Published by 47North on August 19, 2025
Corvus is the second in a series of military science fiction novels called Frontlines: Evolution. The new series began with Scorpio [https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2023/12/20/scorpio-by-marko-kloos.html] and is set in the same universe as Marko Kloos’s Frontlines novels.
In Scorpio, Alexandra “Alex” Archer was a colonist who survived her childhood by living underground on a planet that was occupied by Lankies. Lankies are really big aliens that like to stomp humans, as well as their vehicles and structures. The aliens are difficult to kill but humans, as well all know, excel at killing.
Having been rescued at the last moment from the Scorpio colony by the military, Alex decides to enlist. In Corvus, Alex has finished basic training and is assigned to a regiment that is traveling to the Corvus system to check on a colony that has gone silent.
The novel features the military jargon, command structures, and weaponry that appeals to fans of military sf. Alex and her squad are investigating abandoned buildings on the planet when, as the reader will expect, the Lankies attack. Battles ensue. Much of the regiment is wiped out, but Alex uses the knowledge of survival tactics that she gained in Scorpio to help most of her squad members avoid death.
During much of the novel, Alex and her squaddies are walking or using commandeered vehicles to reach destinations where they hope to dig in and await rescue. One of those destinations is occupied by friendly Russian soldiers who join the battle when their building (a terraforming facility) is attacked by the Lankies.
Like many military sf novels, Corvus features more than one “saved by the bell” moment. That’s not unusual in military thrillers, although it’s a bit more common in military sf, which tend to read like novelizations of mediocre military sf movies. While saved-by-the-bell moments make the story predictable, they also add to the excitement.
Alex is an agreeably modest and fast-thinking protagonist who has just enough personality to keep the reader rooting for her success. Kloos writes energetic action scenes and, if the story as a whole is predictable, he at least keeps it moving with a variety of ways to kill or elude the evil Lankies. Kloos is a capable military sf storyteller, and if there is little to distinguish Corvus from similar works, there is little reason to believe that the novel will fail to satisfy military sf junkies.
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