|
| Fearless (The Lost Fleet, Book 2) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jack Campbell
Publisher: Ace
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.95
You Save: $4.04 (51%)
New (34) Used (18) from $3.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  58 reviews
Sales Rank: 1652
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 1
ISBN: 0441014763
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780441014767
ASIN: 0441014763
Publication Date: January 30, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: GREAT BUY!Brand New From US Distributor! WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3,500,000 BOOKS SOLD!!! OVER ~ 600,000 FEEDBACKS ~ POSTED!!!
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Captain John "Black Jack" Geary tries a desperate gamble to lead the Alliance Fleet home-through enemy-occupied space-only to lose half the Fleet to an unexpected mutiny.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 53 more reviews...
 Strangely compelling but not really good sci-fi March 11, 2007
55 out of 76 found this review helpful
You've been stranded in space, locked up and kept in stasis in a rescue pod. Then there's a fleet, picks you up, welcomes you on board as a legendary hero. Obviously someone didn't keep his mouth shut when they left you to die in defense of their retreat... But had they known you would have survived, they might not have mythologized you quite so much. Anyway... All command officers are executed by the enemy and you have to sort it out.
This is the second book. In the previous one, you save your fleet from annihilation. In this one, you start pounding away at the enemy.
What is rather strange is that it's quite difficult to stop reading. It's not written terribly well. There's too many long monologues. There's not quite enough actions. The space battles sometimes make you think of the early books of R.A. Salvatore, losing himself in descriptions of fights of which you knew they wouldn't end with the death of the hero. There's not much psychological development of the main character (or actually, of any of the other characters). There's a little too much omnipotence of Jack Geary (obviously, because the author Jack Campbell sees himself as a Jack Geary in real life).
So. This story is really a tale of morals on why the military has the rules it has (discipline, order, military justice etc. etc.). The enemy is the bad guys mainly characterized by the fact that they aren't good military (i.e. don't have any honor, mistreat prisoners etc. etc.).
And yet... It's not really bad either. And quite difficult to stop reading. I think I'll have to buy the 3rd book in this series as well.
Hits many targets, but misses one big one June 24, 2007
41 out of 49 found this review helpful
Preface: This is the sequel to the excellent Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1), wherein we met John "Black Jack" Geary, a captain who was long thought to have been killed in a battle a century earlier. Centuries into humanity's future, colonies have spread out to the stars, and eventually settled into two groups: the Syndicate (authoritarian regime that de-emphasizes individuality, akin to the Communism of China or the Soviet Union) and the Alliance (a group of allied democratic colonies, akin to NATO). A century before the events in the first book, war broke out between the Syndicate and the Alliance and, in the first battle, Black Jack Geary sacrificed himself to save a convoy of ships. But, he was not killed, and survived, in stasis in a lifepod, only to be rescued a century later. As Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1) opens, John Geary is just being revived as an Alliance Fleet falls into a trap, with all the senior officers wiped out. Black Jack Geary inherits the mantle of leadership, and manages to get his "lost fleet" part of the way home.
The sequel: This story picks up right where the last one left off. The Lost Fleet goes into a Syndicate star system, does some damage, and rescues a group of prisoners of war. In that group is Captain "Fighting" Falco, a man known for many bloody victories, in which both sides took equally heavy losses. Falco is arrogant, ruthless, and power-hungry, as he sincerely sees himself as the savior of the Alliance. He promptly challenges Geary for leadership of the fleet, and eventually leads a mutiny.
With about a quarter of the Lost Fleet now gone, Geary continues to guide the remainder back toward Alliance territory, in as unpredictable a manner as possible, and while causing the Syndicate severe damage along the way. Geary also continues to try to come to grips with how much has changed during his century of stasis, while reintroducing forgotten values and tactics to the Lost Fleet. But, he is not done with Fighting Falco.
What I liked: There is a nice balance between action sequences, dialog, and philosophical introspection. John Geary's character continues to develop, especially as romance and friendship both come unexpectedly into play. Geary also faces temptation, as he is given almost complete obedience by his officers and the opportunity to enact revenge, without questioning or second-guessing. Will he stick to his values, or will he vent his rage? Two of Geary's officers, Duellos and Cresida, also experience good character development in this sequel. I like the writing of Jack Campbell (a.k.a. John Hemry), as it flows well and creates one of those "I don't want to stop" experiences.
What I did not care for: In my opinion, the author missed a chance for this to be an even better story than it is. I have to be careful about making this point, as I do not want to divulge too much of the story, but there is eventually a major confrontation between Geary and Falco, but the Falco character, by that point, has changed in such a way as to make the confrontation almost meaningless. When Falco first enters the story, he is a powerful, charismatic, but flawed man, who could go toe-to-toe with Geary. This prepares the reader for an eventual showdown between two heavyweight contenders, like Muhammed Ali and Joe Frasier. But, instead of being treated to "The Thilla in Manilla," it's more like Joe Frasier stepping into the ring, right after his right arm was amputated. Falco has so changed, by the time the showdown occurs, that he is clearly out of contention, and is no match for Geary. If the author had kept Falco more intact, we (readers) could have had a lot more drama and complexity to the story, which could then have carried over to the next book in the series, Courageous (The Lost Fleet, Book 3). Perhaps, Falco will be rehabilitated and again be a match for Geary. I hope so, as I want Geary to defeat Falco, instead of winning by default. However, whatever the outcome of Falco-Geary is, the fact that Falco found followers and there were splits in the fleet, point to bigger, still unresolved problems for Geary and for the lost fleet, paving the way for the next book.
What baffled me: Uh, where does the title come from? I kept expecting Geary to move from the Dauntless to the Fearless (another ship in the Lost Fleet), but Fearless does not play a significant role in this story.
Conclusion: This is good military science fiction. Despite the flaw in the story-line involving Falco, it's a good read, although not quite on a par with John Scalzi's Old Man's War or The Ghost Brigades.
 Book Two . . . Just as good! January 30, 2007
26 out of 30 found this review helpful
This is the second book in the Lost Fleet series that follows the adventures of Black Jack Geary. I loved the first book and I loved this one, for the same reasons mainly. The story is original and intersting, you believe the characters are real people with real decisions to make, and great action. Jack Campbells view of space travel and space warfare much more like I'd actually expect to see. Space may free you from gravity, but not physics. This book is also very character driven for a military sci-fi book or really any sci-fi book. That is, with out doubt, my favorite part of the book. Fearless is a very interesting and fast read. Don't take that the wrong way, fast in a good way. The story doesn't suffer, but you'll actually have time to read it!
A Study of Leadership April 21, 2007
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I applaud Mr. Campbell for taking naval fiction into the future instead of yet another rewrite of the Napoleonic war. He has obviously given great consideration to what a space battle would entail--no other science fiction author has, to my knowledge, dealt with the issues presented by ships that can travel at appreciable fractions of the speed of light.
To fully understand these books one must realize that they are not primarily science fiction; rather, The Lost Fleet is a book about leadership, honor, morality and the fighting of war. A Fleet that had lost the nuances of military strategy, with commanders who vote on strategy and then undertake heroic but idiotic frontal assaults has been taken over by a survivor from a prior battle who possesses an understanding of lost tactics and strategy as well as an outdated sense of honor and morality that has been sacrificed to expediency in the endless war.
Book Two adds a couple new wrinkles not the least of which is our hero's realization that there is a very, very dark side to an advanced technology developed during his hibernation. In the same fashion that nuclear weapons changed warfare; "Black Jack" Geary figures out that a new power has emerged and must decide what to do with the knowledge he possesses.
Campbell focuses on his leader and while ostensibly about space battles this author is merely developing a fascinating character. Like O'Brian's Captain Aubrey, John Geary's faith in his training and leadership skills unites a fleet and provides for some excellent adventure. These works are very well written and are a cut above most offerings of the genre to which they supposedly belong. I look forward to following Geary's adventures.
Engrossing technical military sci fi January 31, 2007
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Fearless is the second book of the Lost Fleet series following the debut book titled Dauntless.
Captain "Black Jack" Geary has managed to do the impossible. In the first book, he saved the Alliance fleet from almost assured destruction by the Syndicate worlds military space fleet who had lured the Alliance into a trap. Jack Geary, an alliance hero who was found in cryo sleep on a malfunctioning escape pod from a war 100 years earlier, had assumed control of the alliance fleet and through a series of stunning displays of military tactics took an undisciplined Alliance fleet and turned them into an effective and coordinated unit. The alliance fleet found themselves on the run back to their home system, unable to use the Hypernet gates that would get them there quickly and in possession of the key to the syndic worlds own hypernet gates. The Syndic force is in relentless pursuit and it is only through Jack Geary's military cunning that the alliance force has been able to evade destruction.
This second book has the Alliance force on the offensive as they attack a syndic worlds systems and also facing new problems from the inside as another hero to the alliance is found alive on a sydicate worlds labor camp.
Jack Campbell has created a believable futuristic landscape utilizing believable physics in his universe of science fiction warfare . I am not normally a reader of science fiction and I happened to pick the first book up as it caught my eye. I read "Dauntless" in short order, was hooked and was excited to see this second book on the bookstand. This book was another thriller.
Jack Campbell deserves a wide audience for this book, if not for it being a fun series to read, then for his intellectual prowess for envisioning realistic battle scenes and strategies.
The first book is not a necessity, but it is recommended.
I wholeheartedly endorse this book.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
