The Lost Fleet
by Jack Campbell
Author's Description:
“The Alliance has been fighting the Syndics for a century—and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief....
Captain John “Black Jack” Geary’s exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic “last stand” in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance Fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.
Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance’s one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic “Black Jack” legend...”
Captain John “Black Jack” Geary’s exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic “last stand” in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance Fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.
Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance’s one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic “Black Jack” legend...”
My Review - Rating - 7/10
I enjoyed this series a lot. It has an original premise, and I thought that the plot was good overall. This series is a “space opera” - for those who don’t read that genre, it’s best described as military sci-fi, with a focus on space battles or interstellar combat. I’m a big fan of space opera and thought I’d love this series. Unfortunately, while the books were still good, they didn’t live up to my expectations. I think that the same story could have made a great (but very long) book, as each book in the series is effectively a continuation of one story, with each book starting where the other left off. There isn’t anything wrong with the story, but I have some serious issues with how it was written. My main issue is that it is the most repetitive series I think I’ve ever read. The author re-explains almost every aspect of his universe and everything that’s already happened in each book, which makes it a lot slower and less enjoyable than the series could be. I understand why the author does this - it’s six books on the same plot, each published years apart, so readers who have waited two years for a new installment in the series need a recap - but for readers (like me and possibly you) who are reading all six books, it just slows down the series and makes it far less enjoyable. Despite this, the story is fun and pretty original. I thought the group/command dynamics and the leadership issues Gearywell-paced faces were great, and the space combat/strategy is extremely well done. Campbell does a great job of creating fascinating space combat and an interesting strategic conflict. This series had some great ideas, some great battles, and one big flaw that took it from a 9/10 to a 7/10. Overall, this is a good book for any military science fiction fan, but not the best in the genre.
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