Book Review: THE LOST FLEET: FEARLESS by Jack Campbell
This is the second book in Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series, which is military sci-fi but with a decided "hard" bent to it. The situations and battles are realistic, taking into account time lags in communication and the huge distances involved in a massive fleet traveling through solar systems.
In this book, Captain John "Black Jack" Geary has managed to get the fleet he inherited in the first book to a relatively safe system. They encounter a few problems when they arrive--the Syndics were obviously warned about them and are reacting in intelligent ways--but it's nothing the fleet can't handle. But where do they go from here? Geary realizes that the Syndics will be anticipating their actions, and the signs in this system are that they're planning ahead, even if they don't have enough manpower to cover all of Geary's potential escape routes. But even as he contemplates what most would consider an insane next jump--one that the Syndics can't possibly anticipate but will give the fleet an opportunity to hurt the Syndics in a significant way--they discover Alliance prisoners on the planet below. And one of those prisoners is Captain Falco, a charismatic leader who may be devious enough to take command of the fleet from Geary's hands.
Again, I'm really enjoying this series. I'm not generally a sci-fi fan, especially the hard military sci-fi, but this series has caught my attention. The situation in which Geary finds himself--trapped deep in Syndic space after being awakened from a hundred years of hibernation sleep, forced to take control of a fleet and get it back home--is compelling and immediately draws you in as a reader. Here, we see some of the personal problems between fleet commanders that reared their heads in the first book finally play out. Geary learns who is behind him after his stunning defeat of the Syndic force that found them in the first book . . . and who still thinks he should be relieved of command. All is brought to the fore when he proposes his insane plan--one that takes the fleet farther from Alliance space instead of closer, while at the same time gives them an opportunity to hurt the Syndics and open up a wider range of options for the future.
Again, the Syndics aren't the driving antagonists in this series. Not really. They're there and pose a significant problem, but it's the politics and interactions among the fleet leaders that cause Geary the real problems. And his plan causes those he thought were allies to turn against him, and give his enemies a rallying point. This is what makes the story compelling. If the fleet were simply jumping from system to system, dealing with whatever the Syndics threw at them, I don't think the series would be interesting at all. But the focus isn't on the Syndics, and so I want to read more.
Like the first book, I was riveted by the story and situation here. By the end of the book, I have to admit I'm beginning to worry that perhaps Geary is "too perfect." I keep expecting him to make a serious mistake, and so far it hasn't happened. I assume it will eventually, otherwise Geary becomes too perfect to be believable, no matter how many times he doubts himself. Things have been going rather well for the fleet since Geary took over, even if there have been losses. We'll see how things develop though. I'll reserve final judgment on this issue until I'm a few more books into the series.
For now, the books are definite must reads for those into sci-fi, both military and hard SF.
In this book, Captain John "Black Jack" Geary has managed to get the fleet he inherited in the first book to a relatively safe system. They encounter a few problems when they arrive--the Syndics were obviously warned about them and are reacting in intelligent ways--but it's nothing the fleet can't handle. But where do they go from here? Geary realizes that the Syndics will be anticipating their actions, and the signs in this system are that they're planning ahead, even if they don't have enough manpower to cover all of Geary's potential escape routes. But even as he contemplates what most would consider an insane next jump--one that the Syndics can't possibly anticipate but will give the fleet an opportunity to hurt the Syndics in a significant way--they discover Alliance prisoners on the planet below. And one of those prisoners is Captain Falco, a charismatic leader who may be devious enough to take command of the fleet from Geary's hands.
Again, I'm really enjoying this series. I'm not generally a sci-fi fan, especially the hard military sci-fi, but this series has caught my attention. The situation in which Geary finds himself--trapped deep in Syndic space after being awakened from a hundred years of hibernation sleep, forced to take control of a fleet and get it back home--is compelling and immediately draws you in as a reader. Here, we see some of the personal problems between fleet commanders that reared their heads in the first book finally play out. Geary learns who is behind him after his stunning defeat of the Syndic force that found them in the first book . . . and who still thinks he should be relieved of command. All is brought to the fore when he proposes his insane plan--one that takes the fleet farther from Alliance space instead of closer, while at the same time gives them an opportunity to hurt the Syndics and open up a wider range of options for the future.
Again, the Syndics aren't the driving antagonists in this series. Not really. They're there and pose a significant problem, but it's the politics and interactions among the fleet leaders that cause Geary the real problems. And his plan causes those he thought were allies to turn against him, and give his enemies a rallying point. This is what makes the story compelling. If the fleet were simply jumping from system to system, dealing with whatever the Syndics threw at them, I don't think the series would be interesting at all. But the focus isn't on the Syndics, and so I want to read more.
Like the first book, I was riveted by the story and situation here. By the end of the book, I have to admit I'm beginning to worry that perhaps Geary is "too perfect." I keep expecting him to make a serious mistake, and so far it hasn't happened. I assume it will eventually, otherwise Geary becomes too perfect to be believable, no matter how many times he doubts himself. Things have been going rather well for the fleet since Geary took over, even if there have been losses. We'll see how things develop though. I'll reserve final judgment on this issue until I'm a few more books into the series.
For now, the books are definite must reads for those into sci-fi, both military and hard SF.
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