John G. Hemry

This is not the sort of action-packed book you might expect of a spinoff from the Lost Fleet series. Instead, it's much more psychological and political, addressing the problem of how two basically decent people who have attained high rank in a seriously corrupt system can overthrow both that system and the habits it has forced upon them. How do you lead a meaningful coup against the secret police when you're used to ordering assassinations for the sake of convenience? If you've lied and show more blackmailed your way to the top, how do you react to the alien notion of open elections? Finally, what do you do when neighboring systems are facing similar questions...and they have assets you want?

It's good, meaty philosophical material, but sometimes it could use a bit of variety to break things up and speed the book along. There are a couple of battles, but most of the action is handled off-the-page, letting the ethical issues keep the focus. If you've read the Lost Fleet books and enjoyed the discussions between Geary and the two ranking women he has to deal with in his life, this book is similar to those sections and you'll probably enjoy it. On the other hand, if you mainly skip over those passages to get to the next military obstacle, you should probably skip this.

Oh, one more thing: this DOES end on a cliffhanger. Be thee warned. ;) show less

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission. Title: The Assassins of Altis Series: Pillars of Reality Author: Jack Campbell Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 329 show more Format: Kindle Synopsis: Mari and Alain have escaped Marandur. But they are constantly on the run from the Guilds. They must make their way to the Tower of Altis, where there are records that can help Mari, who has now accepted her role as the Daughter of Jules, decide how she will proceed to stop the Storm and save Dematr. And she and Alain get married. My Thoughts: Each time I start these books, I wonder if I'm going to like it and that maybe THIS is the time that Jack Campbell lets me down. I don't know why. I suspect some of it has to do with it being young adult and I'm just naturally suspicious of that label. However, THIS book was not THAT book. It did not disappoint. In fact, I would describe this as a madcap flurry of fights and "barely made it" escapes. It also showcases Mari coming into her own as the Daughter of Jules and how she actually IS bringing Mechanics, Mages and Commons together. With the political situation here in the US, I realized that this book is about Hope. Not about someone who will promise you what you want or even say they agree with what you believe. I think that spoke to me more than anything because I am fast losing hope that humanity can keep on muddling on without catastrophic consequences. On a completely different note. With the revelations about the origins of the Mechanics, it was made evident that this whole series is based on one of Campbell's short stories in his book Ad Astra. In that story, a spaceship emergency lands on a planet, where the crew turn the ship rules into a religion and force the passengers to be their servants. It was one of those "ah ha!" moments that I do enjoy so much. " show less

Originally reviewed on Short Rambling Reviews

This is the fourth book in the series and it is great, at the end of the last book Courageous, they had just survived a major battle in the Lakota system. After they escape Geary decides to send them back there, at this point I thought he was nuts, however there was clear logic to the decision. I realised at that point, this series still has a lot to offer and Jack Campbell’s ability to surprise me hasn’t waned. Just when I think I have show more Geary’s thought process figured out and thought he would do one thing, he does something completely unexpected, I have to say this is refreshing, especially when other elements such as combat can be a bit monotonous and formulaic at times.

I thought in the last installment, we would find out a bit more about the unseen enemy they have been speculating about but alas no. Jack remedies that problem in this installment, however rather than answering questions it just posed more and as a result added another layer of depth to the universe.

As with all other installments there is an element of the fleet that opposes Geary’s command, however, even though there are the usual fleet conference disputes, and open challenges, this time it took a more sinister turn. Members of the fleet would turn on their own ships. As this issue wasn’t resolved I should imagine it will rear its ugly head in following installments. This aspect of the series (commanders openly challenging Geary in conferences) had grown tired and its nice to see Jack make this much darker and have wider implications.

This installment delved into the human aspect of the war over and above Geary’s conscience. As the perspective had predominantly focused on Alliance losses and cost. It showed the other side, the losses suffered by the Syndics and the extreme treatment and betrayal of people by their own rulers. To me this was a little disturbing but added so much to the overall feel of the series. In a way it made me want to see Geary succeed in getting the fleet and all crew members home more, but it also made me care how he does it. I also found a new respect for Geary, it is clear that ethics and rules of war had come out the window in the hundred years the war had been raging, and Geary was bringing a little integrity, ethics and morality back.

In Summary, this is a great addition to the series and adds another level of depth to an already rich universe. show less

Highly entertaining military sci-fi with an engaging hook (a fleet trapped deep in enemy space that needs to overcome its internal issues if it is going to survive the journey back home). A certain level of philosophical introspection on the de-humanizing effects continuous war have on a society adds just that extra shade of depth to the slam-bang action side of things. A short, sharp, entertaining and uncomplicated read. Will definitely be reading the next installment.