Buzzfeed has an article up on “The 14 Greatest Science Fiction Books Of The Year“, and TERMS OF ENLISTMENT comes in at #6. The author says a few very nice words about it, and it’s always a pleasure to see positive reviews, mentions, or inclusions in lists that have the word “greatest” or “best” in them.
I think I’m having an early case of the Release Day Jitters. LINES OF DEPARTURE will be out on January 28, but I already had trouble falling asleep last night thinking about it. I’d love for the second novel to do at least as well as the first one, which means that LINES has a big pair of shoes to fill. On the other hand, just about everyone who has read it (my editors and a very small group of beta readers) said that it’s a better novel than TERMS in almost every respect, which means that if people like it half as much as they did the first novel, it should do just fine. I guess I need to quit obsessing and get back to work.
To that end, let me ask you all a question, especially those of you who have read TERMS OF ENLISTMENT and the ancillary short story and novella. Which character(s), settings, or events from TERMS would you love to see expanded and treated in more detail, maybe with a short story or novella on the side? I’m currently at work on the third novel, called ANGLES OF ATTACK, but there’s always a little bit of room on the dance card, so to speak.
Have read both and will willing read what ever you write. I have plenty of imagination but feel like a piker when I read stuff like yours. I like have the feeling that, yeah that could happen.
Congrats Marko! Well deserved!!!
I’d love to hear more about Halley’s experience when she first becomes Navy. Sure, she got great marks in the simulators and all that, but what was it like when she got to match her skills against the other Navy pilots. Besides the flying and all that, it seemed a bit too perfect that she was ready to grab Andrew in the corridor and pick up exactly where things left off … almost like she felt guilty about something that happened before that.
Congrats on the review, and good luck on the new book. I’ll be buying a copy on launch day.
At the time I read ToE, I wanted to see the parts about the Public Residential Clusters (I thnk that’s what they were called) expanded some. Maybe a short history of how it got that way, how some cities were different from others – a short story about other cities or characters maybe. Are there small skirmishes between the residents and the ‘police force’? More expansion on how crappy it is to live there.
I haven’t read Measure of Absolution yet, I think it’s next on my list. That may have some of this stuff already.
I’d rather see some more words spent about how exactly the heavy weapons plus the organization revealed in MoA got started and how exactly they haven’t been squashed like a bug. A political entity that keeps bunches of people in all-but-name concentration camps and sends ships across the stars has a small time insurrection going on, that hasn’t gotten some gift-wrapped Mk82s or other targeted hits? (You can’t tell me this universe is missing the chuckleheads at no such agency to listen to the phone calls and messages going around…)
Also would like to hear more from the timeframe around lucky thirteen, since that seems to predate ToE and I do like a good war story.
For my money aliens can be meh; plenty of OMG, aliens! stories already. Not to say I won’t spend $5 on the next ebook, but I want more; that old saw about taking more than your share of objectives is coming to mind for me for where you are currently at as a storyteller. I.E. I expect more and more from the authors I read as they go along and when they miss that mark, I am very disappointed and hold onto my money. (Hello John Ringo – what the blue fuck happened to “tiger by the tail”?!)
Yeehah!!!
As for any expansion I honestly can’t think of who I might want to hear more about. I’m waiting for LOD so I can find out about the frigging aliens, though!!!
I have always thought that I would like to have explored the “where did the welfare rats get the heavy artillery from” angle.
I’d love to find out how our favorite Medal of Honor winner (actually I think you changed the medal name, but I forget what it was and I don’t have Terms at hand to spot check :)) and see how she’s getting on with her new leg… and maybe find out just what she did to everyone’s favorite Major to hate 😀
You write it, I’ll buy it. That is how it works. Looking forward to release of Lines, Would like to hear more from Jackson.
Joe
Agreed!