Dreadnaught: The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier

The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Dreadnaught (or simply Dreadnaught as I will refer to it from now on!) is the new book in Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet setting, although this book kicks off a new trilogy set after the events of the original six book series. To say that this book was a highly anticipated release would be a gross understatement, I imported it as soon as I could and cracked it open and plowed through it in barely a few days. I'm a huge fan of the series and I thoroughly enjoyed Dreadnaught, despite the few little problems I had with it.The events of Victorious are just behind us, and Geary and Desjani are now married and have spent a whirlwind honeymoon on Desjani's home planet, despite the constant attempts of the government to get Geary back to answer their questions and accept new orders. But in the end they have to return for Geary to face his superiors and find out just what his new orders are, and it's not quite what he expected. With his promotion to Admiral he is given command of the fleet, plus some extra ships, and tasked with finding out more about the alien race on the other side of Syndic space, how far their borders extend and whether they can hold peaceful negotiations. Of course, things don't go as smoothly as hoped for Geary and his fleet...Dreadnaught picks up about a month after Victorious and continues the events from that book pretty much uninterrupted. Some of the fleet are still eager to overthrow the government and put Geary in charge of everything, even with Geary not wanting this. It throws up the political in-fighting straight away and lets you see the different factions and just what their aims are and how they believe things should be done, all the while with Geary treading the fine line between following orders from his superiors while keeping the fleet in check by allowing them to believe he is in charge. This aspect is definitely a follow on from Relentless and Victorious, showing just how the government are totally incapable of dealing with a potentially dangerous situation.Geary is much the same man as he's always been - a good commander able to think outside the box but very loyal to the Alliance and the government. There are new factors coming into play with Geary given the fleet and told to go off to alien space to find out more, and it's through various information channels that he finds out the government are hiding things. With his status he could easily do as he wishes, but he once again does things within the confines of his orders, although edging into that grey area a few times. It's all a good way to show that ultimately a legendary hero is not always the best thing for the ruling government to have in full view, even with said hero wanting the best for the Alliance.Moving on from all this political wrangling Dreadnaught does start to pick up pace when the fleet enters Syndic space. The aftermath of their dash home is still present, the Syndics now taking the alien threat seriously and using the fail-safe devices on their own hypernet gates, limiting the potential threat the aliens pose. This fallout from the Syndic government failing is also a major aspect of the story, and how Geary deals with these things can be interesting, but it ultimately starts to detract from the action, Campbell spending a little too much time on all the ins and outs of a galactic society in the throws of change. Don't get me wrong, it adds much to the story, but the promise of exploration in alien space makes the pace feel a little slow.Once we do get into alien space the action and interest really steps up a gear. The enigma race are truly that, and other than the glimpses we caught of them during Victorious nothing is known. It's actually a good idea and Campbell manages to create the alien society from scratch, but it's all done through the observations the characters make - we see nothing from their side at all. This is both good and bad. On the plus side it allows Campbell to draw out some interesting conversations and ideas from Geary and the crew, but all it ever can be is guess work on their part. It does very much feel like Geary, Desjani, Rionne and company believe that what they've come up with is the truth of the race - at least in general - but there is always that niggle that they may be wrong, that feeling that their judgements may come back to bite them at a later date.Other than that aspect I thought the time spent in alien space was the highlight of the novel, finally getting to the juicy bits I was hoping for when I opened the book. There are some interesting set pieces along the way too and the finale certainly gives more questions than answers - you can be sure I'll be reading the second book as soon as I can!One thing I was expecting plenty of from past experience with Campbell's writing was of real-time space battles, but there weren't anywhere near as many as I expected. I found the battles to go by quicker than in the first series, not as much time spent dealing with events during the heat of battle, and I missed it. Whether this was done to be more accessible to readers or simply because Campbell felt there was no need to go to the same lengths I don't know.Regardless of all the little issues I had with Dreadnaught, I loved every minute of it. I've been with these characters through six novels and it felt like returning to an old group of friends.This does bring me to one last comment, and it's only my personal opinion: this series is much better suited to those that have read the previous Lost Fleet books. I think a newcomer may feel a little out of place with such a large amount of world-building, character development and story taken place over six previous novels, and believe me, all past developments make this a stonking read.

Dreadnaught (2011) is the first naval SF novel in the Beyond the Frontier series, following  Victorious  in the Lost Fleet series. The initial work in this sequence is  Dauntless .In the previous volume, the Lost Fleet returned to Alliance territory. Geary appeared before representatives of the Grand Council. Some wanted to arrest Geary, but the chairman of the Council disagreed.Geary delivered his report and recommendations. The Council members argued over details and were shocked at the information on the aliens. They promoted him to Fleet Admiral and agreed with his plans to study the aliens.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.Roberto Duellos is an Alliance Captain, commanding the battlecruiser Inspire. He is a close advisor to Geary.Jane Geary is an Alliance Captain, commanding the battleship Dreadnaught. She is also Jack's grandniece.Carabali is now an Alliance General. She is the commanding officer of the fleet Marines.Victoria Rione is the former Co-president of the Callas Republic and a representative of the Alliance Senate. She and two others were Geary's political advisors.Timbale is an Alliance Admiral. He is currently the commander of the Varandal system.Navarro is chairman of the Alliance Grand Council. The office is rotated among the members.In this story, Jack and Tanya are returning to duty after twenty-six days of honeymoon. Jack had been avoiding the news and is now catching up. He is grumbling about the state secrets that have been released to the public. He is also upset about the slant that the newspapers are 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 are trying to distract the public. In fact, they are using the aliens as a bogeyman to keep the Alliance together.They disembark at Ambaru station to find two lines of ground force soldiers forming a corridor for the pair. Geary wonders whether the troops are an honor guard or just thinly disguised muscle. At least the troops are not armored.More soldiers are holding back the crowd packed into the space. The crowd bursts into cheers and Geary sees Timbale at the other end of the honor guard. Probably this is not another attempt to arrest him.Timbale escorts Geary and Tanya to a secure area within the station for a meeting with Navarro and others. Timbale briefs the Gearys on recent events within the Navy. Fleet headquarters brass have been stressing the achievements of the Navy as a whole as opposed to the accomplishments of certain individuals such as Geary.Outside the checkpoints, Geary receives a message from Duellos stating that over a hundred of the fleet captains have been notified of their relief from command pending resolution of courtmartial charges. Geary signals the captains that he will handle these orders. He decides to leave Tanya with Timbale outside the communications null zone to talk with the captains and then starts working his way through seven layers of security surrounding the meeting room.Geary interrupts Navarro's initial greetings and informs him of the courtmartial orders from fleet headquarters. After some discussions, the Chairman promises to clear the charges. Then he states the reasons for the meeting.Geary will command the First Fleet, which will consist of his previous ships with replacements and additional auxiliaries. The Second Fleet will be tasked with maintaining security within the Alliance. A Third Fleet will be used for training.Afterwards, Geary relays another message to his Fleet ordering them to return to their stations. He tells them that the courtmartials have been canceled. Then Geary and Tanya meet a shuttle and head back to the Dauntless.Geary calls a command conference and tells his captains that they will be returning to Midway to investigate the aliens. He intends to take a month or more for planning, crew replacement, and resupply. He also will be releasing many personnel for home leave.Geary soon finds that his personnel problems have not disappeared. The senior captain in the First Fleet is Armus, a battleship commander. The senior battle cruiser commander is Vente, a captain new to his ship and the fleet. And Jane is acting more like Black Jack than ever.Then fleet headquarters tries to transfer all personnel having some hypernet expertise. Timbale calls Geary to confirm that the experts on intelligent nonhuman species will be arriving the following day. Since humans have never before encountered sentient aliens, Geary wonders how these experts got their experience, but give them quarters on an attack transport.This tale brings Rione back to the Dauntless with special orders for the fleet. They will be picking up POWs in Dunai prior to the transit to Midway. Before any other surprises can appear, Geary takes the Fleet through jumpspace to Atalia in Syndic space.This story leaves the fleet within alien space. The next installment in this series is  Invincible .Highly recommended for Campbell fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of fleet battles, naval logistics, and a bit of romance. Read and enjoy!-Arthur W. Jordin

Secuela de las novelas de la Flota Perdida. Para un hispanohablante se puede leer de forma sencilla

I always enjoy book 7 in a 6 part series.This series needed this book as Black Jack Geary had rescued the Alliance Fleet, kicked the Syndics butt, and discovered an alien race called the enigma who were just sitting by and watching the Syndic and Alliance forces destroy each other so they could move in and take over the neighbourhood.Having returned to Earth the politicians had to do something with Black Jack Geary because he was just too powerful after this triumphant return with what remained of the alliance fleet.What better way then to give him back the fleet and ask him to explore the limits of Enigma space and while there please negotiate a truce with the Enigma. Well the Enigma are in no mood for that and even worse they are so paranoid that as soon as the Alliance fleet gets close enough to any of their population or star ships they blow themselves up leaving Black Jack with nothing but dust.At the end of the book there is a cliff hanger, and a potentail new enemy, that of course will lead to the next book in this series.All the books in the Lost Fleet series are highly developed military science fiction and highly recommendedflag

Lost fleet: beyond the frontier. Seguito della saga, ottimo sia come soggetto che come trama. Consigliato a chi ha letto gli altri.

J'avais adoré Lost Fleet, j'ai lu deux fois les 6 tomes avec le même plaisir, et je les relirai. J'attendais donc Dreadnaught, qui en est la suite, avec impatience. Je suis un peu déçu, Campbell est heureux de retrouver Geary, Desjani et ses lecteurs, et les 200 premières pages sont un peu répétitives par rapport à Lost Fleet, on retrouve les blagues sur les avocats, sur les agents littéraires, sur les Marines, sur les politiciens, et il ne se passe pas grand chose, pas assez vite (là où Lost Fleet nous mettait directement dans le feu de l'action). La seconde moitié du livre est plus intéressante, avec notamment de nouveaux personnages amusants, les médecins et les experts en aliens, mais vous serez frustré en arrivant à la dernière page: c'est là que l'histoire commence vraiment. Bref, un préambule un peu longuet, par rapport à la série précédente - j'attends néanmoins la suite, parce qu'on s'y attache, à ce John Geary ! Et, en attendant, Campbell ressort, sous son vrai non (Hemry) la série "Stark's war", je viens d'en commander le premier tome, en espérant que ce soit aussi sympa !

"Spielverderber" Wildcard00 hat mit seine Rezension das Buch de facto zusammengefasst und das Ende leider vorweggenommen. Dennoch die Geschichte aus anderer Perspektive:Zu Erinnerung sollte man anführen, dass in den sechs vorhergehenden Bänden der 100 Jahre im Tiefschlaf gelegene Held der Allianz, Captain John 'Black Jack' Geary, durch Zufall in seiner im Weltraum treibenden Rettungskapsel gefunden und zum Leben erweckt wurde. Black Jack findet sich im selben Krieg gegen die Syndics (eine andere menschliche Fraktion), in dem Geary selbst beinahe sein Leben verloren hatte.Allerdings findet er eine heruntergekommene Raumflotte, die jegliche Strategie und Taktik verlernt hat, sondern auf Basis eines bizarren Ehrbegriffes nur direkt auf den Feind los stürmt. Die wirtschaftlichen Systeme der Allianz und der Syndiks sind durch diesen Krieg ausgeblutet, die Menschen sind kriegsmüde, die Politik ist korrupt.Geary übernimmt als Dienstältester (100+ Jahre...) das Kommando einer Allianz-Flotte, die in eine Falle der Syndics geraten ist und deren Oberkommandant vom Feind ermordet wurde. Black Jack bringt nun - mit seinen altmodischen Methoden - die Flotte nach Hause, besiegt so nebenbei die Syndics und entdeckt das Syndics und Allianz von einer außerirdischen Rasse manipuliert wurden. Zu Hause angekommen, darf sich Geary auch noch mit ängstlichen intriganten Politikern herumschlagen, für die die lebend gewordene Legende einer Bedrohung ist. Und auch Helden sind nicht vor Liebe gefeit....Mit der Niederlage der Syndics und Gearys Liebe zu Captain Tanya Desjani hat der Autor zumindest zwei Handlungsstränge befriedigend abgeschlossen. Offen waren das wahre Ausmaß der Bedrohung durch die entdeckten Enigma-Aliens und die Reaktion der Allianz-Politiker auf Black Jack. Also...Rezensent Wildcard00 hat die Geschichte zusammengefasst, so dass ich lediglich ergänzen möchte, dass es dem Autor doch gelungen ist, in einigen Bereichen von seinem gewohnten Schema abzuweichen.Neue Ideen, neue Probleme, alte Bekannte und auch Humor in der traditionellen Verpackung einer Odysee durch den Weltraum - die Mission Gearys Kontakt zu den Aliens aufzunehmen, ist nicht ganz so langweilig, wie es Wildcat 00 andeutet. Freilich stimmt es, dass Jack Campbell nicht mehr mit jenem Detailgrad schreibt, der uns in manch vorgegangenem Buch - aus Langeweile - fast zum Wahnsinn trieb.Für einen Band Sieben kann sich das Werk jedoch sehen lassen, da es eigentlich kaum Leerläufe gibt. Liebe, Intrige, Aliens, Weltraumgefechte, das alles inhaltlich konsistent, und ein folgender Band Acht - Fans der Saga um Black Jack werden einige Stunden Lesespaß haben, dem man durchaus vier Sterne geben kann....PS: Durch den Wechsel Campbells vom Ace Verlag zu Titan Books ist das Format des Buches größer geworden. Eine größere Schriftgröße und doppelter Zeilenabstand führen zu 430 Seiten, was etwas irreführend ist. In ein paar Stunden hat man dieses Buch ausgelesen - ein typischer Campbell.... ;-)