Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Nov 09, 2008 Stephen rated it liked it

Shelves: good-guys, military-fiction, space-battles, science-fiction, 2006-2010, audiobook

3.0 to 3.5 stars. Good, solid military SF. I liked the main character and the hint of a larger story in future novels as a result of the discovery of evidence of an "alien" civilization. Will certainly read the next book in the series. ...more

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Jun 22, 2010 Seth rated it really liked it

I generally prefer fantasy to science fiction, and when I do read science fiction I tend to avoid the military subgenre. As such, I went into Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet: Relentless with pretty low expectations. I found myself quickly engrossed, and finished the book fairly quickly. It isn't perfect, but most readers of science fiction will find something to enjoy here.

As Campbell has explained on several occasions, the Lost Fleet series melds the theme of the long retreat after a military defeat I generally prefer fantasy to science fiction, and when I do read science fiction I tend to avoid the military subgenre. As such, I went into Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet: Relentless with pretty low expectations. I found myself quickly engrossed, and finished the book fairly quickly. It isn't perfect, but most readers of science fiction will find something to enjoy here.

As Campbell has explained on several occasions, the Lost Fleet series melds the theme of the long retreat after a military defeat with the mythological trope of the king or hero sleeping under the mountain. After the Alliance suffers a crushing defeat at the hands of the Syndic, they come across an abandonned ship containing the cryogenically frozen body of John "Black Jack" Geary, a military hero from over a century ago. Geary is quickly placed at the helm of the fleet and is charged with leading the bedraggled ships to safety.

Most of the action takes place on the fleet's flagship, the Dauntless. While some members of the fleet revere Geary and place their unconditional faith in him, others, most notably Alliance Co-President Rione, are more skeptical. Both these factions present unique challenges for the newly-reanimated Geary, who's also suffering physical side effects from the revival process.

While there are some exciting military set pieces in the novel, Dauntless mostly focuses on the political and personal obstacles Geary must overcome in his attempt to lead the fleet to safety. The core of the book's drama takes place on the Dauntless's bridge and in virtual conference rooms. The intricate tactical and political debates lend the novel a true-to-life wartime feel.

The book isn't perfect. Geary, while a deep and fascinating character, never really exhibits any significant flaws. He faces some significant challenges, but always seems to come through them smelling like a rose. Also, he's really the only character who receives significant development; the other characters, sadly, are fairly two-dimensional, though they do show promise of growing in future books of the series.

These flaws might be crippling in a longer book, but Dauntless is a tightly-written, fast-paced read, so these transgressions are forgivable. The book ends fairly abruptly, and the aforementioned "long retreat" seems by no means certain, and I imagine it spans the entire five-book series. There are some hints of interesting plot elements that will come to fruition in future books, making me eager to read on. ...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Rachael rated it really liked it

This book was quite good, very well conceived and well written. I'm not sure I want to keep going in the series as the internal conversation the main character is having is becoming repetitive, but I think I'll probably find myself drawn back to it after a bit of a break. ...more

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Jun 02, 2008 Raj rated it liked it

Good pulp military sci-fi. Campbell has a knack for writing very detailed battle scenes that take into account the real physics of flying around in space. He, however, does not have a knack for writing three dimensional characters-- which isn't a failing so much in this book, but it becomes very noticeable in the following volumes. ...more

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