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Title:
Vanguard
Series: Genesis Fleet #1 (Lost
Fleet)
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3
of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages:
264
Words: 103K
I originally read this back in ‘17 when Campbell was starting this trilogy. My reception of it was pretty lukewarm, as I was getting tired of Campbell’s schtick and this felt very lazy to me. So as he published the rest of the trilogy, I just let it slide.
Fast forward to now and the trilogy is finished but he has also continued to write more Black Jack Geary adventures. The Lost Fleet: Outlands trilogy is also complete, so it seemed like a good time to dive back into the universe that Campbell had created.
My reactions while reading this book were exactly the same as in ‘17. There were some good space action scenes, but the politics of the situation were just as important to the story and made it not so fun. The problem is, once I was done and thought about it, I realized that Campbell HAD to write it this way. This Genesis Fleet trilogy is about the creation of The Alliance, a political body. Therefore politics has to play a large part in what happens. It is ugly and unpleasant but shows the necessity of such things. While it is more “fun” to read about a Space General Emperor (as in the Empire Rising space opera) sweeping all before him with his mighty space fleet and routing the evil villainous politicians in a week, that’s not how it works because of human nature. When you have a group of humans working together, the best you can hope for is that nobody is pleased but nobody wants to kill the others. Which means making decisions that aren’t optimal. Campbell does just that. I didn’t like it, not at all. I want my heroes to swoop in, throw down the gauntlet, save the day and ride off into the sunset on their space horse. While whistling a jaunty tune.
I suspect the rest of the trilogy will follow similar lines. Politics are going to play a very large part and I’m mentally and emotionally preparing myself for that. The things I put up with. I should get an award, or at least be Sainted. Saint Bookstooge has a nice ring, don’t you think?
★★★☆☆
From Fandom.com
The Genesis Fleet chronicles events in the years leading up to the formation of the Alliance in the early years of the Faster-Than-Light Jump Drive. The books mainly focus on 4 characters on two of the newly established colonies of Glenlyon and Kosatka, after capturing a ship threating extortion on the new colony of Glenlyon, Former Fleet officer Robert Geary, ancestor of the legendary Admiral John 'Black Jack' Geary, is forced to defend his new home on a ship of volunteers, while on the surface former enlisted marine Mele Darcy leads a militia of volunteers with improvised equipment against the hostile forces of the colony of Scatha. Meanwhile in the nearby system of Kosatka relies upon the diplomatic skills of a failed polition and businessman, Lochan Nakamura, and assistance of a former red from Mars, Carman Ochoa, ancestor of Battlecruiser Captain Tanya Desjani. While the new colonies struggle to fight off aggression from other colonies Old Earth and the Old Colonies begin downsizing their militaries, selling off surplus military equipment and ships, both Glenlyon and Kosatka supplement their defence forces with recruits and officers from Old Earth and the Old Colonies. Three years later Glenlyon calls on Marine Captain Mele Darcy and Fleet Officer Commander Robert Geary to help defend them again after losing a warship to an enemy fleet, the only hope for lasting peace comes from people like Lochan Nakamura hoping to form an Alliance with other systems also facing attacks on their own borders.
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