Dalzelle, Joshua. Counterstrike. Kindle, 2015. Black Fleet Trilogy 3.
Jackson Wolfe is back. We wrap up plot threads involving Robert Blake, the Phage, and the other alien players. I could do without the downbeat echoes of Ender’s Game, and I wish Robert Blake had a name that did not create unintended echoes of the actor of the same name and a long-gone British TV series. 3 stars. ( )

Fascinating action but not very complicated. Very simple if you have read more complicated space operas. Character descriptions are not good so don't expect anything there.

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An excellent and intelligent space opera with believable characters, appropriate technology, and a very lively storyline. If they were not in a battle, they were preparing for one. I look forward to the next phase in this alternate universe. ( )

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: Counterstrike Series: Black Fleet Author: Joshua Dalzelle Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 365 Format: Kindle digital edition Synopsis: Jackson Wolfe is about to head up the remaining fleets of Earth against the Phage, in a strike against a theoretical Phage Overmind. All of the info about the Phage come from the new alien allies. Said allies are unwilling to dirty their hands with actual fighting but have no problems with using other races as proxies. Wolfe must now fight a 3 front war. One against the Phage. One, very surreptitiously, against their supposed allies. Finally, one against his own commander who can't take any chances. My Thoughts: Best book of this trilogy. And it ends. Jackson Wolfe is alive at the end but his story is over. The story about the alien allies hasn't finished, but the Phage aspect is done. As soon as the alien allies made it clear that they used other races to wage their wars, the origin of the Phage was pretty much a foregone conclusion. It was an interesting turn but not a shocking revelation. It definitely makes the "allies" the new "enemies" for any future books. The tiny bit of "romance" was awkward and really didn't add anything to the story or make the characters any better. I wish that Dalzelle had left it out altogether. It would have fit just fine with Wolfe as a character. In the author's note at the end, he makes it clear that this IS a trilogy. I like that he had the balls to end this and not try to endlessly milk it. While I am hoping to read more in this universe, I am ok with being done with Jackson Wolfe. " ( )

The battle with the Phage continues. Carefully thinking through the behavior of the Phage ships during previous battles provides some leads to the nature of the Phage communications, and command and control systems. The idea of a central intelligence providing command and control to the Phage emerges. The communication effort made by the Page to send a message to Captain Jackson Wolfe at the end of the Battle for Nuovo Patria when the Phage had actually by-passed Nuovo Patria and destroyed Haven instead has the remaining Terran command structure wondering why the Phage singled Wolfe out, and, the unexpected arrival of Colonel Robert Blake in a ship of Vruahn manufacture is difficult for either Terran or Earth’s forces to understand especially since Blake had been missing for more than three hundred years. Now, an effort must be made to locate and destroy the Phage central mind, but to do so will require the cooperation of the Vruahan; a group of technically advanced but less than forthcoming aliens with their own agenda. What ensues is a costly battle in which Jackson Wolfe must force the hand of the Vruahan as well as risk his remaining credibility to eliminate the Phage. If he is successful, will the Vruahan let the Terrans continue to exist?

Like Warship and Call to Arms the other two books in the Black Fleet Trilogy, Counterstrike is a fast moving, entertaining read that keeps the reader engrossed. I read late into the night to finish it. Besides action, we begin to see the first hint of an attraction between Lieutenant Davis and Captain Wolfe; a temptation on which neither is inclined to act. An excellent story for all fans of science fiction and adventures alike. 5-Stars. Clabe Polk ( )