Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1) by Jack Campbell
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Book Reviews of Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1)
Book Review: Interesting Study in Command
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is defined as a Military Science Fiction novel. The basic premise is that a commander of a ship that was killed heroically in action early in an interplanetary war was actually hibernating in an escape pod which was found one century later. Yes, that's right, 100 years after he supposedly perished in the battle. The war is still going on, and this particular spaceship commander - Geary - has acquired absolutely legendary status during the intervening years. Now, he is back alive, and as far as he was concerned, only a few weeks have elapsed. As mentioned above, the war is still going on and Geary is revived in time to participate in a major battle - one which his side almost loses. Through a plot twist, he is placed in command of the complete fleet and is tasked with getting it back to its own space.
There are descriptions of the ships, the battles, the weapons systems and all kinds of other techie things that will make fans of this genre very happy. I was most impressed by other stuff than that. As I was reading this book, what jumped out to me was that this was really a study in commanding military forces under the friction of battle. It is more of a study of human reactions and how does one truly become a leader when one does not have the formal authority. After all, Geary was a commander at the time of his "death"; he received a posthumous promotion to Captain; but due to the unique circumstances of the timing and the opening plot twist he becomes the senior Captain in the fleet and therefore its overall commander. There are many officers, who normally would be much senior to Geary, and who do not necessarily like his sudden appearance as their commander who either actively or covertly work against him. Most of this book is really dealing with how he establishes his authority and deals with the obvious challenges that his own officers throw in his way.
Along the way, he also has to deal with groups of officers who are so star-struck by his reputation, that anything he says and does is considered to be divinely inspired. Another group of officers absolutely hate him; and a third group are the standard types of people who end up in command of warships who should never have been placed in these commands, but somehow end up there. Geary has the challenge of taking all three groups and molding them into a coherent force while confounding the enemy fleet that is pursuing him and in the enemy's space no less. This is why the human interactions are more interesting.
The author has clearly studied the science of space a bit. Unlike Hollywood extravaganzas we do not read of ships being hit in the almost-emptiness of space blowing up in massive fireballs! Instead, the description of the results of the battle are much more realistic and so is the descriptions of how ships maneuver in relation to one another. That kind of attention to detail earns more points in my book.
Nonetheless, there is plenty of space action; battles; and technical descriptions to make the hearts of all fans of this genre happy. Technologically speaking we have two different types of faster than light travel; secrets that are being borne on board some ships that must be protected; invasions of star systems; and even a hint of another kind of intelligence that is non-human making an appearance. As this first novel comes to a close, it is obvious that this is the beginning of a series of books and I look forward to reading the others. This book is very easy to read due to its writing style and flow of the action and I give it five stars because of all those reasons. Recommended.
Book Review: Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1)
Summary: 5 Stars
How best to put this, I wonder. When I purchased Dauntless, I was basically (as I do from time to time) sampling another POTENTIAL author, with the interest of perhaps picking up another interesting series to follow. After reading it, I immediately ordered the other 3 titles available, and upon receiving my order, I read them all, cover to cover, back to back. A couple of late nights and bleary eyes at work the next day were all deemed *completely* worth it. I can't put it better than that, but allow me to go into a few details (which I am sure that you, the review-reader, will appreciate).
One aspect of this novel which I find comfortable and endearing, is the occasional (sometimes frequent) monologues or mental footnotes expressed by the main protagonist, Captain Geary. That feature alone serves to catapult me into the 'book-world' pages into it, and more so, into the 'Geary-space' as it makes it all seem so very personal. Reading Dauntless is like playing ghost to the life and deeds of Captain Geary, and what a life it is indeed.
I was tempted to say that sadly not much is shown of the crew of Dauntless, or of the other ships in the fleet, but I realise that that is yet another plus for the book; there is very little extraneous detail to follow or keep track of, as is the case with some other authors. Often, with other novels I am tempted to fast forward through/past some event occurring with some other character other than one of the one to four that I peg as Persons Of Exceptional Interest, or Contributing Members of the Book Cast. Not so with Dauntless. Jack Campbell has managed to completely fill 4 novels with little more than details which could be described by "What Happened to Captain John Geary?" Make no mistake though, Captain Geary's primary concern at any given time is for the safety and salvation/success of the fleet he finds himself leading, but Mr. Campbell has managed to present the story of The Lost Fleet as viewed by Captain Geary in a very comfortable manner.
This is one of the most rewarding reads I have had in a long time, and serves to fill a void I hadn't noticed was there in my reading diet. Jack Campbell (and Captain John Geary), like David Weber (Honor Harrington), is in fine form with this series of Space Opera/Military Science Fiction.
Book Review: Great military SF, a must-read for fans of this genre
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this and Fearless back-to-back in the last day, based on their inclusion on the Amazon military-sf category. Possible some impressions of the two books will overlap onto each other, I will try to avoid this.
This author may be the most realistic space-combat author I have ever read.
He makes a point of integrating combat, communication, and observational limits imposed by the speed of light when dealing with events which take place across light-minutes or even light-hours. In short, the reality-based version (which he applies as far as I can tell) is that what you see 4 light-hours away is information 4 hours old, orders you send to your ships at that distance will take 4 hours to arrive and 4 more for you to receive any response, etc. If another author integrates this physics issue into this stories, please leave me a comment.
Spoilers may follow
This story takes a protagonist who has just been rescued from suspended animation after a major combat event a century before and creates a situation in which he ends up in command of a military fleet which is in a great deal of trouble. This odd feat is possible in great part because the protagonist (John Geary) posthumously became possibly the greatest legend in the navy due to the combat action which led to his presumed demise 100 years before story setting. He accepts the apparently impossible directive to get the fleet and particularly the flagship back to Alliance space and safety.
I read this and Fearless almost back-to-back, couldn't put them down, and for that reason it gets 5 stars. I do believe some characterizations were weak - the captain of the Dauntless was something of a placeholder, holding no qualities I would expect to see in command-level personnel. His increasingly dysfunctional relationship with the confederacy politician (did I name that right?) becomes less and less believable - how many readers are thinking they would rather be celibate and alone than put up with such erratic and threatening behavior?
Book Review: Rip Van Winkle in Outer Space
Summary: 5 Stars
John Geary is rescued from suspended animation in a survival pod one hundred years after using his crippled ship to hold off the enemy only to discover the war is still going on. The fleet that rescued him is deep inside enemy space carrying a secret hyperspace key that, if they can just get it home, will force the enemy to negotiate.
But the Alliance ships are in trouble. Admiral Bloch goes out to parley with the enemy but before he goes, he places Captain Geary in courtesy command of the fleet. Then Bloch and all the officers with him are treacherously slaughtered by the enemy. Suddenly the legendary hero "Black Jack" Geary must shake off his depression and save the fleet.
Fans of David Weber's Honor Harrington series will enjoy this series also. Jack Campbell has created a compelling character and launched his story with explosive force. His hero hates the legend of "Black Jack" Geary but uses it when he has to overawe a subordinate or terrify the enemy. He's a decent man, standing out against atrocities that a long war has made a matter of custom. And he's a commander who discovers that an old dog might have tricks to teach the young puppies on how to fight, survive and win their way home.
One notable aspect of Campbell's writing is his realistic handling of the distortion effects of approaching light speed. I like his battle scenes better than Weber's. Also, the action is relatively unencumbered by politics, although Geary is forced to contend with an ally who keeps threatening to withdraw her planet's ships. While I like the pacing and flow of Campbell's story, I also like Weber's complexity. This book comes to a satisfying conclusion and can be read and enjoyed alone. However, it is part of a long series to which I can only say: FABULOUS. I look forward to reading it all.
Book Review: I Really Liked this Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This isn't a complex space opera full of twists and turns. This isn't a new epic full of multiple characters and story lines. This isn't the next great series against which all other Sci-Fi series will be measured.
What it is is an extremely enjoyable read with good plot, characters, pace, and one of the most accurate depictions of real space battles that I have ever read.
The main character is the very real, very human Jack 'Black Jack' Greary. Greary had taken part in the open engagement of a century spanning war and his actions had made him a legend. Believed to have died in the battle his life pod is discovered and Greary awakes to find himself a living legend.
Greary is a good character. He struggles with his status as the greatest warrior of his time, struggling to live up to an image that he doesn't feel he matches. The supporting cast is not as dynamic, but they're real and interesting enough, but the focus is definitely on Greary.
My favorite part of the series is the use of relativistic science. Campbell takes into account the speed that light travels in relation to figuring out where objects based on where they were when the light reaches you and where they have moved to in the interim. Communication delays are taken into account with co-ordinating millitary actions in a way I've never seen. This level of use of real science in science fiction is what really sets this apart from the rest.
Some reviews have argued against a higher rating because this isn't a complex novel or an epic saga like the Dune series. But it doesn't try to be. I couldn't wait to pick it back up when I was made to sit it down and it does what it does excellently and what it does is entertains.