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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
slow-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
Didn't quite get the human interaction. Combat was good decent tho
Dauntless tells a space naval opera story in the far future but very relatable to now.
A tale of a man who was frozen in time for a bit who comes back to a quagmire.
I liked how the novel starts with a cold open and things already happening, it sets the scene immediately and uses the "Black Jack" Geary character's own confusion and lack of background to provide exposition and move the book along.
Dauntless moved nicely and told a fun story but also talked about military tactics in a way that felt methodical instead of thrown against a wall as a background for a plot.
The specifics Jack Campbell put into his book were well appreciated though I am still not sure if I will dive back into the series its nice to know there are follow-on books coming.
A tale of a man who was frozen in time for a bit who comes back to a quagmire.
I liked how the novel starts with a cold open and things already happening, it sets the scene immediately and uses the "Black Jack" Geary character's own confusion and lack of background to provide exposition and move the book along.
Dauntless moved nicely and told a fun story but also talked about military tactics in a way that felt methodical instead of thrown against a wall as a background for a plot.
The specifics Jack Campbell put into his book were well appreciated though I am still not sure if I will dive back into the series its nice to know there are follow-on books coming.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fun but pretty repetitive in almost every possible way (ideas, specific words, and turns of phrase). Throughout the book I kept cringing at similar or even identical phrases being used multiple times on a single page, at first waiting for an acknowledgement of the repetition (an "again," or a "to reiterate" maybe), but after a while I stopped expecting it and just got annoyed every time it happened.
Also, there are a couple different themes and ideas that the author just keeps bashing you over the head with relentlessly throughout the book, such as the idea of the crew members' hero worship of the main character, and the idea of being morally superior to your enemy. I just kept mentally yelling, "I GET IT, ALREADY!" There are some interesting ideas in there involving the ways in which this culture has changed over the last 100 years, but it is done in such a ham-fisted and limited way that it just comes across as a list of points the author wanted to make but wasn't creative enough to expand beyond. There is a tiny hint of a story line to come (perhaps even the crux of the series), but by the time you get to the end and see it, you feel cheated that the story just ends.
This leads me to my last criticism, which is that this book suffers for it being a series. This book could (and I would argue, should) easily have been just the first quarter or half of one big book. There is really nothing going on here but buildup to one almost inconsequential battle. I HATE THAT.
Also, there are a couple different themes and ideas that the author just keeps bashing you over the head with relentlessly throughout the book, such as the idea of the crew members' hero worship of the main character, and the idea of being morally superior to your enemy. I just kept mentally yelling, "I GET IT, ALREADY!" There are some interesting ideas in there involving the ways in which this culture has changed over the last 100 years, but it is done in such a ham-fisted and limited way that it just comes across as a list of points the author wanted to make but wasn't creative enough to expand beyond. There is a tiny hint of a story line to come (perhaps even the crux of the series), but by the time you get to the end and see it, you feel cheated that the story just ends.
This leads me to my last criticism, which is that this book suffers for it being a series. This book could (and I would argue, should) easily have been just the first quarter or half of one big book. There is really nothing going on here but buildup to one almost inconsequential battle. I HATE THAT.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Written well as far as characterization. But the original premise of a key given by an "enemy traitor" for a special faster than light travel hypernet is spurious and ridiculous, since after receiving this technological gift, the "good" side simply says "wow, thanks, let's plug this in and use it without any questions or planning." Since I've never been in a military force of any kind perhaps my assumption that the military would be suspicious of secret back doors intentionally put into any weapon handed over to the other side or a secret exposed by a traitor might be part of an enemy strategic plan to win the war, buy maybe the military ARE that stupid. I hope, for instance, that the real military of the world are not taking Chinese made computers at face value when making such computerized purchases, but go through the hardware and programming with a fine tooth comb. The idea that any military that is falling apart in training, tactics, morale and strategy would still fight on offensively for centuries against an obvious technologically superior force is also hard to swallow. Anyway, the big picture was too simple and stupid. I couldn't finish this.
Entertaining, decently written, military SF. I don't feel compelled to read the next book but wouldn't be opposed to it.
This absolutely satisfies my comfort reading need for good guys on a space adventure with occasionally overly detailed passages on space war strategy and tactics. I did find the audiobook narrator's pace to be far, far slower than I prefer, but that's why you can increase the speed.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes