I have a blind spot for action-heavy military sci-fi, so this review is going to be horribly biased. Also, lots of spoilers if one hasn’t read the original Lost Fleet books by Campbell.This book picks up where the last book of the previous series left off. Amidst a bunch of political maneuvering, John Geary is again placed in charge of a fleet, this time as a legitimate Admiral. This time he is going to investigate the “enigma race” beyond Syndic space, hopefully to establish contact and gather intelligence about their strengths. The cast of characters from the previous books are all along for the ride for one reason or another. This book is like the later books in the first series; there isn’t as much combat and there’s a lot more effort spent toward political scheming and discovering plots against and within the fleet. The plots involved are fairly obvious for the most part, and some of the people involved seem unusually dense in that they can’t see what’s going on or the motivations that would cause people to act how they are. The only other complaint I have is that John Geary seems less effective now than he used to; most of the ideas seem to be coming from his subordinates or colleagues and he just approves them. It’s reducing him as a character in my mind. Other than that, this is more of the same fun that the previous books had, assuming those were ones you found entertaining. An interstellar war has ended after 100 years. The “Alliance” won. It’s enemy, the “Syndics”, are no longer a threat. The hero of the prior “Lost Fleet” series, “Black Jack” Geary is now an Admiral and Commander of the 1st Fleet. (He also married Tanya Desjani, who is the Captain of his flagship, Dauntless.) The new threat is the “Enigma” race – an intelligent non-human species – and no one knows what they’re like. Geary’s new mission is find and establish relations with the Enigma – yet the story it is set against the background of political intrigue and bureaucratic BS.There’s A LOT of set-up in this book. My gosh! It takes 1/3 of the novel just to provide the backstory. (Really! Like who would read “Beyond the Frontier” without first reading “The Lost Fleet”!) It sure is tedious. When the story finally got going, it was interesting to observe the adulation of the population towards Black Jack and the reaction to his revisiting the former locales of prior battles. His new mission’s first stop? To release hundreds of Admirals and Generals from captivity. Are they grateful? Some. But most want to lead the Fleet in his place! (They are DEFINITELY “old school” and are pains in the neck.) Soon, the Fleet must contend with the Enigma’s unique capabilities requiring new battle strategies. And why are the Enigma fighting anyway? Why wouldn’t they talk? (The Alliance believes its actions have been peaceful.) As in all of the past books, I found the battles to be fairly exciting – and certainly interesting – as they contend with traveling and communicating at or near the speed of light. Also, there’s a different interaction between Geary and Desjani (and not without some charm.) No longer just commander and subordinate, it’s now husband and wife too. Well, at first, I decided that this was the last book that I ever would read in the series. But, about ½ way through, it picked up its old charm. As a continuation of The Lost Fleet series, one has to remember that the novels are closer to “Star Wars” than “2001: A Space Odyssey”. It’s just fun. (Although I did forgot just how “lite” reading it actually is … not great Sci-Fi, but it fills my free time nicely.) It started out to be 2-stars, then I got wrapped-up in the story. Again, not the world’s greatest literature – but it’s a 4-star read. (I have already bought the next book in the series.)
What do You think about Dreadnaught (2011)?
We go from Captain America bringing the fleet home, to going right back out there after the aliens
—burstingwishes
Love Jack Campbell's books. Easy read but very enjoyable.
—books123
