Implacable (Lost Fleet: Outlands #3) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Implacable
Series: Lost Fleet: Outlands #3
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 284
Words: 107K

More aliens show up, insane Syndics show up, renegade Alliance ships show up and it is all up to Geary to balance things and make it work out.

Which he does.

There’s a lot of politic’ing going on. I enjoyed this story despite that. This catches me up on the Lost Fleet books, so I will let Campbell go off my radar for several years until he decides to write more. And if he doesn’t, then this was a decent place to end. I appreciate that he wrote things that way.

★★★✬☆

From Fandom.com

As far from explored space as any human has ever been, Geary and the Alliance fleet are on their own, protecting a diplomatic mission in territory belonging to an alien species with still-unknown motives. His already complex and dangerous mission is further imperilled by deadly challenges from other human factions seeking to harm or exploit the aliens. When another alien species whose technology is far more advanced than humanity’s arrives, the stakes are raised to the highest possible level. Only the most serious danger comes from an unexpected source. When presented with orders to carry out actions he believes not only are mistaken but would be contrary to the ideals of the Alliance, Geary has to finally decide whether he must invoke the power that his long-revered name holds, all the while knowing that this might endanger his entire fleet, tear apart the Alliance, and destroy everything he has fought for.

Resolute (Lost Fleet: Outlands #2) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Resolute
Series: Lost Fleet: Outlands #2
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 295
Words: 115K

Black Jack is hampered by traitors in his own ranks, men and women who are trying to sabotage the diplomatic mission to the Dancers. Then more aliens show up and bring their own set of problems to the table.

This is basically Geary handling one problem after another and doing his best to not turn into a Tyrant to sweep the Alliance away and start it over.

I enjoyed it. It’s very typical Jack Campbell writing and story telling and while it didn’t blow me out of the water, it more than did its job of entertaining me and helping me wile away a couple of hours. That is really all I expect from a Lost Fleet novel. It delivered and I am satisfied.

End of Review.

On a different subject.

With some of these “series” that are long going but have different sub-series (Lost Fleet, for example, has the original Lost Fleet books, then the Beyond the Frontiers and then Lost Stars, the Genesis Fleet and now this Outlands series but they are all one continuing story’ish), I include links at the bottom of a review so you can see all of the books in that series or sub-series. My recent review of Pyramids is a good example of that. At the very bottom I have a list of links to various categories of Discworld. I’ve done that with earlier Lost Fleet books, but I haven’t with the recent series (Outlands and Genesis Fleet) and I wonder, does anyone ever use those links? If I am interested in a series that another blogger is reviewing, I will frequently click something like that if they offer it. But I am not interested in them very often. Thanks for any input.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Geary knows that some political factions in the Alliance were just trying to get rid of him when he was assigned to escort a diplomatic and scientific mission to the far reaches of humanity's expansion into the galaxy . . . and beyond. But he views his mission as both a duty and an opportunity to make things better wherever he can. And when a crippled Rift Federation ship tumbles out of jump space, Geary leaps into action. But the survivors' story isn't completely adding up.

As Geary investigates, he soon finds himself fending off spies and assassins while leading the fleet as it fights its way across space controlled by the mysterious and hostile aliens whom humans call enigmas. Challenges arrive at every turn, including an unknown alien species that invites the fleet to visit one of their star systems. With little information to go on, Geary must weigh the benefits of potential new allies against the possibility of a trap. The fate of the fleet--and perhaps even the future of humanity--will depend on him making the right decision.

If he can stay alive long enough to do that.

Boundless (Lost Fleet: Outlands #1) 3.5Stars

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 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 WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

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

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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.

★★★✬☆

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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. . . .