Beyond the Frontier--Invincible (Lost Fleet Beyond/Frontier 2) by Jack Campbell (25-May-2012) Paperback

So much thought has gone into this book and series. The notion that one would have time to sleep before or even during a battle because of the immense distances and time involved intrigued me, So I went ahead and got the whole series.

Jack Campbell continues to deliver a quality read with "Beyond the Frontier: Invincible". Plenty of action as well as setting up the characters and situation. Also the well planned action scenes set up a picture in ones mind that greatly increases the enjoyment. Well done Jack!

After a relatively benign prior book(Dreadnaught), Jack Campbell returns to Lost Fleet mode. Sent to investigate aliens beyond human boundaries, John Geary does just that. He finds some races friendly and some not but in true Black Jack style, he negotiates all challenges in this well written sequel to his Lost Fleet novels only to find, on his return, that human space may turn out to be more challenging than the aliens.

After a relatively benign prior book(Dreadnaught), Jack Campbell returns to Lost Fleet mode. Sent to investigate aliens beyond human boundaries, John Geary does just that. He finds some races friendly and some not but in true Black Jack style, he negotiates all challenges in this well written sequel to his Lost Fleet novels only to find, on his return, that human space may turn out to be more challenging than the aliens.

I was expecting a return to home with this installment, instead we are delayed so Commander Hemry can tease us into a side story. Black Jack is as human as ever, but not so much as a kiss from his wife is hard to believe! This old Air Force guy is hoping for better next time.

No one reading this is considering starting the series with this volume, so I will simply note that "Black Jack" Geary, having defeated the Syndics, is still leading his fleet in the far reaches of space, now encountering and defeating previously unknown and hostile aliens but also finding yet another race of aliens. He and his fleet have been dispatched by the Alliance for unclear reasons and, as before, they are on their own in "Indian country", with ships that are being worn down by their use well past their expected spans.

Jack Campbell has joined E.E. Smith (from the age of pulps), Isaac Asimov, and David Weber as the leading authors of series depicting large fleets of spaceships in combat (and, yes, I know that was not the real focus of the Foundation books). His descriptions of fleet tactics are convincing, and his continuing examination of command dynamics within the fleet remains an important part of the series' charm. The difficulty of communicating with aliens receives appropriate attention, and his ongoing relationships, the legend of "Black Jack" and the star-based religion of the fleet's personnel are still there.

I expect any series to start to flag after the third volume, but The Lost Fleet is still going on full propulsion. This story, which I had pre-ordered for the Kindle, is a worthy addition and absolutely should be read by anyone who likes the series.

Having read all of the previous books in the series, I have been really waiting for this book to come out and continue the story - Kindle purists will probably puke as I can't believe I paid more than ten bucks for the Kindle version, but I had to get my Black Jack fix,

While I did get my fix, this latest installment was rather...boring. Continuing from the preceding novel of the series, I was looking for a little more space battle "action," and some of the scenes just seem to continue on and on - it's been over a year since the previous installment of the series, and maybe the author has run his course on creating something new with the series. I didn't much like the ending as he left you hanging....it's almost as if the author said "it's time to wrap this one up" and just stopped. Guess I will just have to wait - and hopefully not for long - until the next book in the series comes out, but if the pricing is like it was for this edition I will sit and wait due to the relative bland factor of the last two books in the series.

Invincible is the best book in the series yet. While the action has not signifigantly changed, each faction that Black Jack fights has its own distinct tactics and flair, while still using the same univesal laws. However the main change in this book is that the humor is much better. The potshots taken at the marketing team for the series are both in good taste and very funny.
Also, duct tape.

I agree with the other comments regarding the absurd pricing - but I bought it anyway as I had to get my fix.

That said I've noticed there's an issue when viewing this title on my PC via the Kindle for Windows app - the first page of every chapter is unreadable. It displays the Chapter number/name clearly but then the remainder of the page is nothing but blocky black rectangles - imagine an entire page of text being redacted. All of the other formats I use - native Kindle (1st gen) and Kindle for Android - don't have this issue. For $12.95 I think it's not asking for much for this to be readable on *any* supported Kindle platform.

My low review isn't a comment on Mr. Campbell or the book but on the publisher's price and the fact that it has technical issues in the Windows app.

Update: I was running an older version of the Kindle for PC app (1.8.3). Trying it on another PC running the 1.9.1 level I saw that the problem does not exist - so this is not a publisher issue, per se, but an issue with older releases of the Kindle for PC software. FYI the most current version is 1.9.2.
I've changed my review to 4 stars - love the book, but hate the publisher's pricing.

Invincible (2012) is the second SF novel in the Beyond the Frontier subseries of the Lost Fleet sequence, following Dreadnaught. The initial work in this series is Dauntless.

In the previous volume, Jack and Tanya were returning to duty after twenty-six days of honeymoon. Jack had been avoiding the news and was now catching up. He was grumbling about the state secrets that had been released to the public. He was also upset about the slant that the newspapers were taking on the stories.

Tanya had talked to a politician -- a friend of her mother -- who said that, after a century of war, no one knew how to handle a peace. The politicians were trying to distract the public. In fact, they were using the aliens as a bogeyman to keep the Alliance together.

They disembarked at Ambaru station to find two lines of ground force soldiers forming a corridor for the pair. Geary wondered whether the troops are an honor guard or just thinly disguised muscle. At least the troops were not armored.

More soldiers were holding back the crowd packed into the space. The crowd burst into cheers and Geary saw Timbale at the other end of the honor guard. Probably this was not another attempt to arrest him.

In this novel, Jack Geary is a Fleet Admiral over the First Fleet. He fought the aliens at Midway and learned more about their capabilities.

Tanya Desjani is an Alliance Captain, commanding the Dauntless. She is Geary's Flag Captain and is now his wife.

Jane Geary is an Alliance Captain, commanding officer of the battleship Dreadnaught. She is also Jack's grandniece.

Iger is an Alliance Lieutenant in charge of fleet intelligence. His SIGINT group provides most of the initial data on alien cultures.

Carabali is now an Alliance General. She is the commanding officer of the fleet Marines.

In this story, the First Fleet is jumping out of an Enigma system. The aliens are in close pursuit. Another alien species occupies the next system.

The human fleet has fought its way out of the jump exit, destroying many alien ships. They have passed the huge fortress at the exit and are now heading toward another jump point.

Jack receives data on the new aliens from intelligence and the alien xenology group. Iger says the visual signals indicate that the new aliens are herbivores. The teddy bear-cows gather together into herds and have a few really big superbattleships in additional to countless smaller ships.

The human fleet disables the propulsion of an alien superbattleship. Carabali's Marines clean out the defenders. The aliens tend to fight to the death, but the Marines capture six living aliens. The huge ship is taken along on their homeward journey.

Xenology points out that herbivores can be very dangerous. They have an enormous population in the system. And they fling themselves into battle without regard to casualties.

After another battle, the First Fleet avoids the next fortress and enters the next jump point. On the other side, they encounter a truly alien species shaped like spiders. Luckily, these aliens fight with the humans against the pursuing bear-cows.

The new aliens are the hardest to understand, but seem friendly. Jack gets info from his xenology group that indicates the aliens are not likely to be aggressive, but are deadly on defense. When the First Fleet leaves the system, six spider ships accompany them through the jump point.

Jack has problems with his grandniece. Jane is acting like a loose cannon. She has saved the fleet by her quick thinking, but she is still too aggressive. Jack has a quiet talk with her about following her own path.

This tale takes Jack and the First Fleet back to Syndic space. An Enigma fleet is ahead of them. Luckily, this fleet has cleared most of the defenders from the systems crossed by the human fleet.

Jack and the First Fleet return to the Alliance. The next installment in this sequence is Tarnished Knight. It is the initial work in a new subseries.

Highly recommended for Campbell fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of fleet command, naval combat, and alien psychology. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

To a large extent, "Beyond the Frontier" volume 2 (Invincible) continues in the same line as all of the previous Lost Fleet episodes, with the same ingredients being used. Accordingly, "fans" of the Lost Fleet (including myself) will get what they are used to: the usual "bantering" between Black Jack and his two closest female associates, the usual bits of intrigue and "complex" relationships between him and some of his captains (his niece, in particular) and the usual (and rather impressive) space battle.

Although I very much liked Tarnished Knight, largely because it was different, I just could not help feeling a strong sense of "déjà vu" and a certain lack of originality when reading this book and it left me a bit disenchanted. I recognize however that this subjective feeling is somewhat unfair in two respects. As a first new element, the author introduces us to three alien races, so two more in addition to the ones already meet in "Beyond the Frontier: Dreadnaught". Secondly, as Black Jack and his worn out Fleet rush back to defend human space, the threads come together between this book and "The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight". Note however that both books can very well be read separately.

Even then, however, and although I still liked and enjoyed the book, I was not exactly "carried away" anymore, as I had been with some of the previous titles. Nor did I like it quite as much as Tarnished Knight. Maybe some of the previous "magic" has worn off a little, as each "Lost Fleet" book (there are six of them) and now each "Beyond the Frontier" (currently two with the third volume due to be published shortly) book tends to contain the same or very similar ingredients. After a number of volumes, this tends to get somewhat repetitive even if still enjoyable...

Jack Campbell has become one of my favorite authors in this genre, giving as much pleasure as David Weber, or even the great (and revered) Isaac Asimov. His story telling skill and interweaving of his military background into the storyline make for a most enjoyable read. In this day and age, it is a pleasure and relief not to have to stumble through characters who cannot utter nothing more intelligible than four-letter words, or have the libidos of nymphomaniacs. READ these books, and ENJOY these tales. I have become invested in Black Jack Geary and avidly look forward to each volume.

"Jack Campbell" continues to deliver the elements that originally attracted me to The Lost Fleet series: space battles, drama, and politics.

Unlike most space opera, where ships seem to be able to go on forever, our hero has to deal with serious maintenance problems on his fleet, that has, against all odds, survived well beyond its expected service life. He has to deal with two more alien races, then with Syndics again. Finally, he faces the most daunting prospect of all - getting through the crumbling Syndic empire and going home to an Alliance where "Black Jack Geary" is an inconveniently living legend. That's for the next book, though.

I also like Mr. Hemry's little self-referential comment about the covers for The Lost Fleet series. Find it yourself.

Mr. Hemry is also going to pursue a new track in The Lost Fleet universe, telling the story of a Syndic system trying to go its own way after the defeat of the Syndics. I look forward to "The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight."