Book Review: The Lost Fleet – Victorious
Written by Jack Campbell | Published by Titan Books
Campbell ends his six-book series in fine form – Captain John Geary is one battle away from bringing the fleet home. All that stands in the way is a final Syndic ‘reserve’ flotilla. Given that this only takes up a very small section at the beginning of the book and that readers of the series are more than familiar with Geary’s reputation as an excellent tactician, it is not really a spoiler when I tell you that Geary saves the day. Again.
Once again in Alliance space, Geary has to deal with the government rather than the military. For those interested in the politics and more plotty aspects of the series, Geary’s meeting with the Alliance council will be a very satisfying chunk of book. Geary, quickly promoted to Admiral, tasks himself with returning to Syndicate Space to end the war – the theory being that the Syndic fleet has been largely wiped out in the Alliance’s retreat home. A Syndic traitor also arrives aboard the fleet to advise Geary about the alien threat that lies beyond the frontier of human space, a factor that again will satisfy many fans.
The battles are as complex and enjoyably convoluted as we have come to expect from Campbell –one criticism perhaps, is that that fairly frequently the descriptions of the four dimensional skirmishes get pretty muddled and it’s often tricky to know exactly what’s going on. It is a tribute to Cambell’s writing, then, that not only does the reader persist with the book in spite of this; but that we trust him as a writer enough to believe that he knows what’s happening.
The series is wrapped up rather nicely by the conclusion of Victorious, though the more hard-hearted of Campbell’s fans will be disappointed to know that the series end on an emotional rather than a militaristic or sci-fi high. I however, was duly satisfied and look forward to reading of Black Jack’s adventures in Campbell’s next series.
The Lost Fleet: Victorious is out now from Titan Books
