“I gulped down Ballistic in one long read, staying awake half the night, and now I want the next one!” -George R. R. Martin
There is a personal price to pay for having aligned with the wrong side in a reckless war. For Aden Jansen it’s the need to adopt a new identity while keeping his past hidden. Now he’s integrated himself aboard the Zephyr, a merchant ship smuggling critical goods through dangerous space. But danger is imminent on planet Gretia, as well. Under occupation, torn between postwar reformers and loyalists, it’s a polestar for civil unrest.
Meanwhile an occupation forces officer is pulled right back into the fray when the battle alarm is raised, an ambitious heiress is entangled in a subversive political conspiracy, and an Allied captain is about to meet the enemy head-on.
As Aden discovers, the insurgents on Gretia-and in space-are connected, organized, and ready to break into full-scale rebellion. History is threatening to repeat itself. It’s time that Aden rediscovers who he is, whom he can trust, and what he must fight for now.
I read this in just a couple sittings, smacking myself for somehow missing the fact that it came out right at the start of the global pandemic that thanks to Republican misaction and incompetence, has now killed over two hundred thousand Americans.
This is a fantastic book and I gave it a 5/5 on Amazon, making sure to preorder the next one so I don’t miss it’s release like I did this time. Every aspect of this book, this universe, are well within what I’m looking for in a story. The one negative I have is that Kloos isn’t dropping these every other month, because I would buy them on that kind of schedule. Since he’s still just human though, I can accept a new novel in this fantastic series every year if I have to.
If you enjoyed Starship Troopers for the armor wars, or Old Man’s War because of the world building, you’ll be right at home with Ballistic.
