Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, #1)

by Jack Campbell

But then, wars weren’t supposed to be apparently endless, going on and on and draining the smoothness and brightness from a future that could now only afford efficiency.

Let us live to the highest standards, lest we win this war only to find ourselves staring in the mirror at the face of our late enemy.”

“This fleet fights for victory, not pride. It is held together by honor and courage, the belief in what we fight for and the belief in each other. Pride is nothing by itself. Nothing but a weapon in our enemy’s hands, a weapon he will gladly use to help bring about our destruction.”

“Democracies and republics cannot live with indispensable men or women,

“Security and logistics. Those two things keep getting in the way of a lot of good ideas.”