Book 4), Valiant (The Lost Fleet

This is a great entry in Jack Campbell's series. It delves a bit more into the increased intrigue (and boy, is there a lot of it this time 'round) and machinations of fleet politics and is a little lighter on the battles than the first few books but that doesn't mean it doesn't stand up to its predecessors in every respect.

It's been interesting to see the evolution of the characters over the past four books by Geary and his core group of captains, Duellos, Cresida, and especially Desjani, who I believe to be one of the most well-written and interesting characters in sci-fi these days. I've never much cared for Co-President Rione. I think she's a bit too histrionic for anybody who could possibly be president of anything. Then again, she's the one they sent on the potential suicide mission so maybe her people see her that way, too.

The sense of impending dread is getting larger, the stakes are getting higher, and Black Jack Geary is facing even more dangerous enemies...foreign, domestic, and alien. I'm not sure what is going to happen next, but I was a lot happier when I bought and finished the first three books in a week and only had to wait two months for the next one to come out.

I loved the Lost Fleet series. I read them all. Very good tactical warfare and a sense of stress in battle with a little bit of the frustrations of management as in "Dilbert" thrown in to make it real.

This was a fine addition to a very enjoyable series. I won't repeat all the plot lines and character twists in this review but I will add that it seems like this book in particular is positioning itself for whatever follow-up series that might be in the works. It continues its repetition of the whole "Black Jack" resisting all the temptations placed before him... blah blah blah but that's a minor annoyance. It does a masterful job (as always) with the fleet psychology and physics of space battle.

If you endured the slight lag in book 3 then this will have been worth it.

Captain Jack Geary the Legendary "Black Jack Geary" is blasting through the Syndic Navy on the way to bringing the Alliance fleet home. 100 years of war has lead to a severe downgrade of fleet Commanders and Jack uses every trick and tactic to keep the fleet alive. Jack learns that the rank and file of the Alliance Fleet finally believe in him and his enemies within the fleet learn this too. So the mindless opposition in fleet conferences are replaced by subtle and hidden attempts against Jack and those close too him. The best book since the first in the series well worth reading.

Valiant, the fourth book in the Lost Fleet series, is just as jam-packed with battle action as the previous books. The alien mystery deepens, there are more battles and ships lost, and even Geary's life is threatened as the Lost Fleet make steady progress towards Alliance space. I couldn't put Valient down, it was just so darned good. As always Campbell's battle descriptions are right on par and make for tense reading, given the distances in terms of light years - the events in the Lakota system really highlight how things can happen well before they are seen, given the distance that light travels. Campbell continues to high-light the themes of honour and duty, as well as the importance of military discipline - once again we see that human nature can be very slow at learning from their mistakes, even though the evidence is right before our eyes. The glory hunters in the Alliance Fleet are still throwing their lives away un-necessarily, but more captains, officers and sailors are beginning to value the importance of living to fight another day. A highly recommend series that is fast becoming one of my all-time favourite books to read.

Captain Jack Geary the Legendary "Black Jack Geary" is blasting through the Syndic Navy on the way to bringing the Alliance fleet home. 100 years of war has lead to a severe downgrade of fleet Commanders and Jack uses every trick and tactic to keep the fleet alive. Jack learns that the rank and file of the Alliance Fleet finally believe in him and his enemies within the fleet learn this too. So the mindless opposition in fleet conferences are replaced by subtle and hidden attempts against Jack and those close too him. The best book since the first in the series well worth reading.

Valiant, the fourth book in the Lost Fleet series, is just as jam-packed with battle action as the previous books. The alien mystery deepens, there are more battles and ships lost, and even Geary's life is threatened as the Lost Fleet make steady progress towards Alliance space. I couldn't put Valient down, it was just so darned good. As always Campbell's battle descriptions are right on par and make for tense reading, given the distances in terms of light years - the events in the Lakota system really highlight how things can happen well before they are seen, given the distance that light travels. Campbell continues to high-light the themes of honour and duty, as well as the importance of military discipline - once again we see that human nature can be very slow at learning from their mistakes, even though the evidence is right before our eyes. The glory hunters in the Alliance Fleet are still throwing their lives away un-necessarily, but more captains, officers and sailors are beginning to value the importance of living to fight another day. A highly recommend series that is fast becoming one of my all-time favourite books to read.

This book rocks. The action is great, the characters have evolved or are evoling. Don't want to ruin the whole thing for you first time readers, but not only does Blackjack win the war in a unique way, but he also does something about the aliens leaving room for several more books and he does get the love of his life by blundering through his choices. Hope this review helps you choose this book

The culmination of the six book series. Everything comes to a rather abrupt halt, but Campbell wraps up all the lose ends very nicely and leaves you wanting more - which he provides in the next series.

Jack Campbell is an excellent military scifi write! While he is no David Webber and Black Jack is no Honor Harrington they are both a close second. If you enjoy Honorverse then you will enjoy The Lost Fleet series.

Jack Campbell is an excellent military scifi write! While he is no David Webber and Black Jack is no Honor Harrington they are both a close second. If you enjoy Honorverse then you will enjoy The Lost Fleet series.

Great realistic character building throughout the series. Campbell carries a story quite well. Heroes, much like "Black Jack" are men and women who never asked for the title but were strong enough to always do the right thing and bear the win or loss as their own.

As with the previous three books, my reading of the fourth book in the series leaves me longing for more. The exciting adventure continues: the complexity of the battle scenes, the threats from three corners, and the struggles of personalities make this an outstanding read.