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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF. I thought this idea was really interesting and it starts out fine in that the writing is decent so I trucked along for a bit but it's dull. The MC thinks and talks ad nauseam and the action is "and then they shot them" or "and then they argued with me and my mediocre monologue convinced them." The "hero who wasn't a hero brought back from the dead to save the day" sounds deep and interesting but it's just a way to have the good ol' days critique the new bad days.
This is way too “military” sci-fi for me, and the way the author makes this captain always specify “he or she” instead of “they” for persons unknown pisses my nonbinary arse off, so I’m done.
This is one of those series of novels that would have been better off as a single book. I enjoyed Campbell's basic universe, his tech is solid, and the military organization is good. Character development is pretty good as well. My only complaint is that the premise can't be sustained through a series. Had he ended it here, it would have been excellent.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
The premise of this science fiction tale is one that I found very intriguing and even better, it was skillfully executed. Campbell throws you straight in the action because the protagonist, John Geary, is thrown straight into the action. Since Geary wakes up from stasis in the middle of the war, Campbell is able to introduce the current situation to the reader by way of briefing Geary. Some of the chain of events that lead to Geary taking command of the fleet are a tad unbelievable but if you suspend belief the story takes us into a very believable retreat behind enemy lines.
Dauntless has a couple of the characteristics that tend to endear science fiction novels to me: the battles are described with as few technical terms as the author can get away with and don't dominate the novel, and the focus is on the social and political interactions within the crew and the fleet.
I found this to be an excellent and enjoyable read. It certainly did the job of enticing me to read the next book and I'd gladly recommend it to fellow science fiction fans.
Dauntless has a couple of the characteristics that tend to endear science fiction novels to me: the battles are described with as few technical terms as the author can get away with and don't dominate the novel, and the focus is on the social and political interactions within the crew and the fleet.
I found this to be an excellent and enjoyable read. It certainly did the job of enticing me to read the next book and I'd gladly recommend it to fellow science fiction fans.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I truly enjoyed this book, but I can see how some might find it slow and uneventful. It's a great look into Captain Geary's decisions as he chooses to take leadership of a massive fleet of ships at war and having to decide whether to accept or refuse his legendary persona of Black Jack Geary.
Most of it is sort of competance porn for military sci-fi from the perspective of an extremely capable leader. The main character is almost flawless in terms of honor and duty, but the internal struggle for him to live up to his own legend is well portayed.
There are some good action scenes and space battles, but it's mostly just Geary being a leader. This is just what I was looking for, a more philisophical approach to military space sci-fi as opposed to all out drama and action all of the time.
Most of it is sort of competance porn for military sci-fi from the perspective of an extremely capable leader. The main character is almost flawless in terms of honor and duty, but the internal struggle for him to live up to his own legend is well portayed.
There are some good action scenes and space battles, but it's mostly just Geary being a leader. This is just what I was looking for, a more philisophical approach to military space sci-fi as opposed to all out drama and action all of the time.
Military science fiction can be hard and cold. You can be detached from it about as quickly as Star Wars fans decided they didn't like Jar-Jar Binks. But Campbell writes a fast-paced novel that forces you to use your head. The subtle psychology of leadership in the book is a good detour and a continuing theme that continues to impress me as much as Orson Scott Card's work in the Ender series. There isn't endless talk of weapons, ships schematics or technology (sorry to the Star Trek and John Clancy fans out there). But you will have to wrap your head around battles in space...not that easy.
You're not going to get into endless discussions on humanity and rigorous speeches (ok, there's one). The characters aren't one dimensional and you might actually laugh out loud or root for them at some point. But the true test of whether it's good is whether I want to read another one.
With fifty pages left to go on this first installment, Book 2 was sitting on my desk.
You're not going to get into endless discussions on humanity and rigorous speeches (ok, there's one). The characters aren't one dimensional and you might actually laugh out loud or root for them at some point. But the true test of whether it's good is whether I want to read another one.
With fifty pages left to go on this first installment, Book 2 was sitting on my desk.