Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road: Jack Campbell

Showing posts with label Jack Campbell. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Boundless (Lost Fleet: Outlands #1) 3.5Stars

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Title: Boundless
Series: Lost Fleet: Outlands #1
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 317
Words: 124K

After reading the prequel series The Genesis Fleet and not being very impressed, I was wondering how I was going to handle Campbell’s foray into the next Black Jack Geary Adventure. It has been 8 years after all.

Thankfully, Campbell does a great job of recapping things and bringing wayward readers like myself up to speed. Thus I dived back into the Lost Fleet universe and had myself a grand old time.

This was everything that previous Lost Fleet books are. You get Jack Geary being forced to walk that impossible line between doing the right thing while corrupt politicians do everything in their power to destroy him by hook or by crook. He’s given conflicting orders, hampered by stupid citizenry, surrounded by enemies as well as crew who border on hero worship of the worst kind.

There are space battles but thankfully that plays a smaller part than usual. I have had my fill of space battles from reading the Empire Rising series by Holmes. Sadly, with Campbell being a retired Navy officer, there’s not much space marine fighting described. It’s all ship to ship, sigh.

Overall though, I had a better time reading this than the Genesis fleet trilogy and that bodes well for the rest of the trilogy.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

click to open

Geary believed in the Alliance. Even when he uncovered overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps, he believed it was worth saving. And that his duty was to see that justice was served even though some factions feared that revealing the truth would cause the Alliance to crumble.

But after narrowly surviving two assassination attempts when he brings evidence of the misdeeds to the capital star system, Geary realizes that some have decided the easiest way to make the Alliance’s problems go away is to get rid of him. He finds himself ordered to undertake a perilous new mission outside of the reaches of human-occupied space while the Senate clashes over the evidence.

Geary’s warships must escort a diplomatic and scientific mission across the dangerous, disintegrating remnants of the Syndicate Worlds empire. But even if he can make it to Midway Star System, the gateway to alien-controlled space, Geary will face former Syndicate officials who have rebelled and regard the Alliance with deep suspicion. And that will be the easy part. . . .

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Triumphant (Genesis Fleet #3)(Lost Fleet) 3.5Stars

Title: Triumphant
Series: Genesis Fleet #3 (Lost Fleet)
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 266
Words: 103K

Much better than the previous two books. Lots less detailed politic’ing and lots more fighting. Don’t read that wrong, there is some politics going on, but it is almost skated over, as if Campbell realized that the readers of his books aren’t necessarily armchair socio-political theoreticians. Give the people what they want Mac, which is ships blowing each other up and space marines fighting tooth and nail to the bitter end.

That is what I want out of a Jack Campbell/Lost Fleet book. Space action, whether ship to ship or groundpounders beating the stuffing out of each other. Give me that and nine times out of ten I’ll be satisfied.

I do feel that the trilogy got off to a shaky start with the first book but it has ended strong here. Not a place I’d recommend for Lost Fleet newbs though. There are too many references to family names that are recognizable to veteran readers of the Lost Fleet that will simply have zero meaning for anyone who hasn’t read the series up to this point.

★★★✬☆

From Jack-Campbell.com & Bookstooge.blog

Synopsis – Click to Open

The recently colonized world of Glenlyon has learned that they’re stronger when they stand with other star systems than they are on their own. But after helping their neighbor Kosatka against an invasion, Glenlyon has become a target. The aggressive star systems plan to neutralize Glenlyon before striking again.

An attack is launched against Glenlyon’s orbital facility with forces too powerful for fleet officer Rob Geary to counter using their sole remaining destroyer, Saber. Mele Darcy’s Marines must repel repeated assaults while their hacker tries to get into the enemy systems to give Saber a fighting chance.

To survive, Glenlyon needs more firepower, and the only source for that is their neighbor Kosatka or other star systems that have so far remained neutral. But Kosatka is still battling the remnants of the invasion forces on its own world, and if it sends its only remaining warship to help will be left undefended against another invasion. While Carmen Ochoa fights for the freedom of Kosatka, Lochan Nakamura must survive assassins as he tries to convince other worlds to join a seemingly hopeless struggle.

As star systems founded by people seeking freedom and autonomy, will Kosatka, Glenlyon and others be able to overcome deep suspicions of surrendering any authority to others? Will the free star systems stand together in a new Alliance, or fall alone?

Of course, they stand together, defeat the bad guys and form the beginning of the entity known as The Alliance.

Wednesday, June 05, 2024

Ascendant (Genesis Fleet #2) (Lost Fleet) 3Stars

Title: Ascendant
Series: Genesis Fleet #2 (Lost Fleet)
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 280
Words: 109K

This started really politically heavy, to the point where I considered dnf’ing this. But after a couple of chapters he went back to the tried and true “underdog takes on impossible odds against very unsavory people and wins” way of writing.

One thing that stood out to me this time was just how squeamish Campbell makes his good guys. They kill the bad guys but moan and piss before hand, during it and after. You’d think they were offing their own dear sainted grandmother instead of brutal thugs intent on killing them and everyone they love and know. There is a point where good guys need to keep from becoming brutal thugs themselves, but making them emotional weaklings isn’t the way to do that.

I’ll be reading final book in this trilogy but I must say, it’s the weakest story that Campbell has written so far. I don’t recommend this trilogy to anyone but hardcore Lost Fleet fans.

★★★☆☆

From the Publishers

In the three years since former fleet officer Rob Geary and former Marine Mele Darcy led improvised forces to repel attacks on the newly settled world of Glenlyon, tensions have only gotten worse.
When one of Glenlyon’s warships is blown apart trying to break the blockade that has isolated the world from the rest of human-colonized space, only the destroyer Saber remains to defend it from another attack. Geary’s decision to take Saber to the nearby star Kosatka to safeguard a diplomatic mission is a risky interpretation of his orders, to say the least.
Kosatka has been fighting a growing threat from so-called rebels–who are actually soldiers from aggressive colonies. When a “peacekeeping force” carrying thousands of enemy soldiers arrives in Kosatka’s star system, the people of that world, including Lochan Nakamura and former “Red” Carmen Ochoa, face an apparently hopeless battle to retain their freedom.
It’s said that the best defense is a good offense. But even if a bold and risky move succeeds, Geary and Darcy may not survive it…

All of My “Jack Campbell” Reviews

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Vanguard (Genesis Fleet #1) (Lost Fleet) 3Stars

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.

Vanguard (2017 Review)