists died but about 150 are still alive, eight years after the Lankies arrived.

The surviving humans clustered in an underground facility. It isn’t easy to venture outside because the Lankies are reversing the terraforming, reducing oxygen and increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The survivors nevertheless take occasional trips to the remnants of their other settlements to scavenge for rechargeable batteries and lemon bars and whatever else they can find.

When Alexandra (“Alex”) Archer traveled to Scorpio with her family, she was too young to form memories of the voyage. Now she’s 21. The first two-thirds of the novel follows Alex and a group of soldiers and civilians on a scavenging trip. Alex is a civilian, but she’s attached to the military because she has trained and handles a military dog who alerts when Lankies are coming close.

The scavenging trip is the stuff of traditional military science fiction. Colonists who were assigned to the military operate cannons and handheld weapons to take out attacking Lankies. The scavenging seems to be going well until it isn’t. The scenes that depict the shit hitting the fan are intense.

The novel’s last third follows Alex after she returns to Earth. This is an interesting approach to military sf, as Alex’s story (after she leaves Scorpio) has little to do with military action. She gets into a tussle with some muggers and shows her moxie, but the deeper story involves Alex’s poor adjustment to a life in which she doesn’t feel a sense of purpose, a life in a place where she doesn’t belong.

I assume Alex will be the star of the Frontlines: Evolution series. She’s a likable character. Kloos’s prose is smooth and straightforward. He clearly admires the military, but he doesn’t go overboard with praise of heroism and brotherhood. I prefer anti-military science fiction, but I give Kloos credit for being a good storyteller. Military sf fans who are looking for a new series to follow, as well as current Kloos fans, might want to give Scorpio a try.

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Interesting world building and a heroine to root for made this a good read, even though it's not my usual genre, Alex and her dog Ash are living in a world where the Lankys- 65 foot tall aliens (I guess they're best terme aliens) pose a threat. Much of the novel takes place in her head as she learns to navigate through the pitfalls of her existence, I'd not read Kloos before and appreciated the ARC from Netgalley which introduced us.

Marko Kloos returns to his ongoing series of the war between the huge aliens and over matched Earth. However, he takes a twist to his series by focusing on the people living on a world the aliens have taken over, driving the remaining humans underground and living a hunted existence. The author explores the life these humans are living in the shadow of the aliens looting wrecked bases as they hide and exist in constance peril of attack. The primary character is a young woman and the dog she manages that is able to detect the presence of the aliens , thereby serving as a warning system for the humans as they scavenge. Although I found the story to slow midway through the novel the ending made this portion of the story necessary and lifted the overall arc of the novel. I found this to be a well written novel with Marko Kloos' pacing and story to be improving as the series progresses.

I got an ARC of this book from netgalley for an honest review.

I've read the other series by Marko Kloos and this one is different, but similar. Obviously it's in the same Lanky universe, but it's a view from the Colony side, rather than the military, or is it....

I enjoyed the book, it wasn't spectacularly deep, but it delivers a compelling story and a character you can become attached too. A fun read and a welcome addition to the collection.

If you’re a Marko Kloos and Frontlines devotee you won’t want to miss this story! A great continuation to the series with some fantastic new characters. Not sure if this will be the start of a new series within the Frontlines universe but if so Alex is a great protagonist. However I feel that Evolutions would best be a series with one off stories maybe loosely connected.
Kloos has his well honed writting style present and sense of deep knowledge the military. The first half of the book is super tense, and (slight spoilers) I found the last several chapters the most enjoyable to read as it took the Frontlines series into a territory not seen much in the main series.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC and thanks to Marko for a fun new beginning.

Rating: 3.7/5

Review: Is this a tipping of the hat to Harlan Ellisons's "Vic Blood"? I dunno. Like they say, nothing is new under the sun. The boy is now a girl. Her dog is not telepathic despite the constant anthropomorphism and there is a real dystopian feel despite the alienness.

I was trying to get something straight in my head throughout this novel. Alex is a mission hardened dog handler whose expertise is spotting the aliens that are 65' tall. Check. So why is she constantly trembling or frozen in fear at the cost of those around her?

The story line never goes anywhere and that's ok. It is more of an internal journey of a young lady as she adjusts and adapts to a new world. What should capture the reader's attention is the writing. It is fluid and tends to draw you in despite the lack of actionable content.

I am curious to see where this series goes.

Marko Kloos expands the Frontlines series with his new novel, Scorpio. The book introduces new characters and offers a strong female lead. As always, Kloos writes effective and taut action scenes, here from the perspective of Alex, a civilian dog-handler, living as part of the colony remnant on a world overrun by series foes the Lankies. Although a civilian,, Alex works closely with soldiers, enduring traumatic experiences to help salvage necessary supplies for the colony’s survivors. Kloos has become a seasoned professional writer of this type of adventure and that, combined with his personal experience as a soldier, lends to a gritty realism that is pretty darned compelling.

About two thirds into the novel, Alex and other survivors are rescued and brought to Earth. Kloos handles the transition well, particularly the sense of dislocation felt by Alex as she struggles to make the readjustment to a normal life. I felt a strong old-school Heinlein influence here, which I appreciated. This is obviously first of a new sub-series and the book’s conclusion is a successful, albeit predictable, springboard for the next novel.

SCORPIO commences a new SF series from prolific author Marko Kloos: FRONTLINES: EVOLUTION. If you're seeking Science Fiction with an emotionally mature, strong, determined, female protagonist, look right here. Alex Archer, orphaned at age twelve, survivor with 157 other terraforming human emigres on 18Scorpii, a far-flung planet. The "Lankys" (so nicknamed by the survivors because of their odd, almost dinosaur-like physique) are aliens twenty meters tall which are eradicating human space colonization. Living in The Vault, an underground cave system under a mountain, Alex has spent the last few years as a dog handler on salvage operations, accompanying technicians and military contingent to destroyed outposts on the planet seeking salvage of machinery, power cells, rations. Ash, the dog whom Alex handles, and his brother somehow are attuned to the imminent presence of Lankys and can alert their humans of danger.. It's time-consuming, stressful, and very dangerous, as is proven when a successful salvage run ends in catastrophe.

Scorpio by Marko Kloos( Frontlines Evolution #1)- A new branch of the Frontlines saga begins here with Scorpio. On a far off colony world the human colonists have been relentlessly attacked by the Lankies, who are determined to take over this planet. A young girl, Alex, has trained her dog to sniff out any approaching Lanky threat. She goes out from the underground caves of humanity, venturing along with a military team to look for salvage. It is dangerous and sometimes terrifying. Just when it looks like the end is near, a few colonists are rescued and returned to Earth.
The first two-thirds of the book are full of tense scenes and full-on action. The last third is more like a travelogue of the refugees’ voyage home, the sights they see, the changes made, and getting acclimated to life on Earth. It’s a little bit of a let-down from the fast paced beginning, but none the less enjoyable in its ingenuity.
If you’re a Marko Kloos fan, like me, you won’t want to miss this story. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC and thanks to Marko for a fun new beginning.