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booleancat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
pjonsson's review against another edition
4.0
Jack Campbell have written another good book in The Lost Fleet universe. This is the second book in the spin-off series, The Lost Stars, that takes place in the universe that started with The Lost Fleet series of books. This series tells the story of a syndicate star system that broke loose after the syndicate crumbled around them.
I have read all the books in The Lost Fleet, Beyond The Frontier as well as The Lost Stars and I have liked all of them. They are well written, the physics of space and the space combat is very very good and believable, the characters are interesting and the story is keeping one’s interest. The one thing I generally have had against these books are the politics and the devious scheming going on and this book is no different in that aspect I am afraid.
This book continues the story of President Iceni and General Drakon trying to stabilize the (now) independent star system of Midway. Apart from having to stave off the remains of the Syndicate and an Enigma fleet, they also have to walk a tight rope between introducing a democratic way of governing and losing control to people not really used to the concept of democracy. Black Jack himself is also making an appearance although, even though his fleet makes an appearance, Black Jack himself is mostly referred to rather than appearing in person. Actually the book describes some of the events from Beyond The Frontier from the perspective of Midway, President Iceni and General Drakon.
The book is very good. However, from my point of view it is weighed down somewhat by the constant mistrust and scheming. Unfortunately this accelerated towards the end and the book ends in a kind of soap-opera style cliffhanger that I was not at all thrilled about. I would say that the book lost a star almost entirely because of the ending. Still a very enjoyable book though.
I have read all the books in The Lost Fleet, Beyond The Frontier as well as The Lost Stars and I have liked all of them. They are well written, the physics of space and the space combat is very very good and believable, the characters are interesting and the story is keeping one’s interest. The one thing I generally have had against these books are the politics and the devious scheming going on and this book is no different in that aspect I am afraid.
This book continues the story of President Iceni and General Drakon trying to stabilize the (now) independent star system of Midway. Apart from having to stave off the remains of the Syndicate and an Enigma fleet, they also have to walk a tight rope between introducing a democratic way of governing and losing control to people not really used to the concept of democracy. Black Jack himself is also making an appearance although, even though his fleet makes an appearance, Black Jack himself is mostly referred to rather than appearing in person. Actually the book describes some of the events from Beyond The Frontier from the perspective of Midway, President Iceni and General Drakon.
The book is very good. However, from my point of view it is weighed down somewhat by the constant mistrust and scheming. Unfortunately this accelerated towards the end and the book ends in a kind of soap-opera style cliffhanger that I was not at all thrilled about. I would say that the book lost a star almost entirely because of the ending. Still a very enjoyable book though.
ghostmuppet's review against another edition
2.0
This series is just not the same as the main series, which has characters that i could connect to.
There are just no characters in this series that i have an attachment with. It would not bother me if they were all killed off (which i know will not happen). I will continue with the series, but the pace will be slower.
There are just no characters in this series that i have an attachment with. It would not bother me if they were all killed off (which i know will not happen). I will continue with the series, but the pace will be slower.
nooker's review against another edition
5.0
Another awesome book in the series. Shows the other side of what happened in Midway from Guardian. Very cool look into the Syndicate life as well.
tuftymctavish's review against another edition
2.0
I rather liked how this fitted in with the Lost Fleet series to provide the secondary point of view. Snippets of events from that main-line story sift through events here so you get to read about the opposing events. But oh my word the predictable character relationships are played out so woodenly that I much prefer it when we're just getting on with the action. There are some nice surprises and some interesting tech, but the routine character development frustrates me the most and consumes far too much of the book.
mothwing's review
3.0
Solid space opera with some romance and some twists worthy of a soap set in space. I'm still having fun and will definitely re-read this seris.
There are some key aspects of this series that keep annoying me. For one, the author and I have very different opinions on politics because I'm not even convinced any nation-based military needs to exist. I don't think the military should exist because. I'd like to think that the only thing the military is useful for is as humanitarian aid workers in protective gear whom any nation or community can call upon as disaster relief. So obviously I really don't think it should be anywhere near a government and therefore am not a fan of the incredibly pro-military dictatorship slant that these books have.
At the core, I think we read Star Trek differently. When I see Star Trek, I never saw a predominantly military organisation, I saw a culture mostly invested in science and diplomacy that had several cultural trappings of the military left due to its history as a branch of the military. However, by and large, these seemed to be largely cultural and vestigial because the way individuals behave in Starfleet is very different to how they react in any real life military I've ever heard of, though several soldiers I know clearly think that they're ready for space combat.
There are some key aspects of this series that keep annoying me. For one, the author and I have very different opinions on politics because I'm not even convinced any nation-based military needs to exist. I don't think the military should exist because. I'd like to think that the only thing the military is useful for is as humanitarian aid workers in protective gear whom any nation or community can call upon as disaster relief. So obviously I really don't think it should be anywhere near a government and therefore am not a fan of the incredibly pro-military dictatorship slant that these books have.
At the core, I think we read Star Trek differently. When I see Star Trek, I never saw a predominantly military organisation, I saw a culture mostly invested in science and diplomacy that had several cultural trappings of the military left due to its history as a branch of the military. However, by and large, these seemed to be largely cultural and vestigial because the way individuals behave in Starfleet is very different to how they react in any real life military I've ever heard of, though several soldiers I know clearly think that they're ready for space combat.
patrickwonders's review against another edition
5.0
Maybenot Earth-shattering literature, but I am giving it five stars. It's my favorite so far in a very enjoyable series. Actually, across all three Jack Campbell series.
ghostmuppet's review
2.0
This series is just not the same as the main series, which has characters that i could connect to.
There are just no characters in this series that i have an attachment with. It would not bother me if they were all killed off (which i know will not happen). I will continue with the series, but the pace will be slower.
There are just no characters in this series that i have an attachment with. It would not bother me if they were all killed off (which i know will not happen). I will continue with the series, but the pace will be slower.
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