Ballistic

The Palladium Wars #2

by Marko Kloos

There is a personal price to pay for having aligned with the wrong side in a reckless war. For Aden Jansen it’s the need to adopt a new identity while keeping his past hidden. Now he’s integrated himself aboard the Zephyr, a merchant ship smuggling critical goods through dangerous space. But danger is imminent on planet Gretia, as well. Under occupation, torn between postwar reformers and loyalists, it’s a polestar for civil unrest.

Meanwhile an occupation forces officer is pulled right back into the fray when the battle alarm is raised, an ambitious heiress is entangled in a subversive political conspiracy, and an Allied captain is about to meet the enemy head-on.

As Aden discovers, the insurgents on Gretia—and in space—are connected, organized, and ready to break into full-scale rebellion. History is threatening to repeat itself. It’s time that Aden rediscovers who he is, whom he can trust, and what he must fight for now.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Audiobook, Military Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Space

355 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2020

Reviews

[Christi M · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing is certain – Marko Kloos knows how to write a sci fi story. Just like the first book in the series he once again leaves us with another cliff hanger. I can even hear his evil, maniacal laughter as he types the ending. He builds and builds the story and just when it is ramping up to its climax he ends it and just leaves you hanging. Sigh. I seriously wasn’t ready for the story to end.

Ballistic begins a few months after the events of the first book and once again we follow the stories of Aden, Dunstan, Idina, and Solvieg. Aden and his crew mates agree to transport an item – no questions asked. But Aden is smart and starts asking questions. Dunstan and his crew answer the distress call of a completely destroyed ship, but also answers another call from a familiar ship. Idina and her Gretian police partner investigate a man with an unauthorized weapon that leads to unattended consequences. While Solvieg starts exerting a little independence from her father and receives an opportunity to visit the planet Acheron for the first time.

Even though I really enjoyed everyone’s story in Aftershocks, I couldn’t quite get into Idina’s storyline as much as the others. In Ballistic, my appreciation toward this character grew quite a bit – while Aden’s story will always feel like the main one and Dunstan is my personal favorite, I found Idina’s story much more engaging in Ballistic and followed her and Dahl’s police investigative work very closely. I also loved how Solvieg started making strides to becoming her own woman against her father wishes. Anything she does to irritate her father and break away from his control I am definitely for.

I enjoy the world Marko Kloos has created in this series. The characters, the societies, the planets – All the worlds have their own style and personalities and in Ballistic we get to take a closer look at them than in the first book. Here we get to see how the planet’s society has adapted to the planet’s atmosphere.

Overall, if you love space opera and military science fiction then this is definitely a science fiction book to recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and 47North for advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/06/16/...

Hands down, The Palladium Wars by Marko Kloos is one of most character-oriented military sci-fi series I’ve ever read, and I think that’s why I’m enjoying these books so much. Ballistic is the second installment following hot on the heels of Aftershocks, picking up shortly after the cliffhanger we were left with, and fans will be happy to know it maintains a snappy pace and continues the trend of telling personal stories.

In Ballistic, we return to our four main characters: Aden, a former soldier for the Gretians; his sister Solvieg, heir to her family’s corporate empire; Idina, a Palladian now working as part of the occupying force on Gretia; and Dunstan, a commander in the Rhodian Navy. Through the eyes of these four characters, we watch as this incredible space epic continues to unfold, with a keen awareness that everything is pointing to another inter-planetary war between the three major factions.

For Aden, his problems just don’t seem to end, even after his release from a prisoner-of-war camp. Having fought for the Gretians, who are now on everyone’s shit list, he’s hoping a new identity and a new job on a merchant ship crew will be enough to start fresh. However, their team’s newest contract have them smuggling potentially illegal goods through dangerous space, which might bring unwanted attention to his credentials and blow his cover. His new crewmates have been good to him, but he’s not sure how long that would last once they realize who he really is. Meanwhile on Gretia, Idina has been transferred to a new post following the ambush that killed all her squad mates. She thought she would resent the job, but instead finds an unexpected camaraderie with her new partner, a highly competent law enforcer named Dahl. Within the Rhodian fleet, Dunstan is also coming to terms with the responsibilities of his position, handling space patrols and answering the calls of distressed ships. A feeling of foreboding settles upon him though, when he and his crew come upon the remains of a ruined vessel, at a loss as to what destroyed it.

It almost feels as though history is repeating itself, and everyone who can remember the last war knows just how bad this news is indeed. No one is more aware of this than Solvieg, who barely knows her brother because of the falling out between him and their family when the conflict started. Now she’s poised to take over more of the family business but still finds herself chafing under the overbearing thumb of her father, who expects complete obedience.

Without a doubt, the characters are the strongest aspect of this series, and this remains evident in Ballistic. A lot of military sci-fi gets hung up on politics, warfare, and the tech—after all, who doesn’t love powered suits of armor, laser pulse weapons and that cool stuff? The great thing about The Palladium Wars, though, is that it features all of this without forgetting the human factor. Kloos makes it a point to explore the effects of war on populations and also the individual soldier; whether we’re seeing the story from Aden, Idina, Dunstan, or Solvieg’s points of view, we’re focusing on their relationships and motivations on a very intimate level. With that said, if you’re a reader who prefers more tactical strategy and combat in your MilSF, this would not be so much up your alley, but if you enjoy rich character development and relationship dynamics, then you’ll probably love this.

Speaking of which, I’m struggling to decide which of the four main characters is my favorite this time. I was quite partial to Aden and Idina in Aftershocks, but in this sequel, all the POVs are quite strong. Aden’s chapters are perhaps the most suspenseful and adventurous, traveling around in deep space with the crew of the Zephyr as they play smuggler with an unknown and highly suspicious piece of cargo. Idina’s sections were most heartwarming, as I simply adored the unlikely friendship that developed between her and Dahl, which spoke to themes of putting aside differences and finding common ground. Dunstan, who admittedly wasn’t too inspiring in the first book, became quite an interesting character in this one, as he headed up a mysterious story arc that immediately put me on edge (in a good way). Even Solvieg, who didn’t really get a chance to shine before, got to step up into a leadership role and show her father that she is her own woman.

The ending really knocked me for a loop too. Similar to the way Aftershocks concluded, we’re left with a momentous, earthshattering event that will greatly alter the course of the characters’ lives, but readers are left holding their breath to see what will happen next. It’ll doubtlessly annoy some people, but at the same time, if you’ve already made it past the first book to this one, then this type of cliffhanger ending was probably expected and shouldn’t bother you too much.

Still, not gonna lie, it’s going to be another tough wait. Marko Kloos really knows how to keep readers begging for more, and I am looking forward to getting my hands on the next book—no way I’m missing it!

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very solid Mil-SF that doesn't so much dwell on the military aspect as it focuses more on our four main characters that come from all walks of life in a richly-imagined worldbuilding setting. It continues after the events of the war in the first book, mostly developing a feel of uneasy occupation in enemy territory, or rather, trying to get by as the defeated party in your own world.

I think a lot of us can relate to that. So much of our lives seem to be out of our control and power is in the hands of people we don't/can't trust. Add a rather deep look into the life of the police, or smugglers, or the daughter of a business clan on the losing side, and you have a pretty detailed and broad tale in this book.

So many people are just trying to get by, have to suffer under misconceptions, or even actively try to stop terrorism even when it hurts them personally. I really enjoyed the character building and the sacrifices that keep having to be made.

As for the big action near the end, suffice to say, Kloos has a definite thing about leaving us at spots where we REALLY can't wait for the next volume. :)

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ballistic is the second book of The Palladium Wars and needs be read after Aftershocks, the story of a place five years after a war and the repercussions felt over six different worlds.

I really enjoyed getting to see an expanded world. For instance, one of the planets, Acheron, we get to visit this time is toxically gaseous. People live in planned, domed cities that float in the atmosphere. The way of life there is very pleasure based and if you have the credits, you can get just about anything your heart desires. It reminded me of Vegas if it was floating and a little cleaner.

Ballistic follows four different PoVs to give the reader the full scope of the story happening in multiple places. Aden (former PoW), Solvieg (Aden’s sister and heir to a huge corporation), Dunstan (Palladian Space Police), and Idina (Alien ground military on Gretia). Each PoV add to the worldbuilding/galaxy building of the story and add a unique perspective.

In Aftershocks, I felt it was very much Aden’s story. Ballistic incorporated the other characters PoVs more, opening up the world and the characters in it. Aden’s PoVs were definitely my favorites in the first book of the series but I found myself really warming to a few of the other characters this time around.

Aden has found a multinational crew to work with running cargo. Most of it is legal everyday supply type runs. However, they have one of the fastest ships around and take on a job that is less than reputable. What was supposed to be a basic run has some very serious consequences and Aden and crew are in some really tight spots.

Solvieg works for her father’s company. He isn’t allowed to be a part of it anymore since Gretia lost the war and that company was one that supplied weapons for the Gretian soldiers. It has been held for her to take a spot at the executive table as a way for him to still have some control of the company. Solvieg doesn’t really want to be his puppet and is trying to make her own way as well as build a relationship with Aden, the brother once thought dead without her father knowing.

Dunstan’s PoV was one of the most interesting for me in this series. He is the captain of a military ship and is on space patrols. Something strange is happening though, he gets the sense that possibly he and his men are in over their heads when he comes upon a destroyed vessel and can’t figure out what went wrong with it and how it was destroyed. He is about to be a key player in a rebellion that seems destined to get started and the rebels don’t seem above guerilla warfare.

Idina is foreign police on Gretia. She is there to work with the Gretian police to keep law and order. As an occupying army, there are a lot of mixed feeling towards her, but she has at least made a few connections on planet. The reader gets to experience some of the prejudices and hard feelings since the war through her and see what is happening planet side that might tie in with what Dunstan is dealing with in space. Someone isn’t happy the war is over and less so that they lost. There might be some looking to spark another interstellar war.

Ballistic ends on a bang and things are really starting to happen. All of our characters are left in pretty precarious situations and it will be interesting to see what they all do after the fallout that happens at the end of this book.

Overall a completely engaging and interesting story.

 
Narration:
Angelo Di Loreto did a good job with all of the PoVs in Ballistic. He is a change in narrator for the series, as Luke Daniels narrated Aftershocks, so it took a little time to warm to his version of the voices. I was able to listen to this at my normal 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip:  HERE

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second of a many books crossover: military science fiction (MIL-SF), conspiracy thriller, space opera modeled on The Expanse . Book extends plotlines started in first book. End was Yet-Another-Kliffhanger (YAK).

This story was very much like the first book. It does contain more combat action than the first book. However, it's only incrementally a better book. It appears Kloos intends to parcel-out his story in yearly ~300 page increments, while leaving his audience YAK-ing at the end of each book?

My ebook version was a modest 320-pages. It had a US 2020 copyright.

Marko Kloos is an American MIL-SF and fantasy fiction author. He has written more than ten novels. The last book I read by him was Aftershocks (The Palladium Wars, #1) (my review).

Reading the first book in the series, Aftershocks (The Palladium Wars, #1) was necessary to understand this book.

My thoughts on the author and the book are not greatly different from my review of the first book . However, I think this book was slightly better. Kloos has always been good at action scenes. This book contains more combat action and less prose dedicated to world building than the first book. A really good book would have been him combining both Aftershocks and Ballistic into a single 450-page volume after trimming out the heavy load of backstory he's built into this slim volume.

Writing was as usual, although I think that better proofreading and editing were merited. For example, there was reference to a Starship within the first eight pages that doesn't exist. In addition, there were several needless repetitions. For example, the civilian spacer distrust of AI’s gets its ax ground more than once per book. (I enjoyed the contrast with this sentiment amongst the naval spacers who lived or died based on their AI's performance.) How many times do we need to be reminded of the virtues of Palladian, monomolecular-bladed kukris with biometrically protected sheaths? There were also continuity errors, or omissions. What ever happened to the slow, traitorous Winds of Asterion?

The rotation of the: Aden, Idina, Dunstan, and Solveig POVs was thankfully less rote in this book. Aden remains the first amongst equals, with Dunstan gaining. (A stern chase is a long chase. ) Aden’s crewmates on the Zephyr (The series’ surrogate for the Rocinante .) benefit from the attention. The Solvieg character also benefits from the less-clockwork rotation of POVs, but still remains the weakest of the bunch.


Plotting frankly felt clunky. The multiple POVs each require their own plot lines which consume too many words individually in a short book like this. The book's individual character’s plotlines are starved because there are too many POVs feeding at the book's limited 300-page trough. The author would be better served by mostly excluding two (2) of the POVs from subsequent books and alternating their appearance to have meatier plots in these slim volumes?

In addition, the skinny plots could use work. This book briefly converges the Aden and Dunstan characters in the most contrived way imaginable. In my book, as a smuggler, I wouldn’t turn embarrassing contraband over to The Feds--eva. I’d have plotted a course for the heart of the system's star, accelerated Zephyr to her max 15g, shoved the contraband out the airlock, cut the drive and executed a “turn ‘n burn”. That tiny package of nasty would be undetectable as it goes on a 1-way, very fast, uncatchable, trip into the star. Why didn’t Dunstan disable the Winds of Asterion with an easily expended railgun slug through her radiators or engine? Kloos' typically does it the hard way with his plotting. A deft application of Occam's razor or even a monomolecular-bladed kukri could find work whittling down this story. I also think it is too obvious that Aden and Solvieg’s father is involved with the terrorists?

Did I mention the book ends in a cliffhanger? Cliffhangers are fine for monthly, serialized fiction. Aftershock was published in July, 2019. Ballistic was published in May, 2020. (That is 10 months between books.) That's a long time between books for fans to be hanging by their fingers? Also the terrorist attack, which shuts down a solar system felt too contrived. (See above.) This reader doesn't like cliffhangers. After almost a year between books, he forgets, and the excitement wanes.

The author’s space science was slightly better in this book than the original. However, he’s still thinking like a ground-pounder and not a spacer. He needs to spend more time with Kerbal Space Program . For example, sending scouting drones out in vee-formation ignores the Z-axis. Cone-shaped formations would be more appropriate. Also, In space, you can run, but you can’t hide.. At least not with the instantaneous, communications and ID-ing "drive signatures" of his world building? Space is: vast, dark, cold and empty. Spaceships are: slow, torch bright, hot, and radar/lidar reflective. Committing a crime in the "UN of worlds" and outrunning the law, means they'll be waiting for you when you dock for fuel. All you need to do is know where "in the sky" to look, and those stolen Gretian warships will be found. Finally, I still think there was something hinky about the time, distance, speed portrayed in the story. As mentioned above, Space is vast. Real space flight takes a long time getting from point-to-point. All the space flights in the series appear to have the planetary destinations at their closest approach to have the shortest literary timeline.

So, the author’s version of the The Expanse trundles on. The MIL-SF parts remain good. Because this story had more action than the first book, it was better. The craftsmanship of the writing was generally good. However, this book was only a small improvement over the first in terms of noticeable and easily correctable errors. Professional editors and better proofreaders would have greatly improved the story. The world building of the story continues to impress me as being ad hoc. Overt hand waving would have made it easier for me to read this story. Kloos was too detailed, but not knowledgeable enough. It also ends in a Kliffhanger.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the unexpected hit Aftershocks (the first volume of this series - review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), which made my top 5 last year, Ballistic went straight to the top of my 2020 wanted books and luckily I got an advanced copy in early January.

The novel starts a few months after the end of Aftershocks to give a little breathing space for the characters to settle and continues the 4-way viewpoints from space travel (Aden), space military (Dunstan), police work on Gretia and the budding insurgency (Idina) and the corporate world of Gretia (Solveig); this time there is a lot of balance as Solveig who in Aftershocks was more of a secondary character as her viewpoint had fewest pages and was fairly passive becomes more important and finally, she (and of course us) finds out why Aden left the family so dramatically 17 years ago - another cool tidbit is that in the local Gaia calendar it is now year 923 (as Solveig is 23 and was born in 900 per Aden's reminiscences) while the 4-year war took place 5 years back so 914-918 (!)

We get to see Pallas and Acheron this time (at least the station Pallas 1 and Coriolis City on Acheron) and of course, a lot happens in Sandvik (the capital of Gretia and still largest city in the system), while in the last volume we saw Oceana and some of Rhodia, so only Hades which is far away, near the Sun, so accessible only by specially built ships with lots of shielding and redundancy is the one planet we just have heard of so far.

The story is as absorbing as in the first volume and the book impossible to put down while many things happen - the ending while not quite on a literal cliffhanger is at a very dramatic point and volume 3 promises a lot; there is action and even space battles, while Aden finally gets to use his linguistic skills in an essential way; of the secondary characters, the most interesting are the unflappable Gretian police captain Dahl whom we find out that she is 52 and three years from retirement but still loves patrolling the streets of Sandvik, the Oceanian ship doctor Tristan, also in his 50's and a veteran spacer with an interesting past from what we infer from his interactions with Aden, and of course Falk Ragnar who is still the tough big boss despite being in his 70's and officially banned from his company by the peace treaty, though Solveig finally starts being more openly independent rather than always humoring him and just trying to elude her minders who report all her actions to her father...

Overall a great sequel bringing enough new stuff but also lots of continuity and balance, the storyline goes up one notch and the ending is quite dramatic so volume 3 is another huge asap;

highly recommended though of course, one should start with Aftershocks

Here is a small fragment from Idina's pov that I quite enjoyed and has no spoilers:

“We have put in a request for a detention order. But the Hall of Justice is not working off its backlog very quickly. They expect to have an order ready by the end of the week.”
“The guy is converting illegal military weapons for the black market, and the Hall of Justice thinks that’s not an urgent enough matter,” Idina summarized. “That’s not very efficient.”
“They issue the detention orders,” Dahl said. “We have to wait for one before we can search his place. That is the way the system works. If I start searching homes without judicial consent, the system is no longer in place. Without the system, I am not a police officer anymore. Just someone with a weapon and a meaningless word written on my armor. And then ****** can claim the right to search my place, too, as long as he brings a bigger gun.”
Idina felt a pang of irritation at Dahl’s calm and matter-of-fact chastening. Every day, the woman confirmed some of her prejudices about Gretians and then completely dispelled them again.

[Silvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marko Kloos's works are kind of my comfort read now. He might not be full of twists and turns and his plotting is almost always as straight as an arrow, but he is good in making clean narratives with engaging characters that flow within an interesting made-up world. His military knowledge gives him more edge, of course, so you know you'll enjoy more authenticity in the stories as well as the action.

Ballistic continues to be a great but light entertainment for me. I am fully invested in the characters' arcs - the tropes used are not annoying at all, they just felt comfortable. In Aftershocks we were introduced to a world still recuperating from years of wars and the original invader had to deal with the consequences, while facing threats of rebellion from the so-called losing side who's not afraid of terror attacks. He might be inspired with what happened in the Gulf Wars, but now in a much grander scale.

I absolutely enjoyed the arc of Idina the Palladian soldier when she had to balance her military training and crowd control when she was embedded in the police force of a former enemy planet. It takes totally different training; policing seems very much more unpredictable as you often don't know where your next attack will come from especially in public space. Her friendship with a vet female police officer was refreshing. I wish more SFF have more of these mature, highly capable women's friendship and bonding.

I could not wait for the next installment. Thank you Netgalley and 47North for the review copy!

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Mr Kloos. His military SiFi is always spot on for the military feel of the characters. I never doubted this would be a great read. Very recommended.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marko Kloos hits my sweet spot. Everything is believable plus the stories are pure entertainment. The second series he has written and the second one I have enjoyed. The mystery threading throughout the first two books is good and I can't wait to read more.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picking up with our four POV characters, Aden has manged to leave Rhodia and is now a crewman on a small merchant ship. His sister Solveig is beginning to stretch her wings as a senior in her family's Gretian corporation. Dunstan still commands an old Rhodian naval vessel which continues to encounter things it shouldn't be in peactime. And Idina is nearing the end of her time on occupied Gretia.

The long and detailed character work on each of our major characters is brilliant, but that concentration of effort in the narrative means that the story has a glacial pace and the antagonists of this conflict are still unknown at the end of the second book. This is bordering on too slow for me, and I hope the series begins to move forward soon.

[ʚ Aileen ɞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say?

I would have liked a little more action, but otherwise Kloos once again managed to write a brilliant book. I'm definitely hooked on the story and can't wait to find out who was dumb enough to poke the hornet's nest.

[J.N. Bedout · Rating 5 out of 5]

The action in the Gaia system, where human colonists have settled on different planets with different features, continues where it left off after “Aftershocks.” While the first book focused on the characters and the world building, this one delved deeper into the core struggle unfolding, but does not expose the hidden actors behind it just yet. Idina faces some interesting challengers, and they really deepen her character, making her more human and vulnerable. Aden’s adventures on the Zephyr intertwine with Dunstan’s patrol duties and leads, in a winding way, to this book’s climactic ending, which provides more insights into the simmering conflict, and paves the way toward the next book in the series. While in the first book, the characters were mostly on their own journeys, in this one, we finally see them starting to come together to help uncover some of the pieces of the unfolding puzzle. I can only surmise that they will all come together to fight the common enemy in the next book, and that’s okay, because the book was so engaging that you will want to jump right into the closing installment.

[Aristotle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Character driven story

Picks up right where book 1 left off.
We get to know more about the four main characters and what makes them tick.
The kind of scifi book that non scifi fans would enjoy.
Now the wait for book 3
Thanks to goodreads giveaway.

[The Captain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the first book then ye might want to skip this post. If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

I really enjoyed book one of this series but was worried because a lot of of the details had faded by the time I picked up book two.  I gave meself a quick refresher by reading me review of aftershocks and jumped back in.  No worries, this was fun and engrossing.

While the blurb makes it seem that Aden is the only character, really this series has multiple points of view.  Ye follow four folks:

Aden - a POW from the losing side of the battle who is released five years after defeat to start anew;
Idina - a soldier from the winning side who holds a grudge, she is part of the occupying military force on the defeated planet;
Dunstan - a member of the winning naval space fleet whose simple guard duty turns into a mess with epic ramifications; and
Solvieg - a civilian who was a minor during the war now has to deal with the consequences of her planet's loss and what it means for the family business.

Marko Kloos writes excellent popcorn sci-fi with characters that shine.  One of the best parts about this series is that the characters are from different planets and backgrounds.  In this installment ye get to see more of six worlds and other character perspectives and I loved feeling that the worldview has expanded.  There is enough action without sacrificing character development.  And I loved how the characters' lives intersect without seeming forced.  They come together and then diverge again in fun ways.  I kept changing me mind about who me favorite character was (including minor characters).  I love that!

Again these books end on rather abrupt notes that still set up what's to come.  Some readers might not enjoy that type of ending.  Just like with the first book, I ended this with a "Dang it!  I want more!"  I will avidly be waiting for the next installment and will pick it up as soon as it is released.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you 47 North!

[Nicholas Kotar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost feel like giving this three stars. It's too short. Not enough happens in terms of the overall arc of the story, and the central mystery concerning the shadowy group of Gretians who are trying to incite war is not at all illumined. So we have 2 books without actually knowing who the "bad guys" are. It's a brave choice, perhaps, but I'm not crazy about it.

On the other hand, I read it in like a day. I enjoyed it a lot. The characters are getting more fleshed out and interesting.

So four stars, I guess.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

No discernible literary qualities but an addictive story, presented from several points of view. Impossible to put down as I discovered very early this morning. Of course the final volume is up next.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov]

The Palladium Space Opera continues and we now see how Kloos plans to knit the separate strands of plot together. Kloos is imaginative in his world building and this second book is where learn more about the worlds that are trying to return to normal after a half decade of war.

"In the eyes of her father, her secret contact with Aden would be a major betrayal. Falk Ragnar would suspect an insurrection, accuse them of plotting to take over everything behind his back, when all she wanted was to get to know her brother a little better after seventeen years of his absence from her life."

"“Sounds like you know a thing or two about that,” Aden replied, trying to figure out Tristan’s intent. “A lot of us do. Spacers are a rough lot. We bounce around between six worlds. Six different sets of rules, customs, regulations. It’s not hard to piss off authority.” “I’ve done some time,” Aden admitted. “For what?” “Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. With the wrong people.”

No, these quotes are intended either to enlighten you or be spoilers. They just are there to give you a sense of Kloos’ storytelling.

Book 2 of The Palladium Wars is really a livelier book with conflicts ramping up and the overall game plan being revealed. Still hard to rate this because it isn’t a book that would stand well by itself. It is a middle section of an epic that needs some closure. Hopefully, that satisfaction will come soon.

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ballistic is Volume 2 of Marko Kloos’ mil-sf space opera The Palladium Wars. Currently, the series is three volumes, with expected publication of the fourth volume next July. Because the books are strictly sequential, I strongly recommend you read Volume 1 (Aftershocks), before proceeding with this review, to avoid spoilers of Volume 1.

In Ballistic, the perspective rotates between the same four major characters (Aden, Dunstan, Idina, and Solveig) as in Aftershocks, but now in equal parts. However, Aden has previously been established as likeable and central, and his story is the most compelling. As they move around the solar system, we learn incrementally more about each of them, their backstories, and their worlds. A few more interactions between the four independent plotlines occur – especially between Aden and his estranged sister Solveig.

However, the central mystery of the series – what is behind the various terrorist acts that are occurring in the post-war solar system – is heightened without being revealed. Major developments in the setting unroll slowly, due to the necessity of repeating them from the perspective of each of the major characters. It is a sort of “Where were you on 9/11?” narrative.

There is no particular literary merit to this writing; the most exceptional thing is Kloos’ ability to create tension and cliffhanger endings. There is no doubt I am going on to Volume 3 (Citadel).

[York · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was feeling generous a gave it 5 stars, it is a 4.5 star(*) book for sure and it left me dying to find out what it coming next...unfortunately at this point it looks like I have to wait a few months to find out..book 3 is not out as of yet..I do like the characters, even if they don't feel as "fleshed" out as 5 star book should be, but what Kloos is good at is suspense and action..which more than makes up for any "character flaws." One really feels the impending doom of things to come!

[Teri Uktena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Marko Kloos as a writer and I wanted this series to be awesome or at least enjoyable. I gave the first book the benefit of the doubt because he was doing a ton of world building. The characters were 2 dimensional, there was quite a bit of tell-don't show, and just a lot of people being in situations they don't want to be in and can't do anything about.

This book is just more of that. Everyone either has Daddy issues or Daddy/Government issues and every single character basically distills down to "..but...why????" and then does nothing about any of it. I wasn't able to finish. Sorry, Marko.

[Edwin Priest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kloos continues the story line from book one, with no conclusions yet. It is more tough edged, well written and plotted, and great fast paced military sci-fi. Good stuff, again. 4 stars.

[Czyta_bo_lubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na wstępie zaznaczę, że nie byłem i nie jestem wielkim fanem science fiction. Ta odnoga fantastyki rzadko mnie interesowała. Może przez moje uprzedzenie, które kazało mi kojarzyć ten gatunek głównie z rozprawą nad stanem kosmosu oraz skupieniem się na technologii. Jak to bywa z uprzedzeniami, często są one mylne. Tak jest i w tym przypadku oraz książkami Marko Kloosa. Wojny palladowe bowiem są opowieścią, co prawda osadzoną w gatunku science fiction, ale skupiająca się na ludziach.

To co ogromnie podoba mi się w Wojnach palladowych jest umiejętność autora do kreowania świata tak bogatego i ogromnego, na stosunkowo niewielkiej liczbie stron. Wyobrażam sobie, że do podobnej kreacji świata, w fantasy potrzeba by kilku grubych tomów. Wojny palladowe natomiast, składające się na chwilę obecną na Wstrząsach wtórnych oraz Uderzeniu, są niepozorne pod względem liczby stron. Skrywają za to naprawdę wielkie pokłady wyobraźni zaklętej w formie świata przedstawionego.

W uniwersum Wojen palladowych nie mamy do czynienia z różnymi krainami, a całymi planetami. Każda ma swój własny ekosystem, unikalne technologie oraz mieszkańców różniących się pod względem fizycznym, filozofii życiowej, poglądów itp. Dla mnie, jako fana fantasy, jest to naprawdę gratka i wielka przyjemność, gdy wraz z bohaterami zwiedzam różne planety Gai. Z wielką ciekawością czytam opisy planet, ich przemysłu, unikatowych złóż naturalnych. I to wszystko, cały ogromny świat, czytelnik dostaje w naprawdę niepozornej książce.

Jak wspomniałem wyżej, Wojny palladowe to dla mnie opowieść o ludziach. Owszem są tu technologie i ich opisy, ale służą one człowiekowi. Autor zaś skupia swą uwagę na ludzkich bohaterach. Narracja prowadzona jest z perspektywy różnych osób, w różnej sytuacji życiowej. Oczywiście są różnice wynikające z pochodzenia z innych planet. Jednak przede wszystkim, każda z nich stoi w obliczu innych wyzwań. Każdy z bohaterów musi odnaleźć się w świecie dynamicznych zmian i ogromnej niepewności wynikającej z konfliktu, który ponownie rozbrzmiewa w Gai.

Ponadto mocnym punktem Wojen palladowych jest ich tłumaczenie. Moim zdaniem tłumacz robi tu kapitalną robotę. Książki czyta się szybko i są one przejrzyste dla laika science fiction, jakim jestem.

Na koniec nie mogę nie ocenić okładek. Są po prostu cudowne i tak jak często jestem zwolennikiem oryginalnych okładek, tak nasze rodzime są dużo piękniejsze i bardziej odpowiadają treści książek.
Nie czytałem poprzedniego cyklu autora, co wynikało ze wspominanych na wstępie uprzedzeń. Teraz ze wstydem nadrabiam zaległości i czekam z niecierpliwością, co spotka bohaterów w kolejnym tomie Wojen palladowych. Gorąco polecam, bo naprawdę warto.

[Tamahome · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 3.5 stars I missed something like the first book, so I got this one. Same as my review for the first book. Really 1 larger novel split into many smallish books. If you like miltary scifi, this will check your boxes. There's a good space battle in here. I liked seeing the Archeron planet (Venus like?). The description is fairly lean which I like, but sometimes I want to know more about terms like 'gyrofoil' or 'socaball'. Maybe it could use a glossary. Maybe the meanings were dropped randomly somewhere, and I missed them. I watched some cool videos about gyrocopters, if that's the same thing as gyrofoils. The next book comes out August 10, 2021.

"He sent the note off into the Mnemosyne, where quantum entanglement would ensure that his query would reach [someone's] clandestine comtab before he’d have the time to put the device back into his pocket, the ninety million kilometers between their devices bridged in an instant because the data bits had no mass." (p. 189).

"Something about human evolution made people relax when among the non-Euclidean shapes and green color palette of nature, and stress them out when they went without that soothing factor for too long." (p. 233)

[Keira F. Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well paced interleaved geo(stellar?) political, adventure and light military scifi all rolled into one. And I say this as a huge compliment, it reminded me of some of John Birmingham's stories and how he carefully interleaves and intersects multiple discrete plot arcs.

I particularly liked that it struck the balance of giving enough breathing room and background to make it a vibrant "living" world, without turning into a tedious explication of every little detail.

A few common tropes but with some fun twists, particularly a "buddy-copy" plot arc that is between an occupation soldier of the "winning" side and a domestic police officer.

Not sure how I felt about the "big" twist (no spoilers here), but it does work in the context of the universe and explaining on of the main characters background and estrangement from his family.

Anyways, definitely looking forward to the next one and sad that I'm gonna have to wait a while.

[Leather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Built on the same model as the first volume, with its four main characters and as many narrative threads.
If it's still a bit slow, but the action begins to develop, the narrative threads cross, the stakes are more and more important.
Overall it's interesting: the characters are all pleasant to follow, the background is rich without being too painful, the storyline is classic but full of suspense.
I found this second part more pleasant to read than the first, which in itself is a rarity.
Will read the next one, no doubt.

[Émi (Slavic Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

We jump straight in with this sequel, so it got going straight away. The fact that I was familiar with the characters and the world building by now was a huge help. I enjoyed the sequel more than the first book. The end had me amped up and thrilled. I'm really excited to see what the third and final book has in store!

I was glad to see more of Solvig, although I still think we don't get enough chapters from her POV. The other POVs grew on me too and I no longer minded whom we were following along in each chapter.

We had some light shedded on the mysterious conflicts that took place in this book and its predecessor. This side of things is still quite slow which makes me hope the eventual revelation is well worth it. Otherwise it might lack on the satisfaction factor for me. Its been two books! It better be good.

Will be jumping straight into the sequel asap!

[Meekilovesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars, what a fantastic follow up to book 2.

[martucha czyta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pierwszy jak i drugi tom serii „Wojny Palladowe” przeczytałam praktycznie na raz. W drugim tomie wracamy do losów naszych głównych bohaterów: Adena, Idiny, Dustana i Solveig. Ich oczami obserwujemy jak, rozwija się kolejna międzyplanetarna wojna między głównymi frakcjami.
Bez wątpienia postacie są najsilniejszym aspektem tej serii. Ciekawą rzeczą jest to, że znajdujemy tu odrobine polityki, technologii, wojny, ale najważniejszy jest tu czynnik ludzki. Oglądając historię z punktu widzenia bohaterów skupiamy się na ich związkach i motywacjach na różnych poziomach. Drugi tom podąża za czterema różnymi punktami widzenia, aby pokazać nam pełen zakres historii rozgrywającej się w różnych miejscach. Postacie pochodzą z różnych planet jak i środowisk. Akcja w drugi tomie nieco zwolniła, ale zdecydowanie zyskał na tym rozwój postaci. Bardzo podobało mi się to jak życie bohaterów przecina się, bez zbędnego wymuszenia. Wszystko wydawało się być naturalne. Ciągle zmieniałam zdanie co do tego, kto jest moją ulubioną postacią, ale zdecydowanie losy Adena najbardziej mnie interesowały. Jest niesamowicie sprytną i zaradną osobą, a jego wpadki są i urocze i pokraczne. Po raz kolejny przekonałam się też, że zakończenia nie są dobrą stroną autora. Brakowało mi też niestety dobrych zwrotów akcji, których w pierwszym tomie było pełno.

[Connor Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a disappointment

I loved the first book from this series and was dramatically excited to learn of the new book! However i feel a bit let down.

It seems that the entire book could have been written in half the amount of words, and achieve the same level of novel

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

While we're still waiting for Kloos to wrap up his Frontlines series (seven books and counting), he's now on book two in the Palladium series.

In the first book, we were introduced to the setting and the four main characters. In a solar system with six inhabited planets, one world, Gretia, recently tried to conquer all their neighbors and lost. Now under occupation, Gretia is simmering with resentment while some rebel against the onerous reparations and restrictions imposed on them, and others try to repair their reputations and prove they can become good solar citizens again. Marko Kloos is German, and it's rather obvious that Gretia is modeled after post-war Germany. The Gretians aren't a direct Nazi analogy. The Gretians launched a war of conquest but they didn't try to commit any genocides, and they weren't a brutal police state; in fact, they're a pretty nice, polite society, aside from trying to conquer their neighbors because they decided it would be profitable.

The multiple viewpoint characters from the first book continue here. Aiden is a former Gretian "Blackguard" (sort of like the SS, and supposedly they did do SS-like things during the war) who's trying to bury his past and live under another identity. He has joined the crew of a free trader that sometimes engages in a little smuggling, and in this book, they find out that they are carrying some cargo that's going to get them in a lot more trouble than they bargained for.

Aiden's sister is another viewpoint character, Solveig. Solveig and Aiden's father was the head of a major Gretian corporation before the war. After the war, he is forbidden to have any say in the running of the company, so of course, he put his daughter in charge as his puppet. Solveig's chapters in this book are mostly about her trying to cut her strings.

Dunstan, the captain of an aging Alliance warship, returns here for the requisite space battle quota of a MiLSF novel. His ship, the Minotaur, is on its last legs and of course has to fight a climactic battle with a superior vessel.

Finally, there is Idina, an Alliance military officer assigned to the occupation forces on Gretia. Her homeworld was invaded by Gretia so she spent the first book trying to work through her prejudices while assigned to a Gretian police officer partner. The partnership continues in this book, as the two of them try to navigate various encounters with Gretian "resisters."

As with the first book, there isn't enough time to fully develop any of the four characters, but since it's the second book with the same characters, each one is beginning to get more fleshed out. Dunstan is the least interesting, since he's just a generic Space Battle Captain. Idina doesn't have much personality yet either (she's the grizzled vet from a militaristic culture — it's mentioned that her people are dark-skinned, and they carry monomolecular-edged ceramic blades, so basically Space Ghurkas). Solveig and Aiden are the most interesting, since they're both from the "bad guy" culture and struggling with both cultural and family drama.

The plot is drawing us towards a conspiracy by unknown (as yet) forces to reignite the war, so the second book ends with a big event to keep us hanging on for the next book.

I am enjoying this series. Marko Kloos's writing is always solid if unexceptional. But don't milk it forever like you did Frontlines, Kloos.