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mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
4.0
This is the eleventh and (at least as yet) final book in the Lost Fleet adventures of John Geary. I've devoured all eleven books in five weeks. They aren't high art, but they exactly suited my mood: military science fiction that absorbed me, where I could root for the indisputably good hero in an uncomplicated, uncritical way. The book that had the most impact on me was the opening volume, Dauntless, because at that point Campbell's superb space battles were new to me. But I enjoyed each book, particularly the aforementioned space battles and the various aliens. Spoilers ahead.... I'm going to bump up my 3 1/2 stars to 4 stars in gratitude for the entertainment the series afforded me.
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).
Spoiler
This final book brought the main plot to a satisfying conclusion and offered several nice elements along the way, such as the unexpected use of poetry. While I would have appreciated an extra few pages of wind-down after the climax, that is a small gripe.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).
ryanjamesburt's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great series. Love Jack. The differences between someone who came from a different era and changes the world.
thebigroomxxl's review
4.0
Leviathan was for disappointing, but Leviathan really puts the series back on track. Leviathan is for me the best book of the Beyond The Frontier series.
The space battle become much more interesting now that Blackjack has an enemy that can match him, we finally start to learn more about the dancer and this book gives a good ending to one of my favorite characters.
But I would have wished to see more of the politics in action, particularly the senators at Unity. I would have also wished some more development for the main characters Tania and Geary, I got the impression that they have stagnated since they married.
The space battle become much more interesting now that Blackjack has an enemy that can match him, we finally start to learn more about the dancer and this book gives a good ending to one of my favorite characters.
But I would have wished to see more of the politics in action, particularly the senators at Unity. I would have also wished some more development for the main characters Tania and Geary, I got the impression that they have stagnated since they married.
crankyoldnerd's review against another edition
4.0
I've thoroughly enjoyed this series and for me this was another great addition to the series. I hope more will follow as I've really enjoyed this universe and style of space combat
jhouses's review against another edition
2.0
Bueno, se acabó. Me ha proporcionado arrullo para unas cuantas siestas y esa es la mayor virtud que se le puede reconocer. El pozo de Geary estaba ya bastante seco y la ausencia de verdaderos protagonistas en una saga de esta longitud empezaba a ser dolorosa. Tras abrir doscientos melones argumentales, se conforma con darle un final digno a la amenaza de la flota IA y permitir a Black Jack reunir evidencias contra los responsables. Hala yastá!.
ftagliaca's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
asdvj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
caddarn's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
pjonsson's review
4.0
My review of the previous instalment in this series was less than stellar. It was luckily not a bad book but, nonetheless, my disappointment with this series have been growing since some time. Therefore I am quite happy that, to me, this book represents a big improvement compared to the previous books.
One of my gripes with the previous books have been the unbelievable obstructionism and stupidity of the useless politicians, their endless machinations and how great a role this played in the story. Another one was the lack of direction. Geary was simply solving one problem after another that was thrown at him and a goal to strive for was sorely missing.
Happily this is not the case with this book. Sure, the utterly useless politicians are very present in this book as well but this time they are finding themselves trapped in the hole that they themselves have dug. Not only that but in said hole there are a whole lot of shit sandwiches that they also made themselves and now they are all forced to take a bite. Naturally it is Geary and the men and women serving under him that have to pay the biggest price for the politicians stupidity but, at least, it is a somewhat humbling experience for these assholes and, as it turns out, there are one or two of them that are not as useless and morally corrupt as the rest of the fuckers.
The book also have a clear goal. The path to said goal have a few twists along the way but there is no mystery about what Geary have to achieve. How he is supposed to achieve it, well that is not so clear until after quite a few revelations, twists and a LOT of action.
Some of the aliens, the “Dancers”, the friendly ones, that Geary had encountered during his adventures are back and they do indeed play a rather crucial role in how things play out. I quite liked this since I felt that all those aliens that Geary encountered were kind of left out of the story arc in the previous book. Not wanting to leave too many spoilers around but the communications between the “Dancers” and the humans do improve quite substantially which in turn improves the changes for Geary to succeed in his quest by an equally substantial amount.
As usual the writing is very good, the characters are well done and the action, the manoeuvres in space and the combat physics are really, really good. Speaking of combat, the losses on both sides are quite staggering and this is one thing that annoys me somewhat with this series so far. Not that there are losses in combat but in every book Geary’s fleet is whittled down by a fairly substantial amount and nothing is really replaced except possibly for Geary getting some already worn out leftovers. I really hope that we are going to see Geary getting some new hardware sooner or later. Especially since, in previous books, Geary encountered quite a few hostile species and I certainly hope that, when the formerly mentioned politicians, climb out of their self-made shithole that they actually start to use whatever brain cells they might have left and actually consider this threat to humanity.
The ending, although generally on a positive note, is not entirely a happy one. There are sacrifices that have been made and several characters that have been with us for some time are written off which saddens me somewhat.
It took me some time to get around to read this book after having purchased it due to my disappointment with the previous instalments but after having read it I have to say that I was quite happy with this one and I am now looking forward to the next instalment. I certainly hope the author continues on this path and, above all, keeps the political stupidity toned down. After all, if I wanted to read about political stupidity all I need to do is open a newspaper and read about the latest nonsense from the EU oxygen wasters.
One of my gripes with the previous books have been the unbelievable obstructionism and stupidity of the useless politicians, their endless machinations and how great a role this played in the story. Another one was the lack of direction. Geary was simply solving one problem after another that was thrown at him and a goal to strive for was sorely missing.
Happily this is not the case with this book. Sure, the utterly useless politicians are very present in this book as well but this time they are finding themselves trapped in the hole that they themselves have dug. Not only that but in said hole there are a whole lot of shit sandwiches that they also made themselves and now they are all forced to take a bite. Naturally it is Geary and the men and women serving under him that have to pay the biggest price for the politicians stupidity but, at least, it is a somewhat humbling experience for these assholes and, as it turns out, there are one or two of them that are not as useless and morally corrupt as the rest of the fuckers.
The book also have a clear goal. The path to said goal have a few twists along the way but there is no mystery about what Geary have to achieve. How he is supposed to achieve it, well that is not so clear until after quite a few revelations, twists and a LOT of action.
Some of the aliens, the “Dancers”, the friendly ones, that Geary had encountered during his adventures are back and they do indeed play a rather crucial role in how things play out. I quite liked this since I felt that all those aliens that Geary encountered were kind of left out of the story arc in the previous book. Not wanting to leave too many spoilers around but the communications between the “Dancers” and the humans do improve quite substantially which in turn improves the changes for Geary to succeed in his quest by an equally substantial amount.
As usual the writing is very good, the characters are well done and the action, the manoeuvres in space and the combat physics are really, really good. Speaking of combat, the losses on both sides are quite staggering and this is one thing that annoys me somewhat with this series so far. Not that there are losses in combat but in every book Geary’s fleet is whittled down by a fairly substantial amount and nothing is really replaced except possibly for Geary getting some already worn out leftovers. I really hope that we are going to see Geary getting some new hardware sooner or later. Especially since, in previous books, Geary encountered quite a few hostile species and I certainly hope that, when the formerly mentioned politicians, climb out of their self-made shithole that they actually start to use whatever brain cells they might have left and actually consider this threat to humanity.
The ending, although generally on a positive note, is not entirely a happy one. There are sacrifices that have been made and several characters that have been with us for some time are written off which saddens me somewhat.
It took me some time to get around to read this book after having purchased it due to my disappointment with the previous instalments but after having read it I have to say that I was quite happy with this one and I am now looking forward to the next instalment. I certainly hope the author continues on this path and, above all, keeps the political stupidity toned down. After all, if I wanted to read about political stupidity all I need to do is open a newspaper and read about the latest nonsense from the EU oxygen wasters.
ghostmuppet's review against another edition
3.0
This, i believe, is the last book in the Lost Fleet series. To be honest, i am glad it is. The last few books seemed to drag a little with stories that were not as gripping as the others, and were only held together by the cast of characters that i have grown attached to.
The last book upped the story and there was a very real chance of it not working out for the Alliance fleet. I was gripped by the ending, but the start was a little slow for me.
I was pleased with how the story ended. There is a hint that there may be another story in the future, but this could take the form of short stories, novella rather than a full novel.
All in all, this was a good series that dropped a little towards the end (become very Soap Opera). Glad i read them - now on to the Lost Star series.
The last book upped the story and there was a very real chance of it not working out for the Alliance fleet. I was gripped by the ending, but the start was a little slow for me.
I was pleased with how the story ended. There is a hint that there may be another story in the future, but this could take the form of short stories, novella rather than a full novel.
All in all, this was a good series that dropped a little towards the end (become very Soap Opera). Glad i read them - now on to the Lost Star series.