Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary may have saved the Alliance only to destroy it, in this thrilling and eagerly awaited continuation of the New York Times bestselling series.

Geary believed in the Alliance. Even when he uncovered overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps, he believed it was worth saving. And that his duty was to see that justice was served even though some factions feared that revealing the truth would cause the Alliance to crumble.

But after narrowly surviving two assassination attempts when he brings evidence of the misdeeds to the capital star system, Geary realizes that some have decided the easiest way to make the Alliance's problems go away is to get rid of him. He finds himself ordered to undertake a perilous new mission outside of the reaches of human-occupied space while the Senate clashes over the evidence.

Geary's warships must escort a diplomatic and scientific mission across the dangerous, disintegrating remnants of the Syndicate Worlds empire. But even if he can make it to Midway Star System, the gateway to alien-controlled space, Geary will face former Syndicate officials who have rebelled and regard the Alliance with deep suspicion. And that will be the easy part. . . .

387 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2021

236 people are currently reading
1474 people want to read

About the author

Jack Campbell

108 books3,010 followers
Jack Campbell is a pseudonym for American science fiction author John G. Hemry.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

John G. Hemry is an American author of military science fiction novels. Drawing on his experience as a retired United States Navy officer, he has written the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series. Under the name Jack Campbell, he has written four volumes of the Lost Fleet series, and on his website names two more forthcoming volumes. He has also written over a dozen short stories, many published in Analog magazine, and a number of non-fiction works.

John G Hemry is a retired United States Navy officer. His father, Jack M. Hemry, also served in the navy and as John points out was a mustang. John grew up living in several places including Pensacola, San Diego, and Midway Island.

John graduated from Lyons High School in Lyons in 1974 then attended the US Naval Academy (Class of '78) where he was labeled 'the un-midshipman' by his roommates.

He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids. His two eldest children are diagnosed as autistic and suffer from Neuro immune dysfunction syndrome (NIDS), an auto-immune ailment which causes their illness, but are progressing under treatment.

John is a member of the SFWA Musketeers whose motto reads: 'The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword, but the Wise Person Carries Both'.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
1,244 (48%)
4 stars
925 (36%)
3 stars
321 (12%)
2 stars
35 (1%)
1 star
15 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews
Profile Image for Jean.
1,807 reviews789 followers
November 13, 2021
Jack Campbell is one of my favorite science fiction writers. I have been hooked on the Lost Fleet Series. Campbell’s battle science is fantastic.

The book is well written. Most of the regular characters have returned along with some new ones. The story gets off to a slow start dealing with the politics of the Alliance. The story picks up from where Leviathan left off after the battle with the rouge AI fleet. In this story Geary is off to Midway Star System and then into alien space in hunt for the Dancer’s home. This story is mostly about the problems of getting to Midway and at Midway on arrival. I cannot wait for the next book and the trip into alien space.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is eleven hours and twenty-four minutes. Christian Rummel does an excellent job narrating the series.


Profile Image for Ian.
476 reviews143 followers
June 3, 2025
3.0⭐ This is the first book in the latest (and last?) series of Campbell's Lost Fleet saga, which in addition to the main thread has spawned a couple of spinoffs and a prequel series ( almost 20 novels, along with short stories and comic books). Needless to say things are thoroughly formulaic by now. I don't care. I'm fully addicted to this corny, heavy handed, space bopera with its leaden dialog and cringeworthy political statements.
Don't ask me to explain. In an earlier review ( of an even worse military sci-fi series) I blamed it on an unhealthy teenage diet of Robert Heinlein and Star Trek. But sometimes you just need some mindless escapism.

In the latest installment, our hero Black Jack Geary, after saving the Alliance from Its Greatest Threat (tm), now has to clean up the morass of political corruption that created IGT in the first place. After delivering the damning evidence he gets shipped off on another impossible mission from which he may not return ( that's 3 times in a row now Black Jack, aren't you beginning to see a pattern?).

Campbell is using this latest series ( Lost Fleet: Outlands) to bring together all the threads from his far flung spinoffs towards what I suspect is supposed to be a conclusion ( for example he's dropping hints that Black Jack and his favorite space captain may settle down and get domestic). But who knows? If the market endures Campbell may just keep pumping 'em out as long as the suckers 《raises hand》 keep plunking down their hard earned cash.
Profile Image for C.T. Phipps.
Author 91 books665 followers
July 6, 2021
I am a huge fan of the LOST FLEET books. While I didn't care for the second series as much as the first, I still loved the additions to the world and devoured all of Blackjack Geary's adventures. So I was incredibly excited about the return of character as well as his supporting cast. It's an interesting new take on the subject that both expands the themes of the first two series, follows up events, and also adds some influence from recent events in the United States.

After having proven the existence of the AI fleet that imperiled all of humanity was created by his own government, Blackjack returns to the capital and presents his evidence to the Senate. Unfortunately, the Senate's guilty are determined to obfuscate the truth in a deluge of lies as well as victim blaming. Blackjack is forced to go on yet another long-term mission in hopes of getting out of the way until democracy prevails--but will it?

There's a lot of references I enjoyed, including to the short-run comic book series but newcomers will not have difficulty catching up. Admiral Geary just wants to make sure the Alliance continues but so much corruption, lying, and politics have infested it that it remains ever in danger of collapse. Even worse, he is viewed as a threat to his own people just because he's won the hearts and minds of the people through both victory as well as honest behavior. Jack Campbell remains determined to make sure that we know our hero will never betray democracy, though. Even when it seems to have utterly failed.

A thing that feels all too relevant these days.
Profile Image for Mary Catelli.
Author 54 books202 followers
June 30, 2021
Book 1 of the third series. Spoilers ahead for the first two.


Opens with delivering evidence, facing assassination attempts, hearing progress, and getting orders.

It includes a shakedown journey with leave in the middle, negotiations, Black Jack being significant,
Syndicate prisoners, objections to calling the Dancers by that name even though they won't tell their own (they answer we or us when asked), and more.
Profile Image for Ronie.
Author 69 books1,236 followers
February 29, 2024
There isn't anything spectacular or mind-shattering about Jack Campbell's books, but they are more like coming home. I love his character, Black-Jack Geary, and every story is just solid in terms of military tactics, conflict, and the development of characters. This was a good book with the return of a surprising character. I think I'll always read Jack's books.
Profile Image for Eric Allen.
Author 3 books813 followers
September 4, 2021
Is it weird that I only just now realized how much telling instead of showing this series does...?

Aaaaaaaanyway, this book ties up some loose ends from previous books and ups the stakes a bit with some domestic terrorism. *comment redacted due to the sheer volume of profanity hurled at January 6th insurrectionists* It's not an altogether very exciting book, but it gets the job of being the beginning of a new adventure for our heroes done with a minimum of slow parts. I'm interested to see where the series goes from here. Jack Campbell is kind of like the literary equivalent of comfort food for me. He's not the best writer. And the stories he tells aren't usually very original. They're packed full of cliches, and oftentimes very predictable. But they scratch that military sci-fi itch I sometimes get pretty well, and that's nice and comfortable enough for me to get me coming back for more.
Profile Image for Elchamaco.
469 reviews36 followers
August 1, 2021
Vuelve la serie principal de The Lost Fleet, 6 años ha estado parada además con un parón rarete. Aunque le ha ido cambiando el nombre The Lost Fleet, The Lost Fleet beyond frontier y esta Oustlands es la misma saga, de la primer hizo 6, en cambio de la 2ª se quedó en el 5º. Me parece que no debía saber por dónde seguir y se dedicó a las otras dos series que esas si son una un spinoff del planeta que se rebela contra los síndicos y la otra una precuela. O eso creo porque no las he leído en algún momento lo haré.

Que encontramos en esta nueva saga que no es tal ya que es continuación directa de la de beyond. Pues por eso le pongo 3 estrellicas, porque tras 6 años esperaba más chicha. Está bien como el resto de la saga y se disfruta, pero no hay nada realmente la bomba, es de recolocación de personajes. Así que habrá que ver el año que viene con el siguiente si trae cosas nuevas y ha merecido la pena la espera. Desde luego este libro lo podría haber escrito hace 5 años porque de momento no trae grandes planteamientos.

Así que el libro 12 de la saga de lost fleet y a ver que pasa con el siguiente.
Profile Image for Kevin.
17 reviews
June 17, 2021
This is the most adorable military sci-fi series you will ever read. Issues with the dialogue aside (the Syndic characters still speak in a really stilted manner and have viewpoints that make them seem remarkably dense), the author's commitment to justice, hope, democratic governance, and equality shine through and really carry the spirit of the series past the clunkier or more hokie elements..

Honestly, my biggest problem with the series is that we hit the same locations (more or less) as the previous series. Varandal - Atilla - Indras - Midway. For a book entitled "Boundless", it would have been nice to see unexplored areas of the setting.
Profile Image for Denise.
7,353 reviews135 followers
October 22, 2022
It's been a couple of years since I last read a book set in this universe, so it took me a while to get back in, remember the characters and the state of things politically etc. where the previous installment left. It grabbed me again soon enough, though, and while this particular book didn't have quite as much in terms of huge epic space battles to offers as some of the earlier ones, it was definitely another engaging read.
Profile Image for Anne - Books of My Heart.
3,761 reviews219 followers
June 15, 2021
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
 

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

If you have enjoyed Jack Campbell's other series, Lost Fleet and Beyond the Frontier , and Lost Stars ,   Genesis Fleet series, you will love this too.  I started reading Jack Campbell in 2015 when I was sent an ARC of one of the Leviathon, which was the final book in the Beyond the Frontier series.   Of course with my OCD,  I had to read the previous NINE books before I could read it.  I was in the middle of moving from Minnesota to North Carolina, so I got the audio CDs from the library.  And thus, my love affair with this world began.

These are people with character strength , compassion and intelligence. Characters of this exceptional quality are classic in Jack Campbell's works.    I love the strategy and technology and politics!  I love Geary's reaction to the politics.  This reaction, along with the personal qualities of some of the crew provide some humor in what is often a life and death situation.

Boundless is the start of the new Outlands series which is the farthest into the future of the Lost Fleet world.  It is a joy for fans like me who have read everything and want to know what happens next after the Alliance and the Syndicate worlds have a peace treaty.  Well, the politics and battles are not over.  People either want Geary to be their leader or assassinate him because they think he has too much power.   The Senate sends him on a new diplomatic and science mission while they sort out those who worked around the Senate and the ongoing politics.

First, their ships must have repairs and that allows John and Tanya to visit the Geary home in Glenlyon.  My heart was full with learning even more of this history.   Then they went on to the Midway star system which is a revitalized Syndicate world, now operating independently.  The Lost Stars series is the one which shows the development of the Midway star system at the end of the war.  It was great to see the characters here who are like old and dear friends.

The missions are to further development of the hypernet gates and then go on for a new diplomatic mission with the Dancers.   Boundless is only the start with the work at Midway with the hypernet gates.  Many people don't know what to think about the different aliens discovered in Geary's previous mission. They didn't expect them to find aliens; it was supposed to be a suicide mission to get rid of him. Instead they found three alien species and were able to establish communication with the Dancers. I was worried all through about some who seem to have prejudices about the Dancers.  I feel protective about the Dancers.

I am ecstatic to have more of this world and these characters.  I hope Boundless will have an audio version.  I was glad to have listened to some of the earlier books on audio.  Christian Rummel gave a wonderful performance with just the right emotional tones.  Reading Boundless, I could hear his voice (pronunciations) of the the names of characters and places.
After Iceni's and Drakon's virtual presences had left, Bradamont lingered to salute Geary. " Thank you for getting my colonel back safely to me, sir."

Ambassador Rycerz beamed at her. "They understand now, don't they? That I really am in charge here?"

"No," Bradamont said, shaking her head. "They still think he runs the Alliance, but is doing so behind a screen. Even his time leaving Midway to go to Kane is to them simply more proof of how Admiral Geary is maintaining the pretense of answering to you rather than you answering to him."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not. That's how they view the universe, and everything they see is filtered through that. But they also view Admiral Geary as an, um, enlightened leader in their own mold, which is why they remain willing to deal with the Alliance as long as the Alliance is perceived to be Admiral Geary's kingdom."

"Fine." Ambassador Rycerz had apparently developed yet another headache.
Profile Image for Michael.
1,214 reviews42 followers
July 12, 2021
Boundless (The Lost Fleet: Outlands, #1) by Jack Campbell a.k.a. John G. Hemry begins a new chapter in the adventures of Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary. In this one Geary has brought back overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps. When he presents this to the Alliance senate the uproar is unpreceded. While the senate fights about how to handle the situation and who to hold responsible Geary is sent on a perilous new mission outside of the reaches of human-occupied space. Geary and his entire fleet of ships must escort a diplomatic and scientific mission across the dangerous, disintegrating remnants of the Syndicate Worlds empire to the Midway Star System, the gateway to alien-controlled space. After negotiating a deal with the Midway System to connect the hypernet gates together he must continue on through the dangerous Enigma-controlled space to the Alliance's allies the Dancers, there to set up a diplomatic mission.
This book is a great continuation of this fantastic series. I highly recommend it.

Profile Image for Dave Stone.
1,319 reviews89 followers
July 7, 2023
Like a comfy old pair of shoes
At this point in the story it's main appeal is familiarity. I've know these characters for so long now that it almost doesn't matter what they do, I'm just spending time with them. Doing the same old navy stuff on a ship. There is a story here, but you'd be excused if you missed it. You'd also be excused if you drift off to sleep once or twice wile reading this book. It's comfortable, but getting a little worn out.
7 reviews
July 4, 2021
Up to par

As Black Jack eases his way through yet another good read. I just love the characters old and new, who rise to their role and never cease to provide an unanticipated twist and turn to events. Intrigues and delights are plentiful, resulting in never wanting to put the book down. I need the next book NOW!!!
Profile Image for Online Eccentric Librarian.
3,331 reviews5 followers
August 28, 2021
More reviews at the Online Eccentric Librarian http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

I enjoy this series so much - I know what to expect when I read it and just have a good time. Yes, after (2o?) books in the series, there isn't much new under the sun. But honestly, I don't really care and hope Jack Campbell keeps pumping them out. Here, take my money!

Story: Geary is returning to the Alliance homeworld but political machinations mean that many are not happy with him. Is he there to use his fame to take over? Does he have too much influence among the populace? Do his objectives meet those of the Earth's elite government? Amidst this uncertainty, assassination attempts, and machinations to remove him from the admiralty, Geary takes an offer to lead an expedition to unknown space in order to make contact with the Dancers. Unfortunately, both agents in the Alliance government as well as rogue Syndics are hell bent on preventing that mission from succeeding.

The first half of the book is about the politics on the Alliance home planet - and the infighting between his detractors and his supporters. The second half of the book is the journey to get to Midway while also escorting a special diplomatic ship. The usual conflicts are present - jump gate scenarios, sabotage, people not trusting each other, etc. The polarizing characters are present - the very good and the very bad (with no areas of grey between).

One of the things I do like about the series is that the Geary can be married and the series doesn't have to end there. But at the same time, the cliches Campbell has about women (they can't get along, fight like cats, over emotional) get old fast.

Fans of the series will appreciate that the characters from the Midway series make a strong appearance in the second half. As well, we should be getting hopefully new territory in the next book as the fleet enters Dancer space.

In all, this is my guilty pleasure and I am thankful for every book that gets published. Of note: I listened to the audio version and the usual narrator was presenter and did a decent job (some of his female characters sound very odd).
Profile Image for Jacqueline Lichtenberg.
Author 69 books92 followers
October 25, 2021
Boundless is the first volume in a new sub-series about The Lost Fleet and the legendary Black Jack who becomes Admiral Black Jack Geary.

After settling a century old war, Geary has brought his Fleet home - only to encounter ferocious politics. Wisely, he accepts a new assignment - to go way out beyond the limits of known worlds and make contact with the Aliens he encountered in the earlier adventures.

This #1 in a new series within that series has the characters we learned to love, some new problems, and an example of Geary's ability to maneuver a combat fleet in space.

But it is mostly a political-power story, about personal power, the power of reputation, and the control of the military by civilians.

Geary's fleet is escorting an unarmed Diplomatic ship complete with Ambassador and staff, plus scientific researchers. This puts him in a new position, career-wise, the fate of the maturing combat professional -- desk work and politics.

He is married to the Captain of his flagship, and she is as clever and powerful as he is. Some of the Captains in his fleet are his friends, some maybe not-so-much, and some are competent and some who-knows?

Judging from this first entry in the new series about the same people, this will be a story about Geary's ability to assess the talents, abilities, maturity, and potential of his officers, and very likely of the Aliens he will have to deal with. The Ambassador and her staff are supposed to do that, but it just doesn't seem like that's how it will play out.

I highly recommend the entire LOST FLEET series, and this new sub-series is already a delight.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com
Profile Image for MAB  LongBeach.
509 reviews7 followers
February 3, 2021
After Admiral Geary turns over his evidence to the Alliance Senate, he is sent to take a fleet through Syndic space to Midway, to tie its hyperlink gate into the Alliance network, and then onward to Dancer space, to try to get to know those aliens better. Dangers both within and without beset the fleet, leading to some thrilling action sequences.

Those looking for realistic, non-jingoistic naval SF are in for a treat with the Lost Fleet series and its follow-on series.
Profile Image for Mike Reinking.
361 reviews6 followers
June 21, 2022
Thrilling Return to The Lost Fleet Series

A very good story to kickstart a return to the Lost Fleet series and Black Jack Geary. New characters and the return of some favorites make this a fun read. This is not a stand alone story and I look forward to the next book!
Profile Image for Alex Shrugged.
2,697 reviews30 followers
February 20, 2022
I would give this 3 1/2 stars if I could. This seems to be setting up a new conflict for the "Lost Fleet" and Admiral John Geary. It is a transitional book from the The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series and the The Lost Fleet: Outlands series.

The Story: Shortly after the conflict concludes in (The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier #5) "Leviathan". A new conflict begins as the Fleet returns to Unity, the capital star system, with evidence of corruption at the highest levels. As a consequence, Geary has become persona non grata, an unwelcome person and subject to assassination attempts. His reduced fleet is sent to the Outlands beyond Midway to get him out of Unity and imminent revolution, but before he gets to the Outlands he has a chance to visit his home system, Glenlyon.

Any problems with this story? Well... I really like the space battles as the author describes them. There was one one of those in this novel. There is a really vile plot against Geary, but I don't think I am giving away any spoilers when I say that Geary survives. It wasn't quite the equivalent of a space battle from my perspective.

Secondly, a new character was introduced, Doctor Jasmine Cresida... the sister of the late Captain Jaylen Cresida who created the safe-fail device for the hypernet gates. The use of the Cresida name sort of brings back the heroic Jaylen Cresida except that her sister, Jasmine, was a butt head. That might change in a future book, but it was a little jarring to hear the name "Cresida" in a negative way.

Any modesty issues? Nothing much. John Geary is married to Tanya Desjani, so they are left alone occasionally while on Glenlyon, and after all, they are married. Nothing is described. It is just implied.

The ending is reasonable, ties up the major threads introduced in the beginning, and sets up for the next book in this series, "Resolute".

I'd read this book again.

861 reviews16 followers
July 24, 2021
This is the 1st book in a new arc in this long running series featuring Admiral Jack Geary and whilst this book can be read as a standalone - reading the previous arc would be of benefit ( there are far too many books previous to this one to start from the 1st book just to get an idea of the characters and the worldbuilding .

Following the defeat of the AI fleet and base Jack has proceeded to Unity to present his evidence of Government and Fleet Command involvement of treason to the Alliance .
From the start there are those who would try to keep that evidence from being presented , and even go as far as trying to assassinate Jack , not just once but twice .
Those who would protect him whilst the Senate deliberate the evidence , set him up with new orders direct from the Senate itself , bypassing Fleet Command - those orders are twofold - escort a diplomatic and scientific mission to Midway , across dangerous , disintegrating Syndicate space , followed by escorting a diplomatic ship to their Alien allies(??) home base .
The mission is fraught from the start - just who can they trust ? there are those who fear the Alien allies so much that they would do anything to kill the mission . Even the defeated former Syndicate officials are determined to make things as difficult as possible , setting dangerous traps along the way .

This is a brilliant character driven series which never disappoints the reader - fast paced , full of space battles where lives are in the balance , traitors around every corner - what more can a reader ask for ????
I await the next in series with bated breath .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Ben Savage.
341 reviews11 followers
July 9, 2023
Whelp, another 500 I pounded through against better judgement.

I love how under the radar Jack Campbell seems to be. Even with a 12 book series, a five book series and assorted others, still seems a " sleeper hit".You can tell he lived in the military and its rank structures for a long long time.

Admiral John " Black Jack" Geary is back. Instead of a heros welcome having discovered not one but three intelligent alien species, he instead is greated by suspicion, outright hostility, assassination attempts and partisan politics. His life immediatly on the line, Black Jack once again is whisked away to deal with issues arisng from his explorations.

I appreciate Campbell's writing on the military and tactical aspects of future space combat. He knows his strengths and plays to them. Minorly unfortunatly, his writing is less so focused on characters. Everyone is honorable or not honorable, though it's gotten better about characterization beyond that. He skips over sensual scenes and for good reason- this book is about people and their work.

The space combat remains top notch, with actual relativistic decisions having to be made, and not " space battle!"

A few passages seem short and abrupt. Maybe as the 12th book but previously he would have written several pages on it. Here it's tenser, sparser, and focused.

The only huge issue is, once again, " Hey here's political machinations and insuinations, magically fly to our repair docks and it goes away!". Or, here's a stubborn bureaucrat, fire them and outfit the ships! Then again, we want our heroes to succeed against the forces of tyranny so, welcome addition.

If you like his series so far, you'll like this one. If not, still a good read.
Profile Image for Gr.
1,120 reviews9 followers
October 31, 2023
I purchased Boundless on Audible. I had read the first 5 books in the greater series, not realizing I had not read the next 5 books. Boundless is book 11 in the series or #1 of the Lost Fleet: Outlands series. Boundless continues the series, and after reading books 6-10, I finally returned to Boundless.

The greater series is very good. It is written by a retired Naval Officer who ensures he thinks through all aspects of military operations to make sure they make sense. Jack Campell does a fantastic job describing interstellar combat and tactics. Throughout the series, there are obvious criticisms of the corruption in political leadership in our future.

Throughout the history of military operations, it is common knowledge that it is imperative to defer tactical leadership to the senior military person in place. Micromanaging military operations from a distance is often disastrous. Technology does not change this. Also, there needs to be a good balance between political leadership and military authority for the government to survive and the military to be successful. When this aspect becomes unbalanced, and politicians start directing military actions, history has shown it can also result in disaster. Throughout the series, the Alliance government demonstrates an imbalance with too much authority given to politicians, many whom have abused their power and have their own agendas. The author respects this, in the book Boundless, on-board political leaders try to exercise an active role in directing military tactics. with expected results.
Profile Image for Michelle.
649 reviews52 followers
February 3, 2023

Book One in the Lost Fleet: Outlands series, so that would make this number twelve in the Lost Fleet universe.

This was great!

Admiral Geary has arrived back in the Snake Pit otherwise known as Alliance Space. In the midst of dodging assassination attempts, he must present the evidence of the illegal programs created by certain factions of the government before the Senate. The hunt is on to find those responsible. In the meantime, it appears as if the rogue AI-controlled black fleet may not have been completely eradicated as he had thought. The Senate takes control of his orders away from Fleet Headquarters and sends him underway on a new mission to Dancer space.

Holy crap, everyone seems to be at cross purposes in this book! There are shady military personnel and civilians, crooked politicians, (there's a surprise!), questionable scientists and diplomatic teams, (I really miss Rione!), and Syndics, both the good and the bad. There are also new crew members to train, and some of those may be part of a growing anti-Dancer faction. It's a wonder an Admiral can accomplish anything of note.

It's not all bad news, though. He finally decides to visit his home planet. That was a touching interlude! And there's a great enemies to allies development, too. I love that trope! It never gets old.

I hope he keeps writing books in this series because I will gladly pay to read them.


19 reviews1 follower
June 18, 2021
I really enjoy Jack Campbell’s novels about Black Jack Geary’s world, and this one was particularly enjoyable as it tied in previous novels of companion series, all of which have been enjoyable reads and whose characters become familiar friends. The book is more about personal relationships and diplomacy (at least the first half) than space battles but it continues the story line and there is plenty of action and it moves quickly keeping your interest.

However, this and previous books do have one annoying feature (which I hope the author and publisher fix in the future). It has an antiquated and frustrating style of chapters. In today’s age many people read on multiple devices. It is important to be able to easily find where they left off from one device to another using the electronic table of contents. Many modern writers will use over a hundred chapters for the same length novel, which makes it easier to find where you left off. Jack Campbell has only 19 chapters with multiple sections (separated by a symbol) which makes easy movement within the novel difficult. I wish he would go to the more modern format.

Other than this frustration, I really liked this book and hope to see more in the future. I recommend it for people familiar with Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet novels.
876 reviews
December 31, 2023
*
*
*
Audiobook
Story: B, Narration: A

Not a review, just some thoughts for personal reference.

Really happy to be back with Geary and company. TBH, I haven't much enjoyed either the side series set in this universe or some of the other works nearly as much. (In fact, I pretty much bailed on all of them.) I like that I know what I'm getting with this series. Yes, they're a bit predictable, but theyre still fun. I can roll my eyes on occasion but Geary is an honorable man who doesn't take himself too seriously. I like being with him and the rest of the characters.

Like with most of the other books, I had issues with pacing. Things tend to drag. And other things that could have been more developed were sped through. The ending was something of an example. There were alarm bells going off well in advance. Geary pretty much says, "I think I hear an alarm." Then does nothing about it. But that's ok because everything gets worked out all hunky dory and the book concludes in minutes. I feel as if I was given the bum's rush out of the book! But that's ok, I guess, since I have the next one cued up to start.

I always look forward to Christian Rummell's narration of this series. Wouldn't be the same without him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Emmalyn Renato.
755 reviews13 followers
June 10, 2024
Military science fiction / Space opera. Three and a half stars, rounded up to four. I read the original 'Lost Fleet' series between 2012 and 2019 and then I apparently skipped the next related series ('Beyond the Frontier') completely. That one introduced three types of aliens, at alternate "home" for the Alliance, dark rogue AI controlled battleships, lots of conspiracies and traitorous actions. This third Lost Fleet series starts with Black Jack Geary returning to the real Alliance home planet with evidence of all that malfeasance. As you can expect, that didn't sit well with every one. After two failed assassination attempts, he (and a "small" fleet of ships) are sent on a couple of missions to "get him out of the way".

If you've read any of these books, then this one is more of the same. It's completely formulaic and quite often repetitive. There's wooden dialogue are contrived situations. yet there's enough there for me to want to read the other two books in the (hopefully final) trilogy.

(Reddit Fantasy 2024 Bingo squares that this would fit: First in a Series; Space Opera; Reference Materials).
240 reviews16 followers
July 28, 2025
Another entertaining and well plotted space navy adventure in this continuing series. There's not much warfare action in this book, which covers more political and personal character development of the the two key characters. Its a fun read, but not taxing in any way. In this case, the resolution of one of the two mysteries set up is over and done with in a handful of pages right at the end of the book. That wasnt necessary really.

My criticisms:

Most of the characters are just names and roles and roles that don't really do anything.
The bridge doesn't act like a bridge
the Admiral should have a staff to handle the admin.

The Alliance, although well beaten, fragmenting seems to have the funds to build new warships, although training, crew and leadership failures continue.
The good guys seem to be intent on taking their peace dividend regardless of the Alliance rebuilding. They seem to have no intelligence service to speak of and do no active recon and surveillance work. They surely ought to have a spy network (especially now).
They have two identified opponents bounding Human space, but aren't preparing themselves for the likely confrontation

Profile Image for Alyce Caswell.
Author 17 books20 followers
September 14, 2021
Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary has saved the Alliance from a variety of external threats, but the Alliance itself may prove to be his biggest challenge yet. Oh come on, how can I sum this up without making it sound like all the other books? Space stuff happens. Planetside stuff happens. Hypernet stuff happens. Onward to the next instalment!

John Geary is, hands down, my favourite Gary Stu. Campbell's books have their flaws, but damn it, they are just so enjoyable and I am full of glee every time Geary outmanoeuvres someone. It's worth noting that recent books in the Lost Fleet universe (prequels + this one) have shown considerable improvement with the absence of Rione, who seemed to exist only to serve a cringeworthy Madonna-Whore dynamic with Desjani. I can now enjoy the plot without wanting to hurl my book against a wall (yes, these books are so beloved in my household that we own physical copies lol).

Profile Image for Morgan.
373 reviews46 followers
September 20, 2022
It took me longer than usual to pick up up this book. I really like Jack Campbell's work with this universe. It's one of the best scifi series I've read. The characters, plots, strategy, and politics are compelling, but I was put off by the ending of the Lost Stars series.

Spoilers for the author's work so far:

I've started noticing some repeated themes that are bothering me with Campbell's work.
-lots of straight cisgender characters pairing off with other straight cisgender characters. I can't name any queer characters, and ALL the main pairings are him/her pairs. Where are the people who aren't looking for partners? Where are the queer couples and polyamorous groups? This feels especially frustrating because Campbell creates such well-rounded women characters. I want at least a few of them to be independent without being whatever the heck happened with Morgan in the Lost Stars series.
-So many straight cis people getting married, like that's the ultimate goal. Meh.
118 reviews
September 24, 2023
Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet: Outlands: Resolute” (2022) is the thirteenth book in "The Lost Fleet" series that follows the adventures of Admiral Jack Geary. This one is the second in a new series “Boundless”, in which Geary leads a fleet of spaceships in a diplomatic and scientific expedition into alien-controlled space. As usual, there is political intrigue and some good space battles. “Jack Campbell” is the pseudonym of John G. Hemry. Hemry is a retired LCDR and Naval Academy graduate who has held a number of positions in the Navy, ranging from service on a destroyer up to a staff position for the Chief of Naval Operations. This naval experience informs his portrayal of space battles. He also displays a keen knowledge of game theory as applied to personnel decisions, politics, and space warfare. This is another fine addition to an excellent series. Highly recommended. My grandson also enjoys this series. Books in the series definitely need to be read in order.
Profile Image for Margarita Gacía.
225 reviews
September 2, 2025
El incombustible almirante John Black Jack Geary vuelve a la carga.

Esta vez lo mandan de misión pacifica y de exploración a contactar con los bailarines, o sea, explorar nuevos mundos, buscar nuevas formas de vida y nuevas civilizaciones, ir audazmente a donde nadie ha ido antes... jajaja.
Antes de eso, se tendrá que enfrentar a un senado hostil (son todos una panda de inútiles corruptos) y a varios intentos de asesinato (¡cómo osan!)

Después de 12 libros una ya sabe lo que esperarse:
Batallas espaciales. Sí.
Politiqueo intentando desacreditar a Black Jack Geary. Sí.
Tania Desjani, la mas mejor capitana de la galaxia, con sus ovarios de acero. ¡Oh Yeah!
Cachondeo entre los marines. Desde luego.
Los síndicos todavía sin enterarse como se las gasta Black Jack. Claro que sí, guapi.
Problemas con las hiperpuertas, siempre a punto de colapsar... esto se lo podrían ahorrar, los minutos mas tensos del libro...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.