Courageous: Lost Fleet, Book 3

This is the third book in the Lost Fleet military science fiction series. If you like military SF with excellent space battles and brave, unambiguously ethical protagonists, then I highly recommend this series (though you should begin with book one: Dauntless). The space battles are indeed excellent. The hero is sympathetic and unquestionably good. The science fiction content is mostly strong, both the space battles and the backdrop they take place against, with hints of further things brewing in the background as the series progresses. I note that the plot feels contrived to force our hero into difficult situations, and that the factions among his officers lack much nuance. But right now I am in the mood for a hero I can root for in an uncomplicated way -- plus I am loving the space battles -- so I shall be proceeding straight to book four.About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

Courageous continues the lost fleet's journey across enemy lines under the capable and inspiring leadership of Captain 'Black Jack' Geary. As usual Campbell's characters are well-developed and complex and bursting out of the page - particularly Black Jack who deals not only with issues of being a man a century out of time, but also recalcitrant Fleet Captains and his own legendary status. Campbell's complex battle scenes utilise hard science principles to navigate the reader through the battle engagements of the Alliance and Syndic naval forces. In this latest book, we find the Alliance fleet in a dire way - they are running low on fuel, food and munitions. The irony is that their problem has been created due to the Fleets own efficiency - their auxillary ships have not accounted for a Fleet that has had fewer losses than normal. Under Captain Geary, the Alliance has lost far fewer ships because of his more cautious approach - he is unwilling to throw away his ships and their crews needlessly in demonstrations of glory-hunting. On the other hand, his auxillary vessel's (Witch, Goblin, Jinn, etc) systems are well used to managing a fleet that regularly suffers huge losses and subsequently adjusts the fleet's needs, factoring in these losses - a cruel joke for Black Jack and the Alliance Fleet. With their supplies low, the Fleet jump into the the Syndic system of Lokota where they find a stronger Syndic force than expected - will the Alliance Fleet make it out or will this be their last hurrah? An exciting, tense and dramatic addition to the Lost Fleet series.

This series is more than another space opera. It's a story of the people of a space fleet, commanded by a ghost from the past.Normally I would consider a book like this to be boring, but the people in this book are indeed like the people in our lives today. Some are good, some are self centered and some are bad. But in a good book, there are always characters who rise above the norm and save the day.I can't stop reading the books in this series.

This first in the series was slow getting started. The author's premise was stated, but he had a hard time reaching his first objective which was, I think, to help us understand how a person might feel after they had been asleep for a century. The author didn't accomplish this until his fifth book . . . which didn't help me understand Black Jack Geary, the main character, or feel sympathy for him and his situation. (Minus one-half star). The premise of the story, TO GET HOME, was well written, and the action scenes were well-done. However, the supposed sex/love scenes with the Alliance president weren't convincing (minus one-half star). Where the author convinces me he is a military man/writer are the tactics used in the battles, and the concern for the personnel in his command.

There is just so much going on. Internal politics, a determined and organised Syndic fleet hungry for Alliance blood, new emerging threats from the edge of Syndic space. There are spectacular wins and devastating losses, ugly surprises and next to no nice ones. Still, Captain Geary is keeping faith with his ancestors and his pledge to do all that he can to see the fleet back home to Alliance space. It just may take him a bit longer to do it than he hoped.

I like this series of books a lot, great characters and a good plot that's original enough to keep me wondering what's going to happen next or how the characters are going to get out of the fix they're in.BUT!These books and Mr Campbell have one great failing in my eyes, and that's the constant repetition of certain stock phrases and descriptions. These can be overcome for the most part with just a little gentle cursing and swearing while skipping to the next paragraph, but by the time i got to third book it had all just got too much and i very nearly abandoned the entire series. Instead after a week away from being told again and again about the sodding lights in hyperspace and what people thought they represented, i picked these books up again and ploughed on.Three more books in and i'm glad i persisted, because the story does continue to develop nicely, and i have thoroughly enjoyed them.. . And it might be my imagination but it does seem like the repetition of those stock phrases is getting a bit less, a tiny, tiny bit less.

third in a series of science fiction novels about the lost fleet. There's an interstellar war on between two human groupings of worlds, the alliance and the syndic. the alliance space fleet are trapped behind enemy lines, and only their chance discovery of captain geary, an alliance hero of years before who was stuck in suspended animation for ages till the fleet found him, could save the day.Can geary get the fleet home? and can he live up to the legend he's become in the meantime?all these books run for three hundred pages. and whilst not being great literature are quite decent prose and characterisation wise.For the first hundred pages this looked like having mid book in series syndrome, in that not much happens and things continue much as before.However the remaining two hundred pages were really rather entertaining, as the space battles carry on in earnest, and the alliance fleet really struggle to survive. this was entertaining and engrossing reading, and the book ends on a cliffhanger that was really quite rousing and makes me desperate to know what will happen next.I'll be back for more. the aliens promised on the back of the book are only hinted at late on. Doubtless we'll see more of them in future volumes

What a way to leave a storyThis starship captain fleet leader has got to be britishNo way th e yanks have got the gonadsWe are english ,scottish ,welsh ,irishWe can do what we set out to doWe are human the greatest species in the universe 👿

Bought all 6 and once I started I could not put them down. Was starting to wonder how anyone in his book stayed concious with how many of them didn't realise they were holding their breath but by then I was on book 5 and think Jack Campbell can be forgiven for repeating himself when it was probably not meant for someone to read all his books in a week. I will now have to go and get the other sets.Story is simple but well written, yes it's predictable but in the same way a Bond book is. Good addictive story telling.

This is really a review for the whole series, rather than just this book. I was minded to give it a lower rating, because I seemed to finish the books quite quickly, which made me wonder about value for money; having used the Kindle versions, I hadn't seen the physical copies until I visited a bookshop recently. The books are a fair size, they just sucked me in so that I couldn't put them down, and THAT is why I finished quickly.Unlike many science fiction films, where combat in space looks like combat in an atmosphere, Jack Campbell has applied real world physics to his combat sequences. Fleets close at significant fractions of the speed of light, rely on automated systems for weapons targeting and the moment of contact is a tiny fraction of a second in which ships and crews die. It then takes half an hour or more to change vectors for another attack run. This is science fiction that puts its grounding in science, but that doesn't get in the way of reading it. It is also not afraid to depart from real world science to allow interstellar travel.As with any series, it suffers from the fact that the author has to assume that a reader is picking up a book without having read the ones before. If you read it all, it can get tedious to read about the virtual conferencing software, the maximum relative speed at which systems can target enemy vessels, the time it takes to observe and react to events occurring at light hours of distance and so on, but this repetition is a necessity in any series, so I cannot mark it down for that.The main themes of the series are the military conflict between the Alliance and the Syndicate and political conflicts within the Alliance. Personal relationships are explored to the extent that they support the main themes, so they don't become a distraction. Campbell rarely gives detais of thing like physical appearance, leaving the reader to fill in the blanks. This means that there is a significant amount of action, one reason the books are hard to put down.One thing that I found very refreshing is that this is a universe where military officers are actually portrayed as professionals, instead of the sorts of offerings we have on television today, where some people are unable to open their mouths without saying something that would get a film rated "15" in the UK ("R" in the USA?). These books seem to suggest that, whatever mistakes humanity may make along the way, such as the war that is being explored here, humanity can eventually learn to be better than it is.Having got to the end of the review, I am now thinking, is there anything in here that an Alliance politician would construe as a veiled criticism? I hope not, because I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these books.

The Lost Fleet series continue to entertain, and enthrall. At this point in the series however the lack of further character development and almost complete focus on Geary, with minor bits of Desjani, and Rione, but all through Geary has the series like a first person story told through a third person perspective.The story is still fascinating, and I will continue with the series however some of the repetition of how fleet conferences work, light speed delays, and other bits is getting a bit annoying due to this repetition.What I believe the series and novel lack is background, background of the two sides, the people involved, and the history of the conflict and human development.

I once saw a company report which had pictures of employees and managers throughout. Oddly, only the managers seemed to have names. Courageous is a bit like that. The principle characters all have identities, but everyone else is a cipher. For example, the bridge crew of Dauntless are interchangeable 'watch standers'. The losses of the ships and their casualties appear unreal. That said, the story is a good yarn which does not pretend to real psychology. It does keep you interested, although the battles can become a bit alike. I think it is the concept of mystery being slowly revealed (very slowly), that keep readers coming back.

Having recently returned to ST books, after several decades, I happened across this book series by accident & purchased Vol 1 on spec. Have found it a really good read, it's basically 'traditional' navel stories set in space at some point in the distant future. Not in the same league as Sir AC Clarke though for future interesting technical ideas!

The basic story theme was good and there were some excellent ideas along the way. Unfortunately, the story (over how many books?) was rather dragged out and could have done with some heavy editing. There was also a bold attempt to explore the central character's feelings and reactions but it was difficult to sustain over such a long series. I have to say that reading the lot became a bit of a feat of endurance.Nevertheless, I did read them, so it can't have been all that bad.

Sucker for Sci-Fi, rapidly worked my way through this series. This is not Aurther C Clarke, however that is not a denigration, these books stand up as a good read within their own rights. Good old fashioned dime store adventure novels.

I couldn't put this book down! It's a space swashbuckler with some thought provoking ethical attitudes to war and its costs. Ultimately it is great science fiction as the reader is drawn into the quest to make it back from behind enemy lines fighting overwhelming forces with rapidly depleting reserves. As a series of books I am having to pace myself so that I don't get through the saga too quickly.

Writing this review over 3 years after I first read the book is not the most ideal. From what I can remember I would say again that the story is quite easy to follow and Black Jack is an incredibly complex and likable leader.The fleet are still trying to find someway home against incredible odds. A good mix of action and internal politics and all set in the stars! A good read for sure.

The third book in the series and just as gripping. Military sci fi at it's best with plenty of action but also a serious attempt to build up characters and the relationship between them. The central figure, Captain Geary, is a Hornblower figure, outwardly confident and determined, an inspiration to all - yet inwardly reeling in doubt. The stories assume a level of FTL technology and its implementation without getting bogged down in scientific detail. However the tactics of FTL warfare are carefully entwined within the storyline. We get skilfully drawn into the daily routine of a space navy and the political and cultural issues behind an apparently endless war. I particularly liked the way the author introduces a fascinating concept of a religion for spacefarers by letting it unfold across the series.Great stuff.....

This book continues to enthral me and keep me engaged with the story of this fleet. This book digs deeper into the relationships of Geary and his crew while they continue to fight the various challenges that meet them on their journey back home. Just as you think the fleet have reached the bottom of the barrel even more challenges meet them. The lost fleet continues to keep me gripped with its simple but addictive good old space drama. Another great read , thank you Jack Campbell.