Counterstrike (Black Fleet #3)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Counterstrike
Series: Black Fleet
Author: Joshua Dalzelle
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 365
Format: Kindle digital edition







Synopsis:
Jackson Wolfe is about to head up the remaining fleets of Earth against the Phage, in a strike against a theoretical Phage Overmind.
All of the info about the Phage come from the new alien allies. Said allies are unwilling to dirty their hands with actual fighting but have no problems with using other races as proxies.
Wolfe must now fight a 3 front war. One against the Phage. One, very surreptitiously, against their supposed allies. Finally, one against his own commander who can't take any chances.

My Thoughts:
Best book of this trilogy. And it ends. Jackson Wolfe is alive at the end but his story is over. The story about the alien allies hasn't finished, but the Phage aspect is done.

As soon as the alien allies made it clear that they used other races to wage their wars, the origin of the Phage was pretty much a foregone conclusion. It was an interesting turn but not a shocking revelation. It definitely makes the "allies" the new "enemies" for any future books.

The tiny bit of "romance" was awkward and really didn't add anything to the story or make the characters any better. I wish that Dalzelle had left it out altogether. It would have fit just fine with Wolfe as a character.

In the author's note at the end, he makes it clear that this IS a trilogy. I like that he had the balls to end this and not try to endlessly milk it.  While I am hoping to read more in this universe, I am ok with being done with Jackson Wolfe.