Science Fiction

Centers of Gravity

Centers of Gravity

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  • Create Date：2022-08-16 08:53:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Marko Kloos
  • ISBN：1542032814
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Summary

Stranded light-years from home， Major Andrew Grayson and his crew are on a desperate mission to discover the Lankies’ secrets。 They can’t let what they’ve found die with them。

Nine hundred light-years from home， Major Andrew Grayson and the crew of NACS Washington are marooned in a sunless system with limited water， reactor fuel， and food。 The last hope for survival is to go where nothing human has gone before。

After embarking on a scouting mission to the only moon with surface signs of life， Andrew and his special tactics team make two startling discoveries。 One is a dream: a form of protein and plant life that could save the starving humans in the rogue system。 The second is a nightmare: this harvested rock is infested with Lankies。 Far from the seemingly mindless aggressors Andrew has battled for years， these show a terrifying awareness， and they have surprising secrets of their own hidden away in the darkness。

When the Lankies sense an uninvited presence in their world， Andrew’s operation becomes an expedition to hell。 The odds against his small crew are stacked high。 Of all the mysteries of space， how to escape with their lives is the greatest unknown of all。

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Reviews

Sam Veltre ，

A fantastic series finale。 Kloos brings to a close his very grounded military sci fi series in grand fashion。 if you have made it this far into the series， you know what to expect - great battle scenes but more so solid plotting， pacing， and characters。 all the main characters get resolutions i felt good about， without any 'oh gotcha' moments。 sure there are some times when the stakes get so big its a bit of a stretch but what space opera / sci fi military series doesnt have them？ i fully recomm A fantastic series finale。 Kloos brings to a close his very grounded military sci fi series in grand fashion。 if you have made it this far into the series， you know what to expect - great battle scenes but more so solid plotting， pacing， and characters。 all the main characters get resolutions i felt good about， without any 'oh gotcha' moments。 sure there are some times when the stakes get so big its a bit of a stretch but what space opera / sci fi military series doesnt have them？ i fully recommend this series to any sci fi military fan。 （audio books are also fantastic）I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Cliff Bailey ，

First， I would like to thank 47th publishers， Net Galley and Mr。 Marko Kloos to allow me to read and review his latest book in the Frontline series。 This is an exceptional addition to the series。 As a reader， when I begin a new story series， I start to become invested in the characters and their story。 I feel for the pain and sympathize with the grief they feel through out the book， Mr。 Kloos creates characters that are believable while the setting of the book is if a far distance future where a First， I would like to thank 47th publishers， Net Galley and Mr。 Marko Kloos to allow me to read and review his latest book in the Frontline series。 This is an exceptional addition to the series。 As a reader， when I begin a new story series， I start to become invested in the characters and their story。 I feel for the pain and sympathize with the grief they feel through out the book， Mr。 Kloos creates characters that are believable while the setting of the book is if a far distance future where anything is possible。 Andrew Grayson， the main character is stranded 900 lightyears from Earth in a hostile environment。 He has to not only keep his moral alive trying to get home but he has to lead his men to find food and fuel， battling odds to find food and water as well as evading the hostile Lankie forces。 Spoiler AlertThis is the end of the series and it ends on a high note the heroes are Back home and safe。 Their war is over and they are starting a new chapter of their lives building a family。 But， the journey to get there was not an easy one。By ending the series where he did in the story line， Mr。 Kloos has avoided the trap that other authors of long running series have in which the reader loses interest in the characters。 The promising note is that Mr。 Kloos has introduced several new characters and positioned them to continue the fight against the Lankie forces in a new series， All in all。 This is a GREAT book and a fitting end to the series。 I enjoyed reading it and next year when I am looking a good book to read I will definitely pick this up read it again 。。。more

Dan ，

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher 47North for an advanced copy of this book of speculative military fiction set deep in the stars。Space opera has always been one of my biggest enjoyments when reading。 Big battles， bad nasties， super men and women fighting huge battles among the stars， I love them all。 Perry Rhodan， Lensman and books with odd ships and lasers on the cover I was willing to try it。 The more well adult space opera stories say by Jerry Pournelle， or Lois McMasters Bujold My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher 47North for an advanced copy of this book of speculative military fiction set deep in the stars。Space opera has always been one of my biggest enjoyments when reading。 Big battles， bad nasties， super men and women fighting huge battles among the stars， I love them all。 Perry Rhodan， Lensman and books with odd ships and lasers on the cover I was willing to try it。 The more well adult space opera stories say by Jerry Pournelle， or Lois McMasters Bujold kind of lacked that spark to me， though I enjoyed the more real world tactics and science， and I drifted away。 However Marko Kloos in Centers of Gravity book the eighth book in his Frontlines series offers me the best of both worlds with a solid story， strong characters and an enemy that seems both mysterious and unstoppable。 Major Andrew Grayson joined the military to escape a life that seemed like one long cycle of failure。 Soon he found himself defending and liberating planets from the Lankies， super strong and tall aliens whose only agenda seemed to be killing humans and taking their land。 Grayson rose through the ranks as the war continued， and in this book he has found himself and the crew of the NACS Washington trapped 900 light years from home， after being swept up in the wake of a Lankies seed ship。 Their ship is trapped in a system with only one gas giant and 4 moons， and food， water and even munitions are becoming a priority。 Grayson leads an expedition to one moon， but finds much more than he planned for。 A book that starts quickly， reminding previous readers and introducing new ones to one has gone before， the stakes and what is being planned。 I wish all books would do this。 Even for familiar readers a nice solid reminder is good for people who read a lot of books。 The characters are all different， some are gung ho， some introspective， and in a first， the scientists in this aren't written as uncaring and dumb， but curious and as desperate to go home as anyone else。 Grayson is a good man， trapped in a war that he is tired of， caring for both his people， and those trapped on the ship， and his wife。 He's not a super-soldier， nor an automaton， as many militaristic science fiction characters are， but a guy who has a job， wants to go home， and make sure that everyone else does too。 The action is good， the science is easy to follow， and the plot makes sense based on what the find out， or think they know。 Mistakes are made， people die。 A book with a lot of atmosphere and ideas。This is the first book in the Frontlines series I have read， and had no problems jumping in， and will look for the others。 I have read Marko Kloos' other series The Palladium Wars， and like this book recommend it。 Kloos has a good way with story， and with characters that readers want to root for。 For fans of Heinlein science fiction， especially if one likes aliens that truly seem alien。 。。。more

Ryan R ，

My thanks to Netgalley for sending me a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。Wow！ This book。。。。。 Wow！ I just finished reading Centers of Gravity and I'm a little speechless right now。 Which is probably not the best time to write this review， but I feel like I have no choice。 This book is excellent！ Truly！ While I have enjoyed every single book in the series， the last one （Points of Impact） was a little underwhelming in my opinion。 Therefore I was a more than a little apprehensive ab My thanks to Netgalley for sending me a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。Wow！ This book。。。。。 Wow！ I just finished reading Centers of Gravity and I'm a little speechless right now。 Which is probably not the best time to write this review， but I feel like I have no choice。 This book is excellent！ Truly！ While I have enjoyed every single book in the series， the last one （Points of Impact） was a little underwhelming in my opinion。 Therefore I was a more than a little apprehensive about Centers of Gravity。 But Mr Kloos blew even my wildest hopes for this book out of the water。 This book had everything; a life and death struggle， impossible odds， amazing discoveries， great characters， vividly imagined new worlds and last but ABSOLUTELY not least， an ending to die for！ Serious this book， is in my opinion， the best that Mr Kloos has written in The Frontlines series to date！ I really don't have any negative things to say about this book， and even if I did， the ending of this book is so amazing， so fantastic， that it would overshadow almost any criticism for me。 The only minor critique I do have， and really it is more a critique about the series as a whole rather than just this book， is that the Lankies still remain a complete mystery。 Given that this is book 8， I would have expected at least a little bit more solid information about the Lankies by now。 And if anything this book only added even more questions to the already long list。 And while I like the ever deepening mystery that surrounds the Lankies， I can't see how Mr Kloos can possibly end the series any time soon。 At this rate The Frontlines series will stretch to beyond 20 books。 And honestly， after reading this book， that would be no bad thing。 In summery， I absolutely loved this book。 Any fan of the Frontlines series will love this book。 And any fan of well written Sci-fi who haven't yet read The Frontlines series should do so immediately。 。。。more

Marci Smith ，

An epic sci-fi novel that took my breath away。Andrew Grayson is on a mission to save the human race。 Fighting against Lankies， an alien race， he and the crew have travelled millions of lightyears away from home， into a space no human has gone before。 Searching for food and water， they find a lucky break with an ice moon。 Then the worst thing that could happen， happens。 The ice moon is infested with Lankies。 Can they make it out alive？ More importantly， will they ever see Earth again？This is only An epic sci-fi novel that took my breath away。Andrew Grayson is on a mission to save the human race。 Fighting against Lankies， an alien race， he and the crew have travelled millions of lightyears away from home， into a space no human has gone before。 Searching for food and water， they find a lucky break with an ice moon。 Then the worst thing that could happen， happens。 The ice moon is infested with Lankies。 Can they make it out alive？ More importantly， will they ever see Earth again？This is only my second science fiction novel to read as an adult， the first being Project Hail Mary。 I thought it was wonderful。 The descriptions of the alien worlds created vivid images in my mind。 The peak and pace increase were painlessly without fault。 The comedic relief seemed to come in just the right moments， even when the grim outcomes were present。 The hopelessness felt had me on the edge of my seat。 Kloos has written this novel in such a way that you can feel the hopelessness， the desire to return home， the fear of not making it out。 The final plot twist was spectacular。The pace did start out rather slowly， up until about halfway through。 You need to understand the military rank structure and quite a bit of military jargon to really follow along， but it isn’t a necessity。I definitely think this was a great sci-fi novel， though it may not be for people new to the genre。 I give this one four out of five stars。 。。。more

Chris ，

I received an arc copy from Netgalley for a fair review。I've been a fan of Marko Kloos and especially Frontlines， but I've been waiting for him to run out of road。 We're 8 books in and some other series I have enjoyed from other authors， eventually became formulaic and uninteresting by this point。 But no！ I really enjoyed this book too。 It seems like we made some serious progress on the plot arc， the book was well paced and the writing was as solid as always。 We're hopefully building to a exciti I received an arc copy from Netgalley for a fair review。I've been a fan of Marko Kloos and especially Frontlines， but I've been waiting for him to run out of road。 We're 8 books in and some other series I have enjoyed from other authors， eventually became formulaic and uninteresting by this point。 But no！ I really enjoyed this book too。 It seems like we made some serious progress on the plot arc， the book was well paced and the writing was as solid as always。 We're hopefully building to a exciting conclusion， and I hope the pacing and the story arc continues to deliver。 If you're new to the author/series， go back and read your way to here， it's worth the journey。 If you're not， dive in， the water is still good！ 。。。more

Alvin Narsey ，

My first time jumping into the Frontline series （and Marko too）。 I definitely was able to pick up the pieces easily and become engrossed in this saga。Marko's military （！） skill with the fountain pen is exquisite， especially the battle scenes and the high tension involved in navigating larger than life Aliens in a far gone planetary system。Humans get stranded in space， try to save themselves and encounter the aliens。 Humans escape the aliens via a wormhole and then find themselves in a spot of bo My first time jumping into the Frontline series （and Marko too）。 I definitely was able to pick up the pieces easily and become engrossed in this saga。Marko's military （！） skill with the fountain pen is exquisite， especially the battle scenes and the high tension involved in navigating larger than life Aliens in a far gone planetary system。Humans get stranded in space， try to save themselves and encounter the aliens。 Humans escape the aliens via a wormhole and then find themselves in a spot of bother and are saved by， well， humans。Lots of believable tech and circumstantial situations that we will all be encountering in the near future。Really good。Thanks to NetGalley and 47north for an ARC of this book。 。。。more

Ralph Blackburn ，

Centers of Gravity by Marko Kloos（Frontlines #8）- Another tense， thrilling chapter in the Frontlines Saga。 Major Andrew Grayson and the crew of the Washington are lost in a strange planetary system that has no sun， only a huge， hulking planet with four moons， and the alien Lankies are all around。 They rode into this system on the tail of a Lankie ship， and must survive long enough to follow another one back out。 Meanwhile， they are running out of food and water and plan expeditions to the inhosp Centers of Gravity by Marko Kloos（Frontlines #8）- Another tense， thrilling chapter in the Frontlines Saga。 Major Andrew Grayson and the crew of the Washington are lost in a strange planetary system that has no sun， only a huge， hulking planet with four moons， and the alien Lankies are all around。 They rode into this system on the tail of a Lankie ship， and must survive long enough to follow another one back out。 Meanwhile， they are running out of food and water and plan expeditions to the inhospitable moons out of desperation。 This puts them in conflict with their alien aggressors。 There are battles on the moon surfaces， battles in space， and a final big battle when all seems lost。 Great military space opera， always inventive， and never lacking that sense of wonder push！ Thanks NetGalley， 47North and of course， Marko Kloos！ 。。。more

Anthony Philosophos ，

I enjoyed this space opera。 The crew of a Earth starship end up 900 light years from earth。 They are fighting Lankies’， a giant alien species。 Earth has been fighting a losing battle against the Lankies’。 But they manage to find some biometric data that might help them fight。

Loring ，

Andrew Grayson enlisted years ago to escape his horrible life， just in time to fight in the war against the alien Landies to prevent humanity's extinction。 In this， the eighth book in the series， he has been promoted to Major and is lost on a ship 900 light years from Earth。 The humans， alone and with no way home， have to find the resources to survive without attracting attention from the Landies that infest the area。I've enjoyed all the books in the series， but this book is the best since the f Andrew Grayson enlisted years ago to escape his horrible life， just in time to fight in the war against the alien Landies to prevent humanity's extinction。 In this， the eighth book in the series， he has been promoted to Major and is lost on a ship 900 light years from Earth。 The humans， alone and with no way home， have to find the resources to survive without attracting attention from the Landies that infest the area。I've enjoyed all the books in the series， but this book is the best since the first。 The earlier books depict the exciting ups and down in the war against the Landies， but this book is different - it takes place in a new environment， with Grayson in jeopardy in a new and interestingly different ways。 Plus， after seven books with minimal new information about the Landies， we finally learn more about them。If you are new to this series， I recommend starting at the beginning to enjoy the full story。 Otherwise， you'll enjoy this book as a great addition to a great series。I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Phillip ，

There is very little that is original in Marko Kloos' Frontlines series - and that is not an insult。 This is incredibly well told， thoroughly enjoyable SF Military space Opera。 Kloos's books almost always jump to the top of TBR pile， bypassing 'worthier' titles for one simple reason。 I have so much fun reading them。 Centers of Gravity is the 8th and final book in the current Frontlines series （kloos has suggested there might be more books in this universe， but this is the end of this storyline） There is very little that is original in Marko Kloos' Frontlines series - and that is not an insult。 This is incredibly well told， thoroughly enjoyable SF Military space Opera。 Kloos's books almost always jump to the top of TBR pile， bypassing 'worthier' titles for one simple reason。 I have so much fun reading them。 Centers of Gravity is the 8th and final book in the current Frontlines series （kloos has suggested there might be more books in this universe， but this is the end of this storyline） and there is no point reviewing the plot。 Either you have read the previous 7 titles or you are about to start Terms of Enlistment and will get to this title soon enough。 Now I am going to re-watch the Lucky Thirteen episode of Love， Death and Robots season 1 - based on a Marko Kloos story， and set in the Frontline universe。 。。。more

Phillip ，

There is very little that is original in Marko Kloos' Frontlines series - and that is not an insult。 This is incredibly well told， thoroughly enjoyable SF Military space Opera。 Kloos's books almost always jump to the top of TBR pile， bypassing 'worthier' titles for one simple reason。 I have so much fun reading them。 Centers of Gravity is the 8th and final book in the current Frontlines series （kloos has suggested there might be more books in this universe， but this is the end of this storyline） There is very little that is original in Marko Kloos' Frontlines series - and that is not an insult。 This is incredibly well told， thoroughly enjoyable SF Military space Opera。 Kloos's books almost always jump to the top of TBR pile， bypassing 'worthier' titles for one simple reason。 I have so much fun reading them。 Centers of Gravity is the 8th and final book in the current Frontlines series （kloos has suggested there might be more books in this universe， but this is the end of this storyline） and there is no point reviewing the plot。 Either you have read the previous 7 titles or you are about to start Terms of Enlistment and will get to this title soon enough。 Now I am going to re-watch the Lucky Thirteen episode of Love， Death and Robots season 1 - based on a Marko Kloos story， and set in the Frontline universe。 。。。more

Henriette ，

Military space opera at its bestCan‘t believe this is the 8th installment of Kloos‘ Lanky series （„Frontlines“ which I have been eagerly following since the start。 And contrary to many series which peter out at some point this one is another a great addition brilliantly told （to fully understand and enjoy you should be familiar with the previous books - no hardship since they are excellent too）。 I really loved how Kloos， a former soldier， gets the details and reality of military life across， the Military space opera at its bestCan‘t believe this is the 8th installment of Kloos‘ Lanky series （„Frontlines“ which I have been eagerly following since the start。 And contrary to many series which peter out at some point this one is another a great addition brilliantly told （to fully understand and enjoy you should be familiar with the previous books - no hardship since they are excellent too）。 I really loved how Kloos， a former soldier， gets the details and reality of military life across， the mental drain， the yearning for family and the nitty-gritty of engagements without boring me in the least。 I love the secondary characters and I loved how Kloos brings this series full-circle in many ways。 It‘s totally credible that the tide may turn now for humanity。 I am not sure whether this was the end of this wild ride， if so it is masterfully done。 If not， I‘ll gladly go another round with Major Grayson and the Lankies。 Fortunately Kloos has another brilliant series going （Palladium Wars）， so I won‘t feel too deprived。 And kudos to craftmanship: excellent execution - couldn‘t spot a typo and yes， I am one of those readers who open a book and spot the last one standing almost immediately。Thanks for the ARC via netgalley。 This review is left voluntarily。 。。。more

Evan Ladouceur ，

The Frontlines series has always been about personal growth and responsibility， with some significant sides of action and adventure。 I think Centers of Gravity delivers on those themes quite effectively。 Kloos has improved as a writer since Terms of Enlistment and Grayson， the protagonist， has matured as a character。 While I prefer the author’s Palladium series， I found this book to be an enjoyable and effective conclusion to this series。 With room left to extend the broader universe if Kloos de The Frontlines series has always been about personal growth and responsibility， with some significant sides of action and adventure。 I think Centers of Gravity delivers on those themes quite effectively。 Kloos has improved as a writer since Terms of Enlistment and Grayson， the protagonist， has matured as a character。 While I prefer the author’s Palladium series， I found this book to be an enjoyable and effective conclusion to this series。 With room left to extend the broader universe if Kloos decides to do so。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Centers of Gravity

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Centers of Gravity&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Centers of Gravity&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0