Marko Kloos is a German author of military science fiction and high fantasy. Born in Germany, Kloos lives and works in the United States.[1]

Work

Kloos is best known for his Frontlines series of military science fiction novels. Featuring the protagonist Andrew Grayson, they are set in a future in which a Western and an Eastern power bloc are at war with each other and with an alien threat.[2]

Reviewing the first novel, Terms of Enlistment, io9 described it as sticking close to the conventions of the genre, focusing on "guns, acronyms, hard-ass drill sergeants, explosions and battles on alien worlds". The reviewer considered the second novel, Lines of Departure, to be an improvement in that it reflected a critical outlook towards powerful, centralized government that was often absent in leading works of the genre such as Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers.[3]

Lines of Departure was nominated for the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel on a slate organized by the "Sad Puppies", a group of "right-leaning science fiction writers."[4] In reaction to this, Kloos withdrew the novel from consideration for the award.[4] He was subsequently honored by George R. R. Martin for this decision.[5]

In 2019, his short stories, Lucky Thirteen and On The Use Of Shape-Shifters In Warfare, were adapted as part of the Netflix anthology series Love, Death & Robots.[6]

Aftershocks, the first book in a new series, "The Palladium Wars," was released in July 2019.[7]

Personal life

Kloos served in the West German military as a junior NCO from 1989 to 1993. He drew upon these experiences in his military science fiction.[8]

Kloos lives in New Hampshire with his family and has been employed as "a soldier, a bookseller, a freight dock worker, a tech support drone, and a corporate IT administrator".[1] He is a graduate of the Viable Paradise writers' workshop.[9]

Bibliography

Frontlines series

Novels
  1. Terms of Enlistment (2013), ISBN 978-1-4778-0978-5, 47North
  2. Lines of Departure (2014), ISBN 978-1-4778-1740-7, 47North
  3. Angles of Attack (2015), ISBN 978-1-4778-2831-1, 47North
  4. Chains of Command (2016), ISBN 978-1-5039-5032-0, 47North
  5. Fields of Fire (2017), ISBN 978-1-5039-4071-0, 47North
  6. Points of Impact (2018), ISBN 978-1-5420-4846-0, 47North
  7. Orders of Battle (2020), ISBN 978-1-5420-1958-3, 47North
  8. Centers of Gravity (2022), ISBN 978-1-7136-4680-8, 47North
  9. Echoes of Silence (novella) (2025), Frostbite Publishing
Chapbooks
  • Lucky Thirteen (2013)
  • Measures of Absolution (2013)
Comics

With Ivan Brandon:

Frontlines: Evolution series

  1. Scorpio (2023), ISBN 978-1-5420-3549-1 47North
  2. Corvus (2025), ISBN 978-1662524882 47North

The Palladium Wars series

Novels

  1. Aftershocks (July 1, 2019[10]), ISBN 978-1-5420-4355-7, 47North
  2. Ballistic (May 26, 2020[11]), ISBN 978-1-5420-9007-0, 47North
  3. Citadel (August 10, 2021[12]), ISBN 978-1-5420-2724-3, 47North
  4. Descent (July 16, 2024[13]), ISBN 978-1-5420-3615-3, 47North

Other work

Short fiction
  • How to Move Spheres and Influence People (2019)[14]
  • Ink and Blood (2011)
  • Cake Whores of Mars (2012)[15]
  • Berlin Is Never Berlin (2020)[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Kloos, Marko. "about". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Frontlines Series". markokloos.com. 2017-12-31. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  3. ↑ Liptak, Andrew (31 January 2015). "Craving a new military science fiction thrillride? Pick up these books". io9. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 Flood, Alison (17 April 2015). "Hugo award nominees withdraw amid 'Puppygate' storm". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Who Won Science Fiction’s Hugo Awards, and Why It Matters, by Amy Wallace, in Wired; published August 23, 2015; retrieved August 23, 2015
  6. ↑ "About Marko Kloos". markokloos.com. 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  7. ↑ "Forthcoming Books". Locus Online. 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  8. ↑ Liptak, Andrew (30 April 2016). "Marko Kloos On Turning His Military Service Into Kickass Space Adventures". io9. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Marko Kloos". Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Aftershocks (The Palladium Wars)". Amazon.com. 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  11. ↑ "Ballistic (The Palladium Wars)". Amazon.com. 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  12. ↑ "Citadel (The Palladium Wars)". Amazon.com. 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  13. ↑ "Descent (The Palladium Wars)". Amazon.com. 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  14. ↑ "How to Move Spheres and Influence People". Tor Publishing Group. 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  15. ↑ "a first day of fall freebie: cake whores of mars". 23 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Kloos, Marko (2020-05-06). "Berlin Is Never Berlin". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marko_Kloos