Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1)

All the politics and machinations of enders game with more fleet battles. I binge read 7 of these over a sleep deprived weekend. This series should be adapted into a video game.

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.

I was very impressed with this book. The highest praise I can give this book is that it is worthy of the comparison to the Hornblower series of C.S. Forester. It is the study of a leader who improbably finds himself thrust into a future war where the highly-developed tactics and strategies of space war have been lost owing to the severe attrition in the officer's ranks. It is a Rip Van Winkle tale of a man who must now live in the world of those who would be as old as his grandchildren and finds that much of the honor and discipline of his fighting force has been cast aside of seeming necessity. Our leader, John "Black Jack" Geary has been picked up after drifting in space for over a hundred years. His exploits in the battle that stranded him are now legendary. Therein lies the unique power of this book--it allows the study of a character with all of the skills to be a fine leader who is unexpectedly thrust into a situation where suddenly he holds all the power and is forced to retrain an entire navy. What does he do? What are the effects of his virtually unlimited power? The author takes every opportunity to teach the reader the value of discipline and military honor. It is this strong moral undertone that gives the book its power. It is far better than most books of its genre; indeed, this is the first author I have ever encountered who deals with relativistic effects in his portrayal of space battles. Yet make no mistake, this isn't about battles. This is about a man who is in a position to lead and how he goes about persuading others to follow him. Fascinating five-star stuff.

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless was by far a great military Sci-Fi read. The hero is found in suspended animation and revived 100 years after he `died' in a spectacular display of heroics. Now he's a legend in a time where his people are `familiar strangers' and the honor of his day is long past. To talk too much about the book would give away it's excellent points. All I'll say is that the hero is engaging, and you are sucked into his world in the firs two pages of the book, and you can't put that book down. I had to read it in one sitting, and it's been rare I can find a book that produces such an effect. I found it in a way reminiscent of Battle Star Galactica, with a touch of "Space Above and Beyond". The characters are well defined, as is the conflict and moral dilemmas. The battles are quick, and deadly. The stakes are high. Everything you'd want in good Military Sci Fi is here. My only regret: there are no more of these to read. I'm hoping the rest of the books are out soon.

I picked up this book and read the back cover and thought well that sounds different. I was not disappointed. The book is original in that it is military sci-fi with character development and growth. Black Jack Geary's thoughts as he trying to adjust to his new surrounds are amusing and totally in character. This book not only has great space battles and a 100 year war, but interesting characters that are more than military automatons. This is a full and interesting world I look forward to reading more about.

Far into the future, humanity has spread out into space and colonized many worlds. Humanity has also split into two groups: The Syndicate Worlds ("Syndics") and The Alliance Worlds ("Alliance"). Neither group has encountered other intelligent species. The two groups of human colonies have evolved very different belief systems and political structures, but they have been able to maintain an uneasy peace and some civilized trade arrangements. That is, until Grendel. In the Grendel system, a war was begun, with am ambush. The Alliance-Syndic War, had both sides so large and widely dispersed, that a conclusive end to the war would be hard to achieve, and it was set to wage for decades, or even centuries. One heroic myth arose from the ambush, as an Alliance soldier made what became known as the Last Stand of Black Jack Geary, the commander of one of the armed Alliance escorts, who stayed behind, and died, allowing almost everyone else to escape. One hundred years later, the war rages on, until an end seems possible, thanks to a Syndic traitor. Or is it something other than it seems? During this episode, the Alliance fleet picks up an ancient escape pod, carrying none other than Commander John "Black Jack" Geary, who has drifted in hibernation or "cold sleep" for a century. Geary is revived, and suddenly finds himself, by dint of seniority, as the fleet commander. This is an amazing piece of military science fiction writing, with a protagonist who is remarkable and memorable. Can "Black Jack" possibly live up to the legend that has grown out of the Grendel Incident? Can he lead the badly damaged fleet back to Alliance territory? He is a century out-of-date regarding technical and historical knowledge, but he also remembers many things, related to military tactics and to beliefs and values, that everyone else around him never even heard of. He remembers what peace was like, and he remembers honor. It would have been easy for the author let Black Jack Geary be a larger-than-life hero. If Jack Campbell had done that, this book would likely have been a somewhat-above-average military space adventure. Mr. Campbell, instead, wrote Black Jack Geary as a real person, with flaws, strengths, doubts, skills, moments of brilliance, deficits, and an understanding and appreciation of his own limitations. Black Jack does not enjoy his new-found fame; he is not even sure that he is glad that he survived that century of cold-sleep. But, he is dedicated to doing his best for the fleet, and to help them both survive and reclaim their sense of honor. Some of Black Jack's speeches to the ships' captains under him, and to the fleet as a whole, are things that our modern world leaders occasionally need to hear, especially in these days of the War on Terror. Jack Campbell writes well. Period. The book flows well, with an excellent mix of action and philosophical debate. The characters are very interesting people, and not just the remarkable protago