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The Palladium Wars #3
Citadel
An interplanetary battle is renewed in an epic novel of a warring solar system by the author of Ballistic.
The war should have been over. But it’s not for a group of nationalists grabbing for control.
It’s been two weeks since a missile with a nuclear warhead tore through the planetary defenses in the most blistering large-scale attack ever committed in the history of the Gaia system. Commander Dunstan Park of the Rhodian navy has been handpicked to command an experimental cruiser that could dictate the course of the escalating conflict. All he has to do is keep the ship from falling into the wrong hands.
On Gretia, the powder keg is beyond control. A terrorist attack against civilians draws Idina Chaudhary into a costly battle. It also forces a cautious Aden Jansen back into the fray. Now dedicated to a just cause, he’s still keeping his past hidden. The risk of exposing his former alliance could twist not only his fate but also that of his sister, Solveig, heir to the family empire.
With no time to waste, Dunstan hits the ground running. But as insurgents threaten the unstable peace, what’s ahead for both sides could change the destiny of the Gaia system forever.
The war should have been over. But it’s not for a group of nationalists grabbing for control.
It’s been two weeks since a missile with a nuclear warhead tore through the planetary defenses in the most blistering large-scale attack ever committed in the history of the Gaia system. Commander Dunstan Park of the Rhodian navy has been handpicked to command an experimental cruiser that could dictate the course of the escalating conflict. All he has to do is keep the ship from falling into the wrong hands.
On Gretia, the powder keg is beyond control. A terrorist attack against civilians draws Idina Chaudhary into a costly battle. It also forces a cautious Aden Jansen back into the fray. Now dedicated to a just cause, he’s still keeping his past hidden. The risk of exposing his former alliance could twist not only his fate but also that of his sister, Solveig, heir to the family empire.
With no time to waste, Dunstan hits the ground running. But as insurgents threaten the unstable peace, what’s ahead for both sides could change the destiny of the Gaia system forever.
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First published August 10, 2021
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May 13, 2022
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This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Citadel is the third book in the ongoing Palladium Wars series following the flare up of some nationalists trying to fight against the occupancy of their planet following the war. Gretia lost and the rest of the universe is trying to make sure they never have that much power again. The rebels are making that really hard though and just sent a nuke to one planet to let the universe know they are not as defeated as previously thought.
This is a fast paced series, a lot happens in really short periods of time and with the swapping four PoV style writing, we get a good sense of what is going on from various angles. This keeps everything feeling pretty intense and sometimes we get to see a specific scene from more than one PoV since a few times characters overlapped a little.
Dunstan is in the Rhodian navy. His planet just endured the nuclear strike and tensions are high. After fighting a ship far above his weight class and living to tell the tale he has been given a new ship with amazing capabilities, that can never fall into enemy hands. It's time to go hunting for the ship that got through his planets defenses to fire the Nuke.
Aiden, a Gretia soldier and former prisoner, is on a smugglers crew, who are in a lot of hot water. After learning what their cargo was in the last book they decided to turn it in instead of making the delivery. The people who hired them are not happy and have set some pretty high demands for recompense. The crew has to decide how they are going to get out of this mess with their lives if possible.
Solvieg is Aiden's sister. Her father was ousted from his position in a major company after losing the war. Solvieg is just out of university and set up as an executive. In her father's eyes, she is a pawn and his way to still have a foot in the company. She has ideas of her own and wants to branch out as her own person instead of being under his thumb. She also has noticed that her father might not be as removed as she once thought he was.
Idina, our final PoV, is a soldier stationed on Gretia. She had been working with other Gretia cops to try and build relationships and trust between the two peoples. After the nuke those were closed down and she is on glorified babysitting duty to dignitaries. She is looking for Oden's wolves, the rebels on the ground but she is tied up trying to get officials to listen to her. She ends up in the middle of multiple conflicts and gives a good view of the shock warfare on the ground.
Kloos does a great job of building tension and leaves a lot of chapters at really tense moments. This was a really fast read for me. I'm not sure how many books are planned for the series but it seems like the war is just getting going and starting to pick up steam. This ended with some significant developments that will definitely impact all of our characters.
Narration:
Korey Jackson is new to narrating has this series. He does a really good job with the multiple PoV set up and makes each come to life. He brings a lot of tension to the high drama parts and conveys the emotion of the characters well. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Citadel is the third book in the ongoing Palladium Wars series following the flare up of some nationalists trying to fight against the occupancy of their planet following the war. Gretia lost and the rest of the universe is trying to make sure they never have that much power again. The rebels are making that really hard though and just sent a nuke to one planet to let the universe know they are not as defeated as previously thought.
This is a fast paced series, a lot happens in really short periods of time and with the swapping four PoV style writing, we get a good sense of what is going on from various angles. This keeps everything feeling pretty intense and sometimes we get to see a specific scene from more than one PoV since a few times characters overlapped a little.
Dunstan is in the Rhodian navy. His planet just endured the nuclear strike and tensions are high. After fighting a ship far above his weight class and living to tell the tale he has been given a new ship with amazing capabilities, that can never fall into enemy hands. It's time to go hunting for the ship that got through his planets defenses to fire the Nuke.
Aiden, a Gretia soldier and former prisoner, is on a smugglers crew, who are in a lot of hot water. After learning what their cargo was in the last book they decided to turn it in instead of making the delivery. The people who hired them are not happy and have set some pretty high demands for recompense. The crew has to decide how they are going to get out of this mess with their lives if possible.
Solvieg is Aiden's sister. Her father was ousted from his position in a major company after losing the war. Solvieg is just out of university and set up as an executive. In her father's eyes, she is a pawn and his way to still have a foot in the company. She has ideas of her own and wants to branch out as her own person instead of being under his thumb. She also has noticed that her father might not be as removed as she once thought he was.
Idina, our final PoV, is a soldier stationed on Gretia. She had been working with other Gretia cops to try and build relationships and trust between the two peoples. After the nuke those were closed down and she is on glorified babysitting duty to dignitaries. She is looking for Oden's wolves, the rebels on the ground but she is tied up trying to get officials to listen to her. She ends up in the middle of multiple conflicts and gives a good view of the shock warfare on the ground.
Kloos does a great job of building tension and leaves a lot of chapters at really tense moments. This was a really fast read for me. I'm not sure how many books are planned for the series but it seems like the war is just getting going and starting to pick up steam. This ended with some significant developments that will definitely impact all of our characters.
Narration:
Korey Jackson is new to narrating has this series. He does a really good job with the multiple PoV set up and makes each come to life. He brings a lot of tension to the high drama parts and conveys the emotion of the characters well. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
June 7, 2021
Page-turner with lots happening in a short period of time/pages, some resolutions from the plot points of book 2, same four pov characters in the same order (Aden, Idina, Dunstan, Solveig); there were some cliffhanger endings on a few of those chapters that made me first skip the next three to see what happened and then going back
The insurgency on Gretia is picking up (Idina being in the middle of trying to deal with it) and the space pirates that attacked Rhodia with nuclear weapons are on the loose (Dunstan being now tasked to take them down), Aden and his friends are hunted by them for handing one of those weapons to the Rhodians and are now in a sort of hiding until they decide to strike back, while Solveig, still the nominal leader of one of the most powerful Gretian corporation, is asserting her independence from her father, still the real boss despite the peace treaty that forced him out as war instigator, (especially in pursuing her budding romance with a police officer), father who yields much easier than expected; of course, there is a reason for that and the title meaning has a lot to do with it, while one discovers it at about the right moment
If there is one complaint is that the book is so packed that I wanted it to go on for double the pages, while of course, the ending of at least some pov's is in moments that beg for the next book (not quite cliffhangers but still - once one reads the book, they will understand more as I do not want to spoil anything...)
If you loved the first two books, you won't be able to put this down until finishing it and then regret that you have to wait a while for the next one; both series and this book are highly recommended sf of the highest order
The insurgency on Gretia is picking up (Idina being in the middle of trying to deal with it) and the space pirates that attacked Rhodia with nuclear weapons are on the loose (Dunstan being now tasked to take them down), Aden and his friends are hunted by them for handing one of those weapons to the Rhodians and are now in a sort of hiding until they decide to strike back, while Solveig, still the nominal leader of one of the most powerful Gretian corporation, is asserting her independence from her father, still the real boss despite the peace treaty that forced him out as war instigator, (especially in pursuing her budding romance with a police officer), father who yields much easier than expected; of course, there is a reason for that and the title meaning has a lot to do with it, while one discovers it at about the right moment
If there is one complaint is that the book is so packed that I wanted it to go on for double the pages, while of course, the ending of at least some pov's is in moments that beg for the next book (not quite cliffhangers but still - once one reads the book, they will understand more as I do not want to spoil anything...)
If you loved the first two books, you won't be able to put this down until finishing it and then regret that you have to wait a while for the next one; both series and this book are highly recommended sf of the highest order
Read
August 14, 2021"“No disrespect intended, sir. But you may want to trust the judgment of your security detachment next time. They’ve been in this business for a long time. If that charge had gone off a half second later, it would have gone through the middle of this compartment and we would all be dead right now.”"
This epic series has a sizeable SF universe that Kloos populates with diverse humans who have adapted both physically and psychologically to their home worlds. We follow the career paths of four of these and time generally moves in one direction as we hopscotch between characters. Very slowly, we get a sense of the conflicts among these peoples and the roles our four main characters might have in this plot.
In this, Book #3, the Palladium Wars have heated up. Glad that my reservation for early shipment was delivered because I was impatient to get beyond where Kloos had left us. Kloos has honed his chops in military yarns and all of the details resonate with accuracy. This third book is a page-turner with each of the four stories having its own mad pace and Kloos knitting them together furiously. That’s not criticism on my part – it’s admiration. This book is not the end of this saga, but Kloos is starting to meld the individual stories into tighter proximity. It is still too soon for an overall rating but I am again impatiently waiting for the next segment.
Some other “things” that I like about Kloos include the backstories on characters are more than two-dimensional. Each of the four main characters and some of the others reflect the strains brought on by the Palladium Wars. Also the "tech" aspects of the military and the future life ring true and aren't a distraction.
Again too soon for any overall rating but this is fine stuff.
This epic series has a sizeable SF universe that Kloos populates with diverse humans who have adapted both physically and psychologically to their home worlds. We follow the career paths of four of these and time generally moves in one direction as we hopscotch between characters. Very slowly, we get a sense of the conflicts among these peoples and the roles our four main characters might have in this plot.
In this, Book #3, the Palladium Wars have heated up. Glad that my reservation for early shipment was delivered because I was impatient to get beyond where Kloos had left us. Kloos has honed his chops in military yarns and all of the details resonate with accuracy. This third book is a page-turner with each of the four stories having its own mad pace and Kloos knitting them together furiously. That’s not criticism on my part – it’s admiration. This book is not the end of this saga, but Kloos is starting to meld the individual stories into tighter proximity. It is still too soon for an overall rating but I am again impatiently waiting for the next segment.
Some other “things” that I like about Kloos include the backstories on characters are more than two-dimensional. Each of the four main characters and some of the others reflect the strains brought on by the Palladium Wars. Also the "tech" aspects of the military and the future life ring true and aren't a distraction.
Again too soon for any overall rating but this is fine stuff.
September 21, 2021
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2021/09/19/...
Citadel is one of those books that sneak up on you—surprising and exhilarating. I’ve been really enjoying The Palladium Wars series, and like its predecessors, the third volume is another fun and action-filled addition to this space operatic mil-SF saga.
Once more, we return to our four main perspective characters to follow up on what they’ve been up to since we last saw them. Because Citadel is a direct continuation of the series and cannot be read as a standalone, this review may also contain possible spoilers for the first two books if you are not caught up yet. First, we have Aden, a former prisoner-of-war from the losing side of the battle. Following his release, he joined up with the crew of a courier ship hoping to start a new life under a false identity. Thus far, his secret has remained safe, but with the recent nuclear attack on Rhodian territory, security has been stepped up everywhere, and he’s not sure how long his new identification will hold up to close scrutiny—especially since his crew may have something to do with the attack, however unwittingly.
Meanwhile, Idina is a Palladian soldier stationed on the defeated planet of Gretia, partnering with the local forces to keep the peace. Unhappy with the foreign occupation though, the population has become increasingly violent, with deadly protests breaking out each day. Solvieg, who was only a child during the war, has managed to regain control of her father’s company after it was taken away from him, but now finds herself with the heavy responsibility of dealing with the family business in this unstable political climate. And finally, we have Dunstan, a commander in the Rhodian Navy who has just ben handpicked to captain an experimental prototype ship with technology that has the potential to change the way war is waged forever.
Things are moving fast in this series. The story picks right up from the cliffhanger at the end of the last book and takes off running without missing a beat. I do love how Marko Kloos can keep readers on the edge and wanting more, by keeping the momentum up, throwing in twists and turns, unexpected developments. I began this series not knowing which storyline is my favorite, and I still don’t, because they are all seriously so damn good!
And of course, this is because of the characters. I like how we are still focusing on the same four POVs, and though their ARCs are still relatively separate, each of them has made their own way and formed their own relationships. Aden has the Zephyr, and his guilt at not coming clean with his crewmates continues to be a source of intrigue, especially when their decision to go to the Rhodian Navy in the last book resulted in dire consequences for them this time around. Dunstan’s storyline remains the most heavily “military sci-fi”, and I’m currently enjoying his new dynamic with his first officer and their shared delight at the technological wonder that is the Hecate. I wasn’t sure I liked Solvieg’s POV as much, but ultimately she impressed me by standing up to her father for more autonomy, and I’m also awwwwing at her budding romance with the detective she’s sweet on. Idina’s chapters brought the pure action, and I truly enjoyed how well-paced and balanced all the POVS were.
Gradually, we’re seeing the storylines integrate, as events on Grecia as well as out in space are starting to create these focal points drawing the characters together. Again, we are left with a semi-cliffhanger at the end of Citadel, fortunately not as scream-inducing as the other ones, but there are still plenty of burning questions by the last page. If you aren’t a fan of being left in suspense, clearly this would not be a series for you, though if you’ve made it this far to the third book, surely you’ve got to be used to it by now!
All in all, there’s not much more to say about Citadel, other than that it was pretty darn awesome. I don’t know how many more books we’ll get, but I’m glad there will be more, and I look forward to finding out what happens to these characters.
Audiobook Comments: I’m also happy to be continuing this series in audio because the narration is top-notch, though I still think multiple narrators would have been ideal. Furthermore, I can’t say I’m a fan of changing narrators from book to book, but admittedly I was thrilled to see Korey Jackson’s name on the audiobook of Citadel, as I’ve been fan of his for a long time. As a voice actor he always delivers a flawless performance, and this was definitely no exception.
Citadel is one of those books that sneak up on you—surprising and exhilarating. I’ve been really enjoying The Palladium Wars series, and like its predecessors, the third volume is another fun and action-filled addition to this space operatic mil-SF saga.
Once more, we return to our four main perspective characters to follow up on what they’ve been up to since we last saw them. Because Citadel is a direct continuation of the series and cannot be read as a standalone, this review may also contain possible spoilers for the first two books if you are not caught up yet. First, we have Aden, a former prisoner-of-war from the losing side of the battle. Following his release, he joined up with the crew of a courier ship hoping to start a new life under a false identity. Thus far, his secret has remained safe, but with the recent nuclear attack on Rhodian territory, security has been stepped up everywhere, and he’s not sure how long his new identification will hold up to close scrutiny—especially since his crew may have something to do with the attack, however unwittingly.
Meanwhile, Idina is a Palladian soldier stationed on the defeated planet of Gretia, partnering with the local forces to keep the peace. Unhappy with the foreign occupation though, the population has become increasingly violent, with deadly protests breaking out each day. Solvieg, who was only a child during the war, has managed to regain control of her father’s company after it was taken away from him, but now finds herself with the heavy responsibility of dealing with the family business in this unstable political climate. And finally, we have Dunstan, a commander in the Rhodian Navy who has just ben handpicked to captain an experimental prototype ship with technology that has the potential to change the way war is waged forever.
Things are moving fast in this series. The story picks right up from the cliffhanger at the end of the last book and takes off running without missing a beat. I do love how Marko Kloos can keep readers on the edge and wanting more, by keeping the momentum up, throwing in twists and turns, unexpected developments. I began this series not knowing which storyline is my favorite, and I still don’t, because they are all seriously so damn good!
And of course, this is because of the characters. I like how we are still focusing on the same four POVs, and though their ARCs are still relatively separate, each of them has made their own way and formed their own relationships. Aden has the Zephyr, and his guilt at not coming clean with his crewmates continues to be a source of intrigue, especially when their decision to go to the Rhodian Navy in the last book resulted in dire consequences for them this time around. Dunstan’s storyline remains the most heavily “military sci-fi”, and I’m currently enjoying his new dynamic with his first officer and their shared delight at the technological wonder that is the Hecate. I wasn’t sure I liked Solvieg’s POV as much, but ultimately she impressed me by standing up to her father for more autonomy, and I’m also awwwwing at her budding romance with the detective she’s sweet on. Idina’s chapters brought the pure action, and I truly enjoyed how well-paced and balanced all the POVS were.
Gradually, we’re seeing the storylines integrate, as events on Grecia as well as out in space are starting to create these focal points drawing the characters together. Again, we are left with a semi-cliffhanger at the end of Citadel, fortunately not as scream-inducing as the other ones, but there are still plenty of burning questions by the last page. If you aren’t a fan of being left in suspense, clearly this would not be a series for you, though if you’ve made it this far to the third book, surely you’ve got to be used to it by now!
All in all, there’s not much more to say about Citadel, other than that it was pretty darn awesome. I don’t know how many more books we’ll get, but I’m glad there will be more, and I look forward to finding out what happens to these characters.
Audiobook Comments: I’m also happy to be continuing this series in audio because the narration is top-notch, though I still think multiple narrators would have been ideal. Furthermore, I can’t say I’m a fan of changing narrators from book to book, but admittedly I was thrilled to see Korey Jackson’s name on the audiobook of Citadel, as I’ve been fan of his for a long time. As a voice actor he always delivers a flawless performance, and this was definitely no exception.
September 28, 2021
Ahoy there me mateys! This series is hopping. This be book three (and me favorite so far!) and it's a fun fast popcorn romp where I couldn't guess what was going to happen next. It is the strange sort of read because ye follow four POVs and I would be riveted to one person to be sad to have to switch to a new one and then be riveted all over again. The people ye follow remain from the previous books:
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.
I can't get into the plot because I don't want to spoil it. Suffice to say that there were plot twists I was NOT expecting. 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 two books, 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!
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.
I can't get into the plot because I don't want to spoil it. Suffice to say that there were plot twists I was NOT expecting. 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 two books, 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!
October 30, 2021
Satisfying. Probably the opposite reaction is what most readers will have because this is just another entry into series. Not much if anything is wrapped up, the story moves forward at a fairly slow pace yet....with all of Kloos' novels I find myself pleasantly happy at the end. Characters grow, tragedy happens and I find myself just comfortable to be along for the ride. Yes the cliffhanger sucked and the plot progress did not move the needle more than a tick but it is a good world to while away some time.
Of course I will read the next and probably pre-order like I did this one. The one tiny glitch is that this is the first time I have listened to any of Kloos' books and I did not care for the narrator. I have distinct voices in my haed that don't match up with his and I for sure pronounce Solveig differently.
Of course I will read the next and probably pre-order like I did this one. The one tiny glitch is that this is the first time I have listened to any of Kloos' books and I did not care for the narrator. I have distinct voices in my haed that don't match up with his and I for sure pronounce Solveig differently.
August 28, 2021
Third book in Kloos’
Expanse
-like, Palladium Wars series. A series ‘Bridge’ novel in which ‘The Good Guys’ go on the offensive against the post-war insurgents. Story ends in a cliffhanger.
Palladium Wars: Running and Gunning w/ Spaceships
My ebook version was a modest 330-pages. It had a US 2021 copyright.
Marko Kloos is an American MIL-SF and fantasy fiction author. He has written more than ten novels, primarily in two series. This was the third book in his Palladium Wars series. The last book I read by him was Orders of Battle (Frontlines #7) (my review).
Its strongly recommended to read the series in order. This book would be incomprehensible if not read as part of the series.
This story was a turning-of-the-tide for the mostly Alliance characters of the story. Where previously the Gretian insurgency modeled on the German, WWII Werwolf resistance, although better: financed, organized and staffed, had the Alliance on the ropes. Through the efforts of the crew of the Zephyr (including the Byronic Hero Aden character) and an Alliance, Hack0r, stealth, Wunderwaffe (commanded by the Traditional Male Model of Masculinity in a navy uniform Duncan character) the insurgency was dealt a crushing blow in space. On the Gretian ground, the Old Soldier Idina character (modeled on Sgt. Rock) in a double Rescue Arc play; one part of which involves the Uptown Girl Solveig character, re-vamps the counterinsurgency effort. Idina's serendipitously saving Solveig's hash shall likely drive a wedge into the insurgency’s organization. The story ends in a double cliffhanger with the Aden and Solveig characters.
Oddly, this installment of the serialization contains both some of the better displays of Kloos’ talents and his greatest deficiencies as an author. The Palladium War story has ‘good bones’. When Kloos writes about, what he knows, those parts of the story contain an even balance of: dialog, description, sf, and suspense. For example, the MIL-SF ground combats, including the prelude and culmination are good. (Although, Werwolf, door kickers doing room-cleaning would have an ample supply of sf hand grenades and, like the Good Guys, have biometrically locked assault rifles.) However, there continues to be: a chronic, lack of attention to detail; unsubtle plotting, and a reluctance to take all his stock characters beyond their generic type—despite having hundreds of pages of runway.
An egregious example of this book's issues was its 10-page first chapter. In your first chapter, an author puts their best foot forward. Those first pages set the tone of the book with the reader. This book’s first chapter appeared to have been unedited. It contained: an obvious example of lampshading, grammatical errors, inconsistency, and both too much abstraction and too dense a presentation (some of which was incorrect).
For example, in the first chapter-- Lampshading. A female, civil servant recognizes Aden on the street on Oceania as a Gretian war criminal. She had a remarkably good memory, to recall: a single face, from 5+ years ago, amongst a battalion (~1000) of men, of similar ethnicity, dressed in uniform, being processed by her like cattle? Inconsistency. Later, the Aden character muses on a hydrofoil warship he observes from the 'leaf'. Over several pages, that ship was a “warship”, a “gunship” (properly a type of aircraft), and a “cruiser” (a warship with specific characteristics, typically too large to be a hydrofoil), before returning it to be a warship at the end. Dense Presentation. Aden also treats the reader to an erroneous info-dump on the salvo-operation of that ship’s Vertical Launch System (VLS) for surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles. Its a remarkable exposition by an ex-Gretian, soldier, after 5+ years out-of-uniform, of the operation of a single, weapon system aboard an Oceanian, naval vessel.
Oddly, subsequent chapters showed some evidence of editing. Yet, first impressions are most important. A story's first 10-pages can't be rubbish.
As an aside the I found the description and function of the Rhodian, Wunderwaffe, spaceship Hecate to be very imaginative. It was a Deus Ex Machina with a fusion drive! Also, I never knew you could quantify computer performance by ‘mass of metal’? (Note, space ships have mass not weight.) Finally, a ship at port (especially a secret weapon like the Hecate) would always have an alert watch kept at all times at the head of each gangway.
I’m not a fan of serial fiction. Ballistic (Palladium Wars #2) (my review) the previous book in the series ended in a cliffhanger. Almost a year and a half later this book resolved that. (It took me almost 50-pages to remember the characters providing the POVs.) How much will the Cliff-Hung reader be expected to remember, almost two years after this story has been adrift in space? In addition, at the rate Kloos’ has been going, Palladium Wars by its end will be: 10-books long, pay for his children’s private school tuition, and payoff a new roof for his dacha, Festung Kloos in the New Hampshire forest. I on the other hand may be too enfeebled by old age to read the last few books unassisted?
In this book, Kloos converged the story arcs of some of his characters in space and on the ground. The ground combat action was good. The space combat was OK, but still needs serious work. Kloos remains a knuckle dragger pretending to walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk of a squid (only in space). The boy/girl stuff was still YA, but at least its hinted at the folks in the Palladium-universe have non-reproductive sex. In general, there was either none or some proofreading and editing in this story. If Kloos is going to Level-up to a James S.A. Corey/Expanse class author he’s going to need to get his publisher ( 47North ) to get him a serious editor.
Readers interested in counterinsurgency lessons may be interested in Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam .
Otherwise, if you read this, I’m certain you’ll be pleased to know that Leviathan Falls the last book in the 10-years to complete Expanse serial fiction releases in November, 2021.
Palladium Wars: Running and Gunning w/ Spaceships
My ebook version was a modest 330-pages. It had a US 2021 copyright.
Marko Kloos is an American MIL-SF and fantasy fiction author. He has written more than ten novels, primarily in two series. This was the third book in his Palladium Wars series. The last book I read by him was Orders of Battle (Frontlines #7) (my review).
Its strongly recommended to read the series in order. This book would be incomprehensible if not read as part of the series.
This story was a turning-of-the-tide for the mostly Alliance characters of the story. Where previously the Gretian insurgency modeled on the German, WWII Werwolf resistance, although better: financed, organized and staffed, had the Alliance on the ropes. Through the efforts of the crew of the Zephyr (including the Byronic Hero Aden character) and an Alliance, Hack0r, stealth, Wunderwaffe (commanded by the Traditional Male Model of Masculinity in a navy uniform Duncan character) the insurgency was dealt a crushing blow in space. On the Gretian ground, the Old Soldier Idina character (modeled on Sgt. Rock) in a double Rescue Arc play; one part of which involves the Uptown Girl Solveig character, re-vamps the counterinsurgency effort. Idina's serendipitously saving Solveig's hash shall likely drive a wedge into the insurgency’s organization. The story ends in a double cliffhanger with the Aden and Solveig characters.
Oddly, this installment of the serialization contains both some of the better displays of Kloos’ talents and his greatest deficiencies as an author. The Palladium War story has ‘good bones’. When Kloos writes about, what he knows, those parts of the story contain an even balance of: dialog, description, sf, and suspense. For example, the MIL-SF ground combats, including the prelude and culmination are good. (Although, Werwolf, door kickers doing room-cleaning would have an ample supply of sf hand grenades and, like the Good Guys, have biometrically locked assault rifles.) However, there continues to be: a chronic, lack of attention to detail; unsubtle plotting, and a reluctance to take all his stock characters beyond their generic type—despite having hundreds of pages of runway.
An egregious example of this book's issues was its 10-page first chapter. In your first chapter, an author puts their best foot forward. Those first pages set the tone of the book with the reader. This book’s first chapter appeared to have been unedited. It contained: an obvious example of lampshading, grammatical errors, inconsistency, and both too much abstraction and too dense a presentation (some of which was incorrect).
For example, in the first chapter-- Lampshading. A female, civil servant recognizes Aden on the street on Oceania as a Gretian war criminal. She had a remarkably good memory, to recall: a single face, from 5+ years ago, amongst a battalion (~1000) of men, of similar ethnicity, dressed in uniform, being processed by her like cattle? Inconsistency. Later, the Aden character muses on a hydrofoil warship he observes from the 'leaf'. Over several pages, that ship was a “warship”, a “gunship” (properly a type of aircraft), and a “cruiser” (a warship with specific characteristics, typically too large to be a hydrofoil), before returning it to be a warship at the end. Dense Presentation. Aden also treats the reader to an erroneous info-dump on the salvo-operation of that ship’s Vertical Launch System (VLS) for surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles. Its a remarkable exposition by an ex-Gretian, soldier, after 5+ years out-of-uniform, of the operation of a single, weapon system aboard an Oceanian, naval vessel.
Oddly, subsequent chapters showed some evidence of editing. Yet, first impressions are most important. A story's first 10-pages can't be rubbish.
As an aside the I found the description and function of the Rhodian, Wunderwaffe, spaceship Hecate to be very imaginative. It was a Deus Ex Machina with a fusion drive! Also, I never knew you could quantify computer performance by ‘mass of metal’? (Note, space ships have mass not weight.) Finally, a ship at port (especially a secret weapon like the Hecate) would always have an alert watch kept at all times at the head of each gangway.
I’m not a fan of serial fiction. Ballistic (Palladium Wars #2) (my review) the previous book in the series ended in a cliffhanger. Almost a year and a half later this book resolved that. (It took me almost 50-pages to remember the characters providing the POVs.) How much will the Cliff-Hung reader be expected to remember, almost two years after this story has been adrift in space? In addition, at the rate Kloos’ has been going, Palladium Wars by its end will be: 10-books long, pay for his children’s private school tuition, and payoff a new roof for his dacha, Festung Kloos in the New Hampshire forest. I on the other hand may be too enfeebled by old age to read the last few books unassisted?
In this book, Kloos converged the story arcs of some of his characters in space and on the ground. The ground combat action was good. The space combat was OK, but still needs serious work. Kloos remains a knuckle dragger pretending to walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk of a squid (only in space). The boy/girl stuff was still YA, but at least its hinted at the folks in the Palladium-universe have non-reproductive sex. In general, there was either none or some proofreading and editing in this story. If Kloos is going to Level-up to a James S.A. Corey/Expanse class author he’s going to need to get his publisher ( 47North ) to get him a serious editor.
Readers interested in counterinsurgency lessons may be interested in Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam .
Otherwise, if you read this, I’m certain you’ll be pleased to know that Leviathan Falls the last book in the 10-years to complete Expanse serial fiction releases in November, 2021.
September 15, 2021
Fighting the insurgency
An insurgency essentially cannot be defeated by regular forces.
Sounds familiar.
Picks up where book 2 left off
This was a good read. It's been awhile since I read 'Ballistic', Marko Kloos didn't catch us up on what happened in the prior books so I had to reread my review of book 2.
I really enjoyed the scenes in space with Aden and the crew of Zephyr teaming up with Dunstan and his crew on the Hecate to hunt the Taliban insurgency aka Odin's Ravens.
Of course the book ends with a couple cliffhangers.
An insurgency essentially cannot be defeated by regular forces.
Sounds familiar.
Picks up where book 2 left off
This was a good read. It's been awhile since I read 'Ballistic', Marko Kloos didn't catch us up on what happened in the prior books so I had to reread my review of book 2.
I really enjoyed the scenes in space with Aden and the crew of Zephyr teaming up with Dunstan and his crew on the Hecate to hunt the Taliban insurgency aka Odin's Ravens.
Of course the book ends with a couple cliffhangers.
August 21, 2021
I really like Kloos' stuff, I really do. He's one of the best milSF writers I know and his work has the authenticity that others would find it hard to follow.
However. Similar with the seemingly never-ending Frontline series, I felt his story could be more effective if it's shorter. Spending one whole book just for a setup - like this one - is not very entertaining for me as a reader. Still a solid read - Idina's chapters were absolute fave of mine - yet the prolonged feel is there.
I've no idea how many books left in the series but I hope it's not too many.
However. Similar with the seemingly never-ending Frontline series, I felt his story could be more effective if it's shorter. Spending one whole book just for a setup - like this one - is not very entertaining for me as a reader. Still a solid read - Idina's chapters were absolute fave of mine - yet the prolonged feel is there.
I've no idea how many books left in the series but I hope it's not too many.
September 28, 2021
Another page turner. The last one in the Palladium Wars trilogy. The ending was satisfactory but a bit too open to my taste. See here for a much better review.
August 6, 2022
All along I was here thinking this was a trilogy, oopps. It isn't. There's no way the third book would have ended the way it did if it was indeed a trilogy. But waiting for the next book... I haven't had to wait for a sequel in a looong time. Mostly because my tbr is so large, all my awaited sequels are already in my possession, waiting to be read. This read was part of my audiobook binge during gym, through my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I dread to think how long I'll have to wait for the sequel.
But anyway, onto the actual review!! To start off, this has a new narrator. Which I didn't vibe with at first because he pronounced things differently and even mispronounced some things at first. Got it right next time round, but concerning that the first blip wasn't edited out? Then, there seemed to be a lot of recap which wasn't present in the second book. Probably just a personal detail I didn't like though, as I jumped in straight from the previous book. I'll probably appreciate it in the fourth installment.
On the positive side of things, the POV distribution was evened out. Used to bother me how we'd spend ages with one character and rarely visit some POVs. It has balanced out by now though. Some scenes had me smiling, others had me gasping out in shock or chanting 'no, no, no'. We saw some character deaths which is a first in the series, but the casualties that we knew personally still remains low. A lot of people died. But they weren't characters we were attached to, so whilst devastating, it was an impersonal experience.
I had gone into this expecting a conclusion, so I was certain there would be actual war, conflict and resolution. The fact it isn't the conclusion adds some clarity as to why there wasn't a full on war. It's mostly just terrorism style attacks, not a full scale blow out. Which is okay but... Nothing is really making sense so far. They attack and we witness it. No longterm goal has been confirmed and it all seems a bit pointless? Surely if they've spent all those years planning their plans would have been more strategic? I don't know, it just left me feeling wanting.
Can we also talk about how Aden kept his first name the same despite changing his identity twice? Such a major plot hole, as if no one would recognise it as a pattern and just, compare his old ID photo to all other Adens in the system. Such a dumb man. Then again, maybe no one expects Aden to be so dumb so, there's that too.
Overall though, I still enjoyed this book. Not as much as the second one - that one added a lot of new stuff to the table. This one? Not so much. More or less the same exciting stuff from the second book, just more of it. But I'm invested in this series, and plan on seeing it through. Even if there aren't any big reveals or mind-blowing reveals, as those don't seem like they'll be in store anyway. They just aren't within the series style imo. Its strengths lay in other areas.
But anyway, onto the actual review!! To start off, this has a new narrator. Which I didn't vibe with at first because he pronounced things differently and even mispronounced some things at first. Got it right next time round, but concerning that the first blip wasn't edited out? Then, there seemed to be a lot of recap which wasn't present in the second book. Probably just a personal detail I didn't like though, as I jumped in straight from the previous book. I'll probably appreciate it in the fourth installment.
On the positive side of things, the POV distribution was evened out. Used to bother me how we'd spend ages with one character and rarely visit some POVs. It has balanced out by now though. Some scenes had me smiling, others had me gasping out in shock or chanting 'no, no, no'. We saw some character deaths which is a first in the series, but the casualties that we knew personally still remains low. A lot of people died. But they weren't characters we were attached to, so whilst devastating, it was an impersonal experience.
I had gone into this expecting a conclusion, so I was certain there would be actual war, conflict and resolution. The fact it isn't the conclusion adds some clarity as to why there wasn't a full on war. It's mostly just terrorism style attacks, not a full scale blow out. Which is okay but... Nothing is really making sense so far. They attack and we witness it. No longterm goal has been confirmed and it all seems a bit pointless? Surely if they've spent all those years planning their plans would have been more strategic? I don't know, it just left me feeling wanting.
Can we also talk about how Aden kept his first name the same despite changing his identity twice? Such a major plot hole, as if no one would recognise it as a pattern and just, compare his old ID photo to all other Adens in the system. Such a dumb man. Then again, maybe no one expects Aden to be so dumb so, there's that too.
Overall though, I still enjoyed this book. Not as much as the second one - that one added a lot of new stuff to the table. This one? Not so much. More or less the same exciting stuff from the second book, just more of it. But I'm invested in this series, and plan on seeing it through. Even if there aren't any big reveals or mind-blowing reveals, as those don't seem like they'll be in store anyway. They just aren't within the series style imo. Its strengths lay in other areas.
August 30, 2021
Notes:
The series is currently on KU Read & Listen.
Korey Jackson's narration was good! I wasn't sure if I would like the change, but it wasn't as jarring as it could have been.
Good intro for new characters and slight movement in plot. Unfortunately, this was another transition piece. I hope the next book comes out soon!
The series is currently on KU Read & Listen.
Korey Jackson's narration was good! I wasn't sure if I would like the change, but it wasn't as jarring as it could have been.
Good intro for new characters and slight movement in plot. Unfortunately, this was another transition piece. I hope the next book comes out soon!
Want to read
October 20, 2021Jo Walton likes this one a lot. She read it in Sept 2021:
"Why is it that I feel in volume 3 of this series that it’s just getting going? However, it’s great, Kloos is still writing excellent combat sequences (almost nobody is good at combat sequences) and things are coming together and we are starting to find out what’s actually going on. I pre-ordered this and started reading it the day it came out."
"Why is it that I feel in volume 3 of this series that it’s just getting going? However, it’s great, Kloos is still writing excellent combat sequences (almost nobody is good at combat sequences) and things are coming together and we are starting to find out what’s actually going on. I pre-ordered this and started reading it the day it came out."
September 20, 2021
Good grief! Do these "cliffhanger" authors think we read their books then don't do anything for a whole year waiting for the next story? By this time next year I will have read 150 or more books. How the hell am I supposed to remember this particular series. These writers are so anxious to make money they write cliffhangers and hope people will want to read their books next year.
I HATE CLIFFHANGERS!!!
No romance and the F-bomb was used 42 times.
As for the narration: As I mentioned before, each of the 3 books were narrated by a different person. Korey Jackson was the worst of the three. All he did was read the book. The voices had little change to them and there was no emotions in his reading.
I HATE CLIFFHANGERS!!!
No romance and the F-bomb was used 42 times.
As for the narration: As I mentioned before, each of the 3 books were narrated by a different person. Korey Jackson was the worst of the three. All he did was read the book. The voices had little change to them and there was no emotions in his reading.
January 5, 2022
Finally the story is heating up. Book two was such a bridge (translation: snooze) that I kept putting off reading this one. But the action slowly ramps up until we finally have a clear road for all of our major characters into the immediate future. I wish the author had done this in book 1, not book 3. But ultimately the series will be judged by how it plays out.
I'm excited to see where it's going. That wasn't the case after book 2. So that's a good thing.
I'm excited to see where it's going. That wasn't the case after book 2. So that's a good thing.
March 1, 2022
This series keeps getting better.
We get plenty of action. There are space battles and ground conflicts using lots of cool futuristic weapons and equipment. Dirty dealing and do-or-die moments abound. Also, the special operative that showed up at the end of book two returns to make good on his promise. Things have seriously heated up.
The characters are well realized, especially the four POV characters. Their separate threads are starting to converge now. And, though his motivation remains unclear, I think I spotted the character who is trying to destabilize things and restart the war (of course that might be a red herring).
I would like a little more on how humans came to settle this system with its multiple habitable planets. (They don't seem to have FTL.) Perhaps we will learn more in a later book.
4+ stars
We get plenty of action. There are space battles and ground conflicts using lots of cool futuristic weapons and equipment. Dirty dealing and do-or-die moments abound. Also, the special operative that showed up at the end of book two returns to make good on his promise. Things have seriously heated up.
The characters are well realized, especially the four POV characters. Their separate threads are starting to converge now. And, though his motivation remains unclear, I think I spotted the character who is trying to destabilize things and restart the war (of course that might be a red herring).
I would like a little more on how humans came to settle this system with its multiple habitable planets. (They don't seem to have FTL.) Perhaps we will learn more in a later book.
4+ stars
August 14, 2021
No closure
No closure.
Leaves you waiting for an actual ending, seems like there should be another book in this series, instead of this being the end.
No closure.
Leaves you waiting for an actual ending, seems like there should be another book in this series, instead of this being the end.
August 22, 2021
Best Marko Kloos novel yet.
Definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Great pacing, an engaging universe, and characters that aren't merely clones of one another. A few good elements where the outcome was foreshadowed in retrospect, but not so much that it was a fog-horn making it too obvious.
It's been interesting to see the author evolve over time. I've been following home since his first "Frontlines" book, and this one definitely highlights how he's grown and improved.
Anywho, I tend to struggle with reviewing stories I genuinely enjoyed to a high degree, so I'll just point and say "Yup, it was good."
Definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Great pacing, an engaging universe, and characters that aren't merely clones of one another. A few good elements where the outcome was foreshadowed in retrospect, but not so much that it was a fog-horn making it too obvious.
It's been interesting to see the author evolve over time. I've been following home since his first "Frontlines" book, and this one definitely highlights how he's grown and improved.
Anywho, I tend to struggle with reviewing stories I genuinely enjoyed to a high degree, so I'll just point and say "Yup, it was good."
August 22, 2021
Audiobook - Not having Luke Daniels doing audio narration has been a mistake. I am 3 hours in and still haven't been able to get into the book. Having the same narrator means I fall into the story much more quickly.
The new narrator isn't bad, in fact he's quite talented.
Just feels different.
The new narrator isn't bad, in fact he's quite talented.
Just feels different.
September 20, 2021
4 stars. Totally fine. Really enjoy Marko Kloos. He writes very gripping action and loves to describe his future sci fi tech. Sadly this book felt like a long story. The ending/climax didn't feel like it was being built towards, but simply something big that happened.
SPOILERS AHEAD (these are notes so I can remember what the heck happened by the time the next book comes out).
Aden
The crew is on vacay on Oceania. Aden (the gretian black guard in hiding) is hooking up with Tess (I think) while on leave. They end up walking in to Tristan's hotel and he's been murdered by a Gretian black guard fighter dude, part of Odins Wolves. One of the guys that told them to carry the nuke. They all fight it out. Tristan dies, Henry in status hurt. Aden got revived.
They inherit the ship from Tristan who owned the whole thing. Hook up with Dunstan the Rhody Captain (who now heads a super stealth badass tech ship), and they go after the dudes in the middle of space. They act as bait and the Dunstan catches the bad guys but their ship gets hit and engine dies. Book ends with crew landing at Rhoady One and police know Aden is Gretian and take him in to custody in front of the crew.
Solveig
(sister of Aden). Starts dating the policeman. Puts her foot down with her dad a bit and he welcomes it. She goes to have lunch with Policeman at Police HQ and the place gets bombed by gyrofoil hitting building with a bomb. She gets shot up but lives. Policeman probably dead. Her bodyguard also dead but was a badass. She is saved by Idina and Capt. Dahl. At end, her dad is in her hospital room. He's yelling at someone on the phone for Solveig almost dying. She demands to know the secret he's hiding and if he doesnt tell her she'll take off like Aden.
He says ok. My guess is he's funding Odins Wolves and running point to get control back of Gretia...
Idina
On junky patrols with her team. First on a VIP mission on a bridge and get ambushed by Odins Wolves. They start shooting up ppl in their cars. Next time she goes with VIP to Police HQ and the place blows. She loses 3 of her team. She and her team kill the Odins Wolves who enter to execute everyone else. She then saves Solveig. Is asked to lead a new team that will hunt down Odins Wolves.
Dunstan
Doesn't really want to hang with his family. Rather be on a ship. Gets command of a super secret stealth tech ship. It has tons and tons of palladium running a smart AI that can hack in to any ship and take control. They team up with Aden and the team to catch Odins Wolves. They end up chasing the stealth ship that launched the nuke and that blew up the Gretian warships. Ends up they chase them to a bunch of other ships, one of which is a giant Gretian battleship. They take over, turn the guns on the others and win the whole thing in a few minutes. They end up towing Zephyr back to Rhoady One and are ready to continue hunting Odins Wolves.
SPOILERS AHEAD (these are notes so I can remember what the heck happened by the time the next book comes out).
Aden
The crew is on vacay on Oceania. Aden (the gretian black guard in hiding) is hooking up with Tess (I think) while on leave. They end up walking in to Tristan's hotel and he's been murdered by a Gretian black guard fighter dude, part of Odins Wolves. One of the guys that told them to carry the nuke. They all fight it out. Tristan dies, Henry in status hurt. Aden got revived.
They inherit the ship from Tristan who owned the whole thing. Hook up with Dunstan the Rhody Captain (who now heads a super stealth badass tech ship), and they go after the dudes in the middle of space. They act as bait and the Dunstan catches the bad guys but their ship gets hit and engine dies. Book ends with crew landing at Rhoady One and police know Aden is Gretian and take him in to custody in front of the crew.
Solveig
(sister of Aden). Starts dating the policeman. Puts her foot down with her dad a bit and he welcomes it. She goes to have lunch with Policeman at Police HQ and the place gets bombed by gyrofoil hitting building with a bomb. She gets shot up but lives. Policeman probably dead. Her bodyguard also dead but was a badass. She is saved by Idina and Capt. Dahl. At end, her dad is in her hospital room. He's yelling at someone on the phone for Solveig almost dying. She demands to know the secret he's hiding and if he doesnt tell her she'll take off like Aden.
He says ok. My guess is he's funding Odins Wolves and running point to get control back of Gretia...
Idina
On junky patrols with her team. First on a VIP mission on a bridge and get ambushed by Odins Wolves. They start shooting up ppl in their cars. Next time she goes with VIP to Police HQ and the place blows. She loses 3 of her team. She and her team kill the Odins Wolves who enter to execute everyone else. She then saves Solveig. Is asked to lead a new team that will hunt down Odins Wolves.
Dunstan
Doesn't really want to hang with his family. Rather be on a ship. Gets command of a super secret stealth tech ship. It has tons and tons of palladium running a smart AI that can hack in to any ship and take control. They team up with Aden and the team to catch Odins Wolves. They end up chasing the stealth ship that launched the nuke and that blew up the Gretian warships. Ends up they chase them to a bunch of other ships, one of which is a giant Gretian battleship. They take over, turn the guns on the others and win the whole thing in a few minutes. They end up towing Zephyr back to Rhoady One and are ready to continue hunting Odins Wolves.
August 15, 2021
This review encompasses the first three books of the Palladium Wars series by Marko Kloos.
I guess Marko Kloos is a bit unfortunate that he published the Palladium Wars while the Expanse is still ongoing.
Quite a few people have noted the similarities between the two series : they're both of the military scifi genre, they both deal with planetary conflicts, they both have pretty amazing and advanced spaceship, as well as nerve-wracking and thrilling space battles. In terms of the military scifi aspects of the Palladium Wars series, I have no problem. Some elements are a bit too similar with the Expanse series, notably the villain's use of stealth super spaceship as well as the rag-taggy team of good guys. The first three books of the series so far are page-turners and include some pretty frantic and breathtaking space battles. I find Kloos continues to put his main characters in this series in far more alarming and deadly circumstances, which makes it a more gripping read in some ways. However, some of the characters seem to have ungodly amount of good luck, which, in some other ways, makes a few scenes less than believable.
The series focuses on four main characters : Aden (disowned son of Ragnar Falk, the most powerful man on Gretia, who once voted for the war), Solveig (the only daughter of the same Ragnar Falk), Dunstan Park (a Commander in the Rhodian Navy) and Idina (Palladian Infantry Sergeant stationed in Gretia). While I didn't care much about some of the characters, especially Idina who displayed blatant and disgusting racist behavior in the first book, but all of them have grown somewhat in the third installment. However, there are still quite a few moments where the characters seem rather passive and not actively determining the possible course of action. For example, Aden, while being involved in numerous high-stake and high-risk space battles, for the most parts is a passive participant in the events, as things just happen to him. Idina seems to be the most action-oriented character, as she seems to always get in a shitty situation (sometimes literally) through a combination of her decision and just pure bad luck. But, there were several moments throughout the series that I found the lack of character development rather boring.
Furthermore, there are also a couple of critical plot developments that occur in the third installment, that should have been done from the very first book. I thought that the last plot developments in Idina's and Solveig's arcs should have been written in right from the very beginning. But, I don't know why the characters failed to see the logical conclusion until the end of the third book. Maybe this is because we're limited to reading the series from the aforementioned four POVs. Perhaps, if Kloos would introduce one or two additional POVs, the political sides of things could have been depicted better.
Overall the Palladium Wars is a page-turning, good, but not great, military scifi series. Not the best out there, but good enough to keep you entertained.
3.5 Star for this book.
3 Star for the series overall.
I guess Marko Kloos is a bit unfortunate that he published the Palladium Wars while the Expanse is still ongoing.
Quite a few people have noted the similarities between the two series : they're both of the military scifi genre, they both deal with planetary conflicts, they both have pretty amazing and advanced spaceship, as well as nerve-wracking and thrilling space battles. In terms of the military scifi aspects of the Palladium Wars series, I have no problem. Some elements are a bit too similar with the Expanse series, notably the villain's use of stealth super spaceship as well as the rag-taggy team of good guys. The first three books of the series so far are page-turners and include some pretty frantic and breathtaking space battles. I find Kloos continues to put his main characters in this series in far more alarming and deadly circumstances, which makes it a more gripping read in some ways. However, some of the characters seem to have ungodly amount of good luck, which, in some other ways, makes a few scenes less than believable.
The series focuses on four main characters : Aden (disowned son of Ragnar Falk, the most powerful man on Gretia, who once voted for the war), Solveig (the only daughter of the same Ragnar Falk), Dunstan Park (a Commander in the Rhodian Navy) and Idina (Palladian Infantry Sergeant stationed in Gretia). While I didn't care much about some of the characters, especially Idina who displayed blatant and disgusting racist behavior in the first book, but all of them have grown somewhat in the third installment. However, there are still quite a few moments where the characters seem rather passive and not actively determining the possible course of action. For example, Aden, while being involved in numerous high-stake and high-risk space battles, for the most parts is a passive participant in the events, as things just happen to him. Idina seems to be the most action-oriented character, as she seems to always get in a shitty situation (sometimes literally) through a combination of her decision and just pure bad luck. But, there were several moments throughout the series that I found the lack of character development rather boring.
Furthermore, there are also a couple of critical plot developments that occur in the third installment, that should have been done from the very first book. I thought that the last plot developments in Idina's and Solveig's arcs should have been written in right from the very beginning. But, I don't know why the characters failed to see the logical conclusion until the end of the third book. Maybe this is because we're limited to reading the series from the aforementioned four POVs. Perhaps, if Kloos would introduce one or two additional POVs, the political sides of things could have been depicted better.
Overall the Palladium Wars is a page-turning, good, but not great, military scifi series. Not the best out there, but good enough to keep you entertained.
3.5 Star for this book.
3 Star for the series overall.
October 9, 2021
This is the 3rd book of the Palladium Wars series and it is not the end. It has the most exciting and riveting action scenes in the series so far.
Though I have a quibble about how it begins. At the end of the last book (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Solveig was stuck on Acheron (I finally remembered the name of that planet, hah!) because of the attack on Rhodia. Aden and his fellow shipmates were also stuck on Acheron for the same reason. And the feeling at the end of that book was like "Oh no, what are they gonna do?!" Well we don't get to see what they do because at the beginning of this book Solveig is in a ship on approach to Grecia and I did a "WTF?! Wait what happened to her begin stuck on Acheron because all ship travel to Grecia was locked down." And then when it's Aden's turn for his chapter we find that he and his crewmates are on Oceana. Another WTF moment there too. "Wait, they were stuck on Acheron last we knew and suddenly they are on Oceana?!" Eventually we learn that the stop travel order was lifted after a week. To me it was jarring that suddenly these characters were in places they were not in at the end of the last book. But I digress.
Idina encounters more dangerous situations due to the resistance movement. Some great scenes there.
Duncan gets a promotion and a new ship and goes out hunting the stealth ships. And eventually there's a cool space battle scene.
Solveig arrives back on Grecia to find things different than when she left.
Aden and crewbuddies ....well I don't know how much to reveal because I don't want to spoil it for you but safe to say they have some action scenes of their own.
All in all, this third book is the best (so far) of the series and I can't wait to read what comes next!
Though I have a quibble about how it begins. At the end of the last book (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Solveig was stuck on Acheron (I finally remembered the name of that planet, hah!) because of the attack on Rhodia. Aden and his fellow shipmates were also stuck on Acheron for the same reason. And the feeling at the end of that book was like "Oh no, what are they gonna do?!" Well we don't get to see what they do because at the beginning of this book Solveig is in a ship on approach to Grecia and I did a "WTF?! Wait what happened to her begin stuck on Acheron because all ship travel to Grecia was locked down." And then when it's Aden's turn for his chapter we find that he and his crewmates are on Oceana. Another WTF moment there too. "Wait, they were stuck on Acheron last we knew and suddenly they are on Oceana?!" Eventually we learn that the stop travel order was lifted after a week. To me it was jarring that suddenly these characters were in places they were not in at the end of the last book. But I digress.
Idina encounters more dangerous situations due to the resistance movement. Some great scenes there.
Duncan gets a promotion and a new ship and goes out hunting the stealth ships. And eventually there's a cool space battle scene.
Solveig arrives back on Grecia to find things different than when she left.
Aden and crewbuddies ....well I don't know how much to reveal because I don't want to spoil it for you but safe to say they have some action scenes of their own.
All in all, this third book is the best (so far) of the series and I can't wait to read what comes next!
August 29, 2021
Disappointing.
I didnt like the new narrator (nobody's fault I understand that) but I just feel that not a lot happened and this series is going to drag on like a few other notables in this area.
**SPOILERS**
Also some of the scenarios just dont make sense - if you're reading this and thinking "why would this happen, this wouldn't happen, they wouldn't do that" etc it takes you out of the book. You also cant invent instantaneous 'internet' all over the galaxy and it not be used in more obvious ways.
Why would the government make a supercomputer at home base and not on a ship - instantaneous communication remember? Why build it at the main space station instead of a military base - I know why the author did it (to show off the capabilities of the ship) - but it doesnt make sense. They he builds up the ship to a great amount just for it not to be able to take control of a ship missle at the end so the point defence of another ship can do it? As I said, doesnt make sense and reading it made me angry as it was a very heavy handed plot device.
Think thats it for me on this one, I wont be reading the rest.
I didnt like the new narrator (nobody's fault I understand that) but I just feel that not a lot happened and this series is going to drag on like a few other notables in this area.
**SPOILERS**
Also some of the scenarios just dont make sense - if you're reading this and thinking "why would this happen, this wouldn't happen, they wouldn't do that" etc it takes you out of the book. You also cant invent instantaneous 'internet' all over the galaxy and it not be used in more obvious ways.
Why would the government make a supercomputer at home base and not on a ship - instantaneous communication remember? Why build it at the main space station instead of a military base - I know why the author did it (to show off the capabilities of the ship) - but it doesnt make sense. They he builds up the ship to a great amount just for it not to be able to take control of a ship missle at the end so the point defence of another ship can do it? As I said, doesnt make sense and reading it made me angry as it was a very heavy handed plot device.
Think thats it for me on this one, I wont be reading the rest.
June 30, 2021
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me a copy in exchange for a review. Like others who have reviewed, I have waited an anxious year for this book and have now devoured it in a single sitting. Citadel takes off where the previous book ended and follows the continuing stories of four protagonists, largely in space or on the occupied world Gretia. Despite being the very middle of a five-book arc, it advances the plot, reveals some secrets, and is full of action. I have preferred the Dunstan, Aden, and Indian threads but the Solveig thread is growing in importance and interest. I think this is more mature world-building than other Kloos books and I certainly think his writing steadily improves in terms of fluidity, word choice, and characterization. Kloos does a fine job of making his world feel lived in and real, which is critical in SF. I will buy a physical copy on release and eagerly await book four.
November 4, 2022
I’m enjoying this series but for something so action packed the plot is moving forward at a glacial speed. We still only know that the bad guys are very bad and not much more; we don’t really know their motivation or nationality. I have had suspicions about Ragnar from the start but honestly they could be aliens for all we really know.
It’s an interesting discussion on the roles of vengeance and forgiveness after a major war that seems heavily inspired by German history. However it’s sanitised by the Gretians seemingly having no motive aside from economic issues and while it’s understandable not exploring religious and racial issues it does leave the whole war strangely bloodless.
Irina and Dahl remain the standout team for me. Aden, I’m still trying to work out what his relevance really is. Solveig’s plot could have been massively sped up. Dunstan at least gets to shoot stuff.
It’s an interesting discussion on the roles of vengeance and forgiveness after a major war that seems heavily inspired by German history. However it’s sanitised by the Gretians seemingly having no motive aside from economic issues and while it’s understandable not exploring religious and racial issues it does leave the whole war strangely bloodless.
Irina and Dahl remain the standout team for me. Aden, I’m still trying to work out what his relevance really is. Solveig’s plot could have been massively sped up. Dunstan at least gets to shoot stuff.
August 12, 2021
Marko Kloss has finessed his "color-coded sticky notes" to great effect in marshalling the four main characters into a coherent storyline that intertwines the political and social dynamics of this planetary system. One year between publications I still recalled the previous story and character plots making this an entertaining sci-fi read.
This was a one session read easily making a 5 star rating.
This was a one session read easily making a 5 star rating.
September 3, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and to 47North for this ARC.
When I got this galley, I rushed through the previous two books in the series (Aftershocks, and Ballistic) so I could get to it; so, I did that rare thing, reading all of the books in a series back-to-back. I highly recommend this, because it was wonderful to be immersed in this built world, and to get cosy with some very well-developed characters.
Although the middle book, Ballistic, was my favourite book in the series, Citadel was very satisfying, with almost all of the loose ends tied up (Q: did he really die? Although I guess he did). In fact, my only real complaint is that Citadel was less about the characters, and more about action and military hardware. I normally don’t mind this so much, but it was hard to maintain my concentration in some parts. (Reading the acknowledgements, this book was written in Plague Year, and the writer reports that he struggled.) My other small niggle is the seemingly borrowed storyline — from a real-world event — which made me want to skip over that particular section of the book (–you’ll know when you read it).
Still, this is high-concept, very well-written military SF, my favourite kind of book; and the whole series is a treat. What amazing world-building! I would recommend reading all of the books: they don’t work as standalone novels, I don’t think, as character arcs and story run through all 3 books.
Highly recommend the series (9/10); rating Citadel 6/10, mainly for the hardware.
When I got this galley, I rushed through the previous two books in the series (Aftershocks, and Ballistic) so I could get to it; so, I did that rare thing, reading all of the books in a series back-to-back. I highly recommend this, because it was wonderful to be immersed in this built world, and to get cosy with some very well-developed characters.
Although the middle book, Ballistic, was my favourite book in the series, Citadel was very satisfying, with almost all of the loose ends tied up (Q: did he really die? Although I guess he did). In fact, my only real complaint is that Citadel was less about the characters, and more about action and military hardware. I normally don’t mind this so much, but it was hard to maintain my concentration in some parts. (Reading the acknowledgements, this book was written in Plague Year, and the writer reports that he struggled.) My other small niggle is the seemingly borrowed storyline — from a real-world event — which made me want to skip over that particular section of the book (–you’ll know when you read it).
Still, this is high-concept, very well-written military SF, my favourite kind of book; and the whole series is a treat. What amazing world-building! I would recommend reading all of the books: they don’t work as standalone novels, I don’t think, as character arcs and story run through all 3 books.
Highly recommend the series (9/10); rating Citadel 6/10, mainly for the hardware.
September 13, 2021
Marko Kloos continues his Palladium Wars series that takes place in a solar system with five settled worlds. The latest episode (#3) Citadel (Hard from 47north) finds Commander Dunstan Park in charge of an experimental ship of the Rhodian navy, Idina Chaudhary is caught in the middle of rebel attacks on Gretia. Aden Jansen’s crew mates are attacked because they turned over the nuke to the Rhodian Navy instead of delivering it to the rebels. This is an exciting series that has several more episodes to go, lots of fun.
December 26, 2021
It just keeps getting better! While this is not the conclusion of the series as I was hoping it would be, it does bring a number of threads to somewhat of a closure, but leaving just enough open to make it interesting and to fill in in at least one more book.
One thing I did not appreciate as much was having yet another new narrator for this book. I would've preferred the narrator from the first book in the series to have remained throughout.
One thing I did not appreciate as much was having yet another new narrator for this book. I would've preferred the narrator from the first book in the series to have remained throughout.
September 19, 2021
As a third book in the series, Citadel allows us some more in-depth view of the heroes and provides more world-building details. As far as the plot goes, there’s lots of action, but very little of the plot movement till the last chapters. The book ends with a number of rather predictable cliff hangers and I’m rather curious to see how these will unravel in the next installment.
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