My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher 47North for an advance copy of this fourth book in this science fiction series about a galaxy that seems headed to war, and the brave people who are doing their best to make sure this war, that seems so unstoppable, never happens.

Humans have defied most predictions and made it to the stars, colonizing worlds and making lives for billions of people. To these new homes the colonists have brought many things from earth, plants, trees, even fruits and vegetables, memories of old Earth. And of course humans have brought their warlike natures, their greed, their want of control, and to tell others how to live their lives. Certain planets are close to martial law. The space lanes are filled with pirates, destroying space ships and killing crews, as much as they are stealing cargos. To many there seems to be a deliberate plan to cause distrust, fear and chaos. However who is behind it, and the ultimate goal still seems elusive. Though a group of brave men and women are determined to find out what is going on, for variety of different reasons. Descent, is the fourth book in the The Palladium Wars series written by Marko Kloos, and ratchets up the tension, and begins to make clear just how big the conspiracy might be.

The story is told in alternating chapters featuring different characters, one across the galaxy, the others sharing time on the planet Gretia, unbeknownst to each other. Aden Jensen was once a son of privilege, but gave it all up to serve in the military, losing almost a decade of life at war, and finally in a camp for prisoners. Aden had been enjoying a brief freedom, until he crossed paths with the wrong people, did the right thing and found himself back in prison. Aden is given a option though. Return to his home planet, find out what is going on with the rise of nationalism, and Aden will be given a get out of jail free card. If he survives. Also on Gretia is Aden's sister Solveig, who works for her father, a wealthy industrialist. Solveig was injured in some of the terrorist attacks on her planet, and has decided, using her contacts to find out how these terrorists are being funded. Solveig has her suspicions, and is close to be being proven right. Chaudhary is part of the Alliance forces on Gretia, meaning Chaudhary works with the local police by day, and leads raids and search teams by night. The more Chaudhary investigates, the more Chaudhary wonders who can be trusted. Dunstan Park is looking for pirates, but has found something much bigger, and after a savage battle, clues to what might be going on. The galaxy seems to be on fire, but no one is really sure why.

Another really good novel by Marko Kloos. I have read all these books and enjoy the mix of science fiction, military aspect and good old character building that Kloos brings to his work. The characters change as the story changes, in some ways becoming darker, in some ways becoming better at what they do. Aden especially. Aden longs to just hit the spaceways with the friends he made in his short time free, and not have to deal with any of this stuff. Aden is done, but keeps getting dragged in. The writing is good, with a nice flow that keeps everything moving. The chapters switch the point of view of the characters, and Kloos is really good at keeping things together. A small thing in one chapter might lead to something big in another chapter with a different character. I really liked the way Kloos kept the story together like that, and makes one appreciate the effort that Kloos puts into his story.

Recommended for people who like a little military in their science fiction, or people who like series stories with big characters and big ideas. Start at the beginning though, it will be well worth your reading time.

I was exhausted by the end of this series. It started out strong with 4 different plot lines, some more captivating than the others, but the narrative thread held together as one character took the reins. Solveig had very little to do at first, but became more crucial in my reading of the story as the series went on.

The world building is good and the writing is solid, but after a while the underlying story fizzled out. Maybe there was just too much being crammed into the books. I like the idea of telling the bigger story of a solar system through different eyes: the cop, the business titan, the disgraced military man turned prisoner turned cargo runner, and the fleet commander. But . . . in the end it was all too disjointed.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is definitely a mid-series book. The writing was good and there were interesting events, but the book was a little short and it felt more like a positioning slot in the series. I really like the books from the author and the series has been interesting, but this was more filler than killer.

For fans of the author and series, this is definitely worth reading and I have high hopes for the rest of the series, but this is one to keep you interested and laying out an arc for the conclusion.

Review: What struck me initially was the weak reason why the MC was being held in prison. So he was a soldier in the Alliance but refused to go home, where he did his stint and gets three years? Right.... And he is a super soldier that his superiors now think is the best and only one to infiltrate the insurgents whom are defending their own planet? Huh?

I love this writer but this was a trash heap at the get go.

Rating: 2.0/5

Descent is Volume 4 of Marko Kloos’ mil-sf space opera The Palladium Wars. Currently, the series is three volumes, with this planned extension next July. The books are strictly sequential, with cliffhanger endings. If you want to read the initial trilogy, I recommend you go read those (Aftershocks, Ballistic, Citadel), before proceeding with this or any other review, to avoid spoilers of those prior volumes. If, however, you choose to jump into the series here, after the initial trilogy, you will find it contains recaps of previous action. On www.markokloos.com, I learned that the author intends to work on Volume 5 in the second half of 2024. The only information I could glean regarding it is that the title will probably start with an “E.”

The Palladium Wars series has been entirely set in the Gaia system, where there are six human-inhabited worlds, settled by generation ships from Old Earth, one thousand years ago. The timing is in the post-war aftermath of a failed attempt by Gretia to seize control of all the other worlds. The post-war setting gave the debut an original flavor, that is now moving towards more conventional mil-sf.

In this volume, the action resumes quickly, as we follow the lives of the same four protagonists. They are Aden, who is brought out of prison by Rhodian commander Dunstan to infiltrate the Gretian Insurrection. Idina has joined a secret anti-Insurrection force, and Solveig has begun to suspect her father is somehow involved with funding the Insurrection. Aden’s former Zephyr crewmates are now somewhere in the background. The largest focus has shifted to Dunstan, who commands a secret new state-of-the-art stealth spaceship for the Rhodian Navy. Unfortunately, he is just not as likeable a character as Aden has been. His dialog consists largely of jargon-filled naval command interchanges. And, <spoiler>his rules of engagement are not to open fire on a suspected pirate without required lethal-force warning. And yet, in one brief moment, he decides they are actually at war, and justified in committing a first strike. I hope that he is held accountable for this rogue escalation in some later volume of the series.</spoiler>

And, <spoiler>in Citadel, we learned that the Hecate, Dunstan’s new ship, has extremely advanced “AI Cores,” that allow rapid take-over of an opposing ship’s electronics, enabling a shut-down of life-support and even the targeting launching of the enemy’s weapons against each other. However, in this volume, when confronting an enemy, Dunstan asks his officers for a review of his available weapons, and that capability is not mentioned. They proceed to launch missiles, rail-gun slugs, and all kinds of ballistic weapons, for lots of explosive action. But why not discuss the option or the limitations of the better capability? </spoiler>

At the end, there are some major cliffhangers, which would make this an unsatisfying place to wait a year for Volume 5. My recommendation is to read the very engaging and original trilogy now, but then wait for more of what may become a second trilogy to be published before proceeding.

this was another winner in the Palladium Wars series, it had a great overall concept that I enjoyed from the previous three books. The characters felt like they were supposed to and enjoyed about the world. The characters continued to be interesting and felt like they belonged in this world. I enjoyed getting to read from Marko Kloos and can't wait for more.

Um, excuse me I know this one hasn't even been published yet but I need the next book NOW. lol

Descent has been another fantastic installment to this series as our POVs dive even further into this insurgency and the aftermath of the events thus far. Safe to say I'm quite hooked on the story and the lives of our characters. The slow mystery and build up of this war has been great.

I am pleased to see where Aden's path is headed because I need answers! Once again Dunstan's chapters have delivered their awesomeness - he's like a magnet for all the big action and Hectate is SUCH a cool ship. I feel Idina has taken hit after hit throughout this series and she's still fighting. Solveig is giving us such a unique insight to the insurgency through her position and perspective. Cannot wait to see how she shakes things up.

This series has definitely played with my emotions at times. It is sometimes hard to read the level of aggression or perhaps racism towards the Gretians. Yes, I get that they started a war and lost it. I get that the insurgents are bad, doing horrific things and causing such terrible hardships. But at the same time it's difficult to read some of these scenes where the anger, disgust or unfair treatment is so evident. Or where they take such a loss on their side. The author has done a fine job of showing how murky and ugly the reality of war/post war can be. And the fact that I am left thinking about this story after I've put the book down is a testament to the author's storytelling ability.

Thank you Netgalley for the digital ARC copy. I cannot wait for the next installment.

Written by one of my favorite authors, Markos Klos, this fourth book in the series has begun focusing on four of the series’ principals; Aden, the main character, Solveig, his sister, Dunstan, a Senior Rhodian Navy ship captain, and Idina, a Palladium piece keeping captain working under the leadership of a multi-planet Gretia consortium.

Aden is asked to infiltrate the Gretian terrorist cell, Odin’s Wolves, which has been destroying planetary infrastructure and killing its citizens. It’s a dangerous mission but, being a Gretian native, he speaks the language with no accent and served the planet’s armed services as a Blackguard Major. The latter gives him cover creds as a disgruntled former prisoned soldier. In return for his services, Aden is promised full Rhodian citizenship.

Unbeknownst to Aden, his sister Solveig is also investigating the terrorist group. As a Vice President at large of the family’s company, she is searching its books and records to uncover proof of her father’s suspected terrorist sponsorship. Idina is independently doing the same on behalf of the multi-planet occupying force. Aden, Solveig, and Idina are all on Gretia, and, it can be presumed, that the latter two will inadvertently sabotage Aden’s undercover persona.

My primary disappointment with The Palladium War series is the slowness with which subsequent books are published. Following a 12-month publishing cycle for books two and three in the series, the fourth book wasn’t published until three years later. Hopefully, the fifth book in the series will come out more quickly.

Marko Kloos' Palladium war series continues in this 4th book with the various characters and plot lines continuing their involvement with the growing rebellion against the occupying forces. This is a well written series with interesting characters and plot. Kloos continues to develop his characters and deepen the expanding underground rebellion. I found this book an enjoyable read but felt it was too short. The pace of the book is good but it ended too soon. It feels more like a serialized story split into separate books and, for me, would have been more enjoyable if this was a series of fewer, longer books rather than the less extensive versions that have been released to date. However, they are a worthwhile read and I look forward to the next book in the series.

I really enjoyed reading Descent. This was the first book in this series that I read, and by the end I was completely hooked.

What I liked: The 4 POVs were very well written. Each character had a unique storyline with clearly defined motivations and interesting development. I thought that they played off one another very well, where despite being in very different situations, they all dealt with their own turmoil in a way made for thoughtful comparisson of what it means to be a soldier, daughter, captain, etc. and how they each balance what's expected of them and what they each desire / feel is right within the larger setting of wartime.

What could be improved: I felt that the book was a bit slow for me to get into, and this may be due to not having read the prior books, but the beginning felt slower in the action and heavier on the Sci-Fi jargon and dialogue overall than it did in the second half of the book. I'm glad that I kept reading because after a period of introduction and setup for certain storylines, the story felt much more engaging and intruiging to keep reading.

What I'm looking forward to: I think the book finds a natural stopping point in each of the 4 POV storylines with a clear setup for what's to come next. I'm very much intruiged by the ending and will be reading the next book to see the unfolding of events that Descent has laid out thus far.

Descent by Marko Kloos (Palladium Wars #4)- Hooray! Time to celebrate! A new Palladium Wars book! This series has been my favorite of Marko’s books since the first one came out. Yes, I’ve enjoyed the Frontlines series and the new one Scorpio, this one is the best. The cast of characters is large and offers different insights throughout the book to a continuing story that travels from book to book. Great Space Opera, not to be missed! Thanks NetGalley and thank you Marko Kloos for this entertaining book

I have been waiting eagerly for this book for many months and it did not disappoint. This is the fourth book in Marko Kloo’s five-volume Palladium series, following four individuals through a solar system wide insurgency in the wake of a multi-planet war. Each strand is different, as they follow two military personnel from the victors, and a brother and sister (one civilian and one ex-military and both scions of a wealthy corporate dynasty) from the losing side, coping with the turmoil, conspiracies, and bloody mayhem arising from the insurgency. Each character is reasonably well drawn, if a bit stiff, but the action and world-building make the book. Kloos reflects effectively on the causes and reactions to the insurgency and draws as his experience as a naturalized American of German origin to convey the bitterness that can develop after a war (say, World War I), for obvious example.). He is also firmly on the side of the “good guys” and really makes no convincing effort to make the insurgents sympathetic.

I think this is a better book and series than Kloos’s other work. It is thoughtful, more complex narratively, and eminently readable. Start with book one, however, as this would be a confusing place to join in.