I usually don't spend much time on military procedurals, seeing as there is too much straight military history on my reading list, except that my book group decided that this cross between "The Anabasis" and "Rip Van Winkle" would be a good read. Though this isn't really a bad novel, I still feel a little generous giving it three stars. While John Geary has his virtues as a main character, and the author does deal with some serious questions, the rest of the characters are mostly cardboard, as is the society the Alliance fleet is supposed to represent; it makes you appreciate John Scalzi even more. Maybe my expectations will be met in the follow-on books. ( )

The century-long war between the Alliance and the Syndic (Syndicated) Worlds has been going very badly for the Alliance. Now the Alliance fleet is badly outnumbered, and stuck deep in Syndic territory. But the Alliance has a reluctant ace up their sleeves named John Geary.

"Black Jack" Geary was famed for his heroic "last stand" in the early days of the war. He was thought dead, but was revived after a century in survival hibernation. He is totally disgusted with the absolute hero worship that has grown up around him during the century that he was in hibernation. He becomes the reluctant commander of the fleet when the former commander is murdered during "negotiations" with the Syndics.

In their present condition, any sustained battle with the Syndics would be a disaster for the Alliance. Geary takes the fleet into a nearby wormhole to another star system. They are able to replenish their supplies at a Syndic base before the Syndics show up. Mankind does not have faster-than-light travel (or communications); the most frustrating thing for Geary is having to deal with the communications delay. Geary takes the fleet into another star system by wormhole, not taking the route that would get them back to Alliance space the fastest. The Alliance has a couple of weeks before the Syndic arrival, so Geary drills the fleet on flying in formation and basic tactics. Some of the ship commanders are not happy with what they consider constant retreats; for them, the Alliance tactical plan can be reduced to one word: Attack!

First of a series, this book is really good. The characters, especially Geary, are real people, and not just square-jawed stereotypes. It has action, it has believability, it has a good story and the reader will not go wrong with this one. ( )

Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell (the pen name of John Hemry) is a military sci-fi novel that revolves around the main character Captain John "Black Jack" Geary. Geary is war hero of historic proportions and the hero of the battle in the Grendel system. The Syndics (a human corporate empire) ambushed the Alliance at Grendel where Geary made himself famous with his heroic "last stand". Geary is thought to be lost in battle at the helm of his ship but a hundred years later an Alliance fleet finds Geary aboard an escape pod, in stasis.

Geary awakes to find that, shockingly, it's an entire century since he commanded the battle at Grendel and the war is still going. He is disturbed by the reaction the crews of the fleet have when they see him, after all he's the legendary "Black Jack". Crews swear by his name much in the same way people use the name "Jesus" in real life. This all disturbs Geary and in fact he finds it just plain annoying. As with most legends, Geary's has been inflated beyond how he can actually perform so he is constantly trying to point out that he is not the person they think he is.

Well, he gets little time to convince them otherwise: Shortly after he awakes the commander of the fleet and his staff are killed by the Syndics in an act of treachery. Admiral Bloch left Geary in charge of the fleet in his absence. Now in charge Geary mush lead the battered, out-gunned fleet home after their terrible defeat.

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless is a great example of Military Sci-Fi. Those who like John Scalzi should like Campbell's style of writing: not overly complicated and doesn't require a degree in physics to understand the technology. Good solid storytelling. The pacing of the story is outstanding and balanced. While there isn't as much combat in the book as one would suspect for this type of novel, Campbell manages to keep the pages turning with the subplots. Many of the subplots revolve around the logistics of running a fleet and managing problems with the crew.

Jack Geary is a very interesting character. Instead of the author pushing him as the "man god" Geary plays down his prowess and despises the legend worship he is met with. He struggles with grasping the new technology of the day and the culture of the fleet has completely changed.

While the setting is covered very thinly, there is enough to get an idea of the cultures of the two human factions involved in this book. Hopefully in future books we will get more background on the Alliance, Syndics, and the characters themselves.

Conclusion: If you like military Sci-Fi this book should be right up your alley. There's enough action, plenty of subplots and a really fun story to be find within the pages of this novel. I feel comfortable saying that Campbell is in the same class as Scalzi, Haldeman, and Ringo. If you like these authors, you should find Lost Fleet: Dauntless to your liking. ( )

This book is a good read if you like to read book series. Not everything gets solved in one book but the books are fast to read and full of detail space combat. This book introduces us to "Black Jack" Geary, the main character and the books are told from his point of view. He wakes up from a 100 year survival sleep to a world where is a Legend and Hero even though he was put into stasis at the first battle of a century long war. Not only that, he gets put into command of a fleet trapped deep within enemy territory and caught in the middle of an ambush, and charged with trying to find a way out of the trap and get the fleet home. That's all in the first week he is out of stasis. I recommend this book to anyone who likes space battles and military fiction. ( )

John Wayne in Space! Commander John “Black Jack” Geary performed an heroic feat getting his all by one of his spaceships away to safety while he held off the enemy escaping in his survivor pod when the ship was destroyed. Unfortunately he was never recovered and a legend grew up around him and he became the symbol of daring and bravery in the war that was just beginning. He was posthumously promoted to captain and became the “ideal” that all space navel officers as the war drug on. Nearly a hundred years later Captain John Geary is rescued from survival hibernation and circumstances force him to take command of the large fleet which rescued him. And the fun begins! Luckily it’s a series so there will be more fun ahead. ( )