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darylreads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Love this series more and more with every book I read...
johhnnyinla's review against another edition
1.0
Between the narration and the writing, I just couldn't get through the first few chapters. Too many characters introduced too fast and I wasn't sure who were throwaways and who were important.
adamjcalhoun's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't finish this but logging it because I want to make sure I don't accidentally start reading it again. This is "book #1" in a series but once you start the book it's pretty clear that it is following some previous series with a lot of setup and character.
I started the book, the writing was awful and the motivation of the characters just stupid. I stopped very quickly.
I started the book, the writing was awful and the motivation of the characters just stupid. I stopped very quickly.
synobal's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad start to a new series, no real answers though on the Enigma race, or several other things. It ends with a lot of possibilities but no real clear idea of were the series is heading. In the first series you knew they were heading home, in this one there's a lot more uncertainty as to what happens next or in any further books.
tuftymctavish's review against another edition
3.0
By the time you get this far in the series you know the basic plot structure. It feels like another small episode in the overall story; a bit of politics, a dash of fleet dynamics, ship maneuvers, travel, and some space battles. I like the format so I don't mind it, and I'm still curious to see where the next episode takes us.
keary's review against another edition
4.0
Love Jack Campbell's books. Easy read but very enjoyable.
graff_fuller's review
3.0
I liked the book, and I know that it is part of a series...but the ending caught me by surprise. I think it could have been better written.
mothwing's review
3.0
After having finally ended the century-long war with the Syndics, the Alliance government can't wait to send John Geary off to the farthest corners of the galaxy again to find out about the enigmatic Enigma race, establish the borders of their territory and in general find out more about them.
The reader is pretty sure pretty early on that this is a ploy to dispose of this troublesome hero with his unwanted influence over the Alliance government, but still, the main characters keep being surprised whenever they find that this is really true.
"Are you doing this to get rid of us"?
"But our ships are falling apart and we might not make it back. What then?"
"And now we are taught to take these high-priority, VIP POWs on board and take them home only on the way back. Why is that? Do they want to get rid of them as well?"
"We are facing such superior odds in alien space, what if we fail, it's almost as though we were meant to."
Etc., etc.
The optimism is boundless and somewhat endearing. Still, I'm entertained enough by the space shenanigans to stay on board. Even though the character changes that occurred in the two mains after their marriage got on my nerves sometimes, and the lack of communication is troublesome (why is this book called Dreadnaught when there is no meaningful communication between her captain and Geary throughout the book that would justify the title, after all), but I'm still sticking around.
The reader is pretty sure pretty early on that this is a ploy to dispose of this troublesome hero with his unwanted influence over the Alliance government, but still, the main characters keep being surprised whenever they find that this is really true.
"Are you doing this to get rid of us"?
"But our ships are falling apart and we might not make it back. What then?"
"And now we are taught to take these high-priority, VIP POWs on board and take them home only on the way back. Why is that? Do they want to get rid of them as well?"
"We are facing such superior odds in alien space, what if we fail, it's almost as though we were meant to."
Etc., etc.
The optimism is boundless and somewhat endearing. Still, I'm entertained enough by the space shenanigans to stay on board. Even though the character changes that occurred in the two mains after their marriage got on my nerves sometimes, and the lack of communication is troublesome (why is this book called Dreadnaught when there is no meaningful communication between her captain and Geary throughout the book that would justify the title, after all), but I'm still sticking around.