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"The Lost Fleet: Relentless"
May. 20th, 2009 07:23 pmOne of the great pleasures(1) of our recent drive around Texas was my reading of Relentless, the 5th and penultimate volume in the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell(2).
For those who don’t know, this is the story of Captain John Geary, who died a hero in a famous space battle between the Alliance and their enemies of the Syndic star systems. One hundred years later, the war has not been going well for either side. Much has been forgotten, including true courage and honor, and military tactics that go beyond rushing at your enemy and shooting with all weapons blazing. Geary, whose escape pod was found drifting in space, revived those forgotten things when they were most sorely needed, with the Alliance fleet trapped deep within enemy territory.
By the beginning of Relentless, he has brought the fleet close to home, but he’s starting to have doubts he’ll be able to pull out one more miracle.
Like I said at the beginning, I very much enjoyed this book, same as I did the previous ones. If I’d make one criticism, it’d be that politician Rione is featured less prominently, and her mercurial personality is one of the story's aspects I had liked the most. True, that is one less complication for Geary, who has plenty of those left to keep him busy.
Not only is the fleet about to run out of fuel, but he has to deal with some in the military who feel he should use the legend of Black Jack Geary to oust the Alliance’s corrupt officials when he takes the ships back home. He also has to deal with some in the military who want to kill him because they see him as undeserving of his reputation and position. Oh, and did I mention the unseen aliens who’ve been working on getting the Alliance and the Syndic to destroy each other? Thru all this though, Rione remains his conscience.
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(1 Not the only pleasure, mind you, and all those pleasures much higher on my list than the day I was given a stern – and officially recorded – warning for going above the speed limit on a deserted road in one of Texas's state parks. I didn't know what the limit was because the only related sign had been at the entrance many miles away, apparently sufficient for the park ranger to refer to ‘numerous’ signs. True, ‘one’ is a number. But I digress.
(2) Nom de plume of John G. Hemry
For those who don’t know, this is the story of Captain John Geary, who died a hero in a famous space battle between the Alliance and their enemies of the Syndic star systems. One hundred years later, the war has not been going well for either side. Much has been forgotten, including true courage and honor, and military tactics that go beyond rushing at your enemy and shooting with all weapons blazing. Geary, whose escape pod was found drifting in space, revived those forgotten things when they were most sorely needed, with the Alliance fleet trapped deep within enemy territory.
By the beginning of Relentless, he has brought the fleet close to home, but he’s starting to have doubts he’ll be able to pull out one more miracle.
Like I said at the beginning, I very much enjoyed this book, same as I did the previous ones. If I’d make one criticism, it’d be that politician Rione is featured less prominently, and her mercurial personality is one of the story's aspects I had liked the most. True, that is one less complication for Geary, who has plenty of those left to keep him busy.
Not only is the fleet about to run out of fuel, but he has to deal with some in the military who feel he should use the legend of Black Jack Geary to oust the Alliance’s corrupt officials when he takes the ships back home. He also has to deal with some in the military who want to kill him because they see him as undeserving of his reputation and position. Oh, and did I mention the unseen aliens who’ve been working on getting the Alliance and the Syndic to destroy each other? Thru all this though, Rione remains his conscience.
”You need to remember that you’re doing nothing for personal gain. You don’t want wealth or power. So why the hell should you feel guilty about forestalling a military coup against the government of the Alliance?”
“Because no Alliance officer should have even thought of such a thing!” Geary yelled, the shame and anger bursting from him. “I never should have received such an offer and when I did my immediate refusal should have been the end of it!”
Rione watched him for a moment, then looked away herself, her face shadowed by emotion. “We’re not the people our ancestors were, John Geary. We’ll always let you down when you compare us to those you knew a century ago.”
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(1 Not the only pleasure, mind you, and all those pleasures much higher on my list than the day I was given a stern – and officially recorded – warning for going above the speed limit on a deserted road in one of Texas's state parks. I didn't know what the limit was because the only related sign had been at the entrance many miles away, apparently sufficient for the park ranger to refer to ‘numerous’ signs. True, ‘one’ is a number. But I digress.
(2) Nom de plume of John G. Hemry
