Member Reviews

For anyone that has followed my reviews in the past, either here at SFFWorld or over at Walker of Worlds, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet books featuring John ‘Black Jack’ Geary, both the original series and his Beyond the Frontier sequel series. And while I haven’t reviewed them I was also very much into his Lost Stars series that occurred during the same timeframe as the Beyond the Frontier books, but focused on the Midway star system after the collapse of the Syndicate Worlds. So imagine my sadness when I heard Campbell was to take a break from Beyond the Frontier and Lost Stars books, needing to take time away to reflect and see where the setting was going. However, all was not lost, for out of this hiatus came the news of a new book and new trilogy in this milieu, one set hundreds of years before the Lost Fleet books and focused on the formation of the Alliance: Vanguard, book one of The Genesis Fleet.

From the publisher:
Earth is no longer the center of the universe.
After the invention of the faster-than-light jump drive, humanity is rapidly establishing new colonies. But the vast distances of space mean that the old order of protection and interstellar law offered by Earth has ceased to exist.
When a nearby world attacks, the new colony of Glenlyon turns to Robert Geary, a young former junior fleet officer, and Mele Darcy, a onetime enlisted Marine. With nothing but improvised weapons and a few volunteers, Geary and Darcy must face down warships and armored soldiers—or die trying.
As battles rage and pirates take an increasing toll throughout the colonies, the only hope for lasting peace lies with Carmen Ochoa, a “Red” from the anarchic world of Mars, and Lochan Nakamura, a failed politician. They have a plan: to lay the groundwork for mutual defense that could someday grow into an alliance. But if their efforts don’t succeed, the growing power of aggressor worlds could turn regions of space founded on freedom into battlefields between the first interstellar empires…

With the introduction of the jump drive humanity have started spreading out further amongst the stars, leaving Earth and the Old Colonies – those settled by sub-ftl means – many light years away. Glenlyon is one such colony, a new venture by those wanting to start out anew. But all is not smooth sailing, for other colonies in that area of space are not so civil, striking out at these newer colonies and trying to assert power over them, either by blackmail or force. When this happens to Glenlyon they are not left with much choice, though a former Navy lieutenant, Robert Geary, is called on for advice and to help out if he can. Along with computer whiz Lyn ‘Ninja’ Meltzer, Glenlyon are able to not only fend off the attack, but also capture the starship sent to threaten them. What follows is a look at how these new colonies deal with the threats they face, and just how far these forces are willing to go to subvert planets to their control.

I was so excited to jump into Vanguard, hoping that the same feeling I had from the Lost Fleet books would be present. While not entirely the case, this new series shares more similarities with the Lost Stars books – more focused on planet-based politics and action, with the odd excursion to space. It works really well, giving a sense of not only a small colony trying to make it, but of the wider implications across that sector of space.

Another change from is the character focus, with not one standing out as the main character, instead giving a wide cast that each contribute in their own way. Again, more comparable to the Lost Stars books. Rob Geary is interesting, a former Navy lieutenant that joined the Glenlyon colony after his frustration at the lack of advancement in his previous system’s Navy. While only wanting to be one of the many colonists, it’s not long before he finds himself, and his knowledge and experience, at the forefront of Glenlyon’s defence. Add to this a former marine, Mele Darcy, whose ideals went against orders in her previous employment, Lyn ‘Ninja’ Meltzer, a computer hacker extraordinaire, and some interesting, if politically annoying, council members, and there is so much more meat to the story with many different attitudes and approaches to situations.

However, these are not the only characters we are introduced to, and two more stand out: Carmen Ochoa, former Earth diplomat and originally from Mars, and Lochan Nakamura, a man who sees himself as living a life full of failures. Both making their way down-spiral to find somewhere new to settle, they find themselves the victims of the Apulu star system, who are trying to kidnap colonists in order to put them to work as slave labour. Escaping from this situation puts a new focus on each of them, and when they finally make their way to Kosatka they set their eyes on helping the colonies survive and work together.

It’s easy to find much to enjoy in Vanguard. The story is relatively straight-forward in its examination of new colonies and the trouble facing them, but Campbell tells the story through interesting characters who are not perfect heroes. While his excellent descriptions of space battles are not especially prevalent here, the way he tackles the smaller issues and the ground forces manoeuvres is great. I thoroughly enjoyed blasting through the pages and seeing how he’d deal with this early part of the Lost Fleet universe.

As a fan there were also some good nuggets here, as well as a couple of little things that I didn’t feel were wholly relevant. To start with the good, it’s nice to see so many small bits of information delivered without any real significance, but they give a touch more depth to the history that was hinted at during the others books. In particular, I like the few comments about the other offshoot of humanity that travelled up-spiral from Earth and closing themselves off – a detail that came to the fore in Guardian and has not been heard about since! This is just one of many Easter eggs fans of the series will spot, and I’m sure I’ll have missed some on this first read. As for minor gripes – this mainly deals with Robert Geary, ancestor of the Lost Fleet’s John ‘Black Jack’ Geary. I understand putting that link in, but it was not needed, and I felt that it added expectations of the character because of this link. Vanguard would have worked perfectly well without this, and a change of name wouldn’t have hurt it at all.

I love the Lost Fleet books. In fact, I love Jack Campbell’s book, both under this pseudonym and as John G Hemry (his JAG in Space books are criminally underrated). Vanguard is another winner for me, both as a prequel series and as a fresh start. It’s got that excellent readability that is present in all Campbell’s novels, and when the story is itself engrossing you just can’t lose. Vanguard also has the added benefit of being a great place for newcomers to join, as well as ticking off many of the much-needed points for Lost Fleet fans. In short, highly recommended.

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This was a great sci-fi book. I found it to be a really entertaining book and so it was a quick and easy read for me. It did take me a little while for me to get into, but after a couple of chapters I was absorbed in the story. I haven't read the other series set in the same world, so I don't know how they relate. I didn't feel like I was missing anything significant though, if that makes sense. Basically you can read this without reading the other series. I think it was lacking a little bit in explanations at times (in terms of the world, technology etc). The characters could also have done with more development, in my opinion. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I'd be interested to see how things progress. If you are a big fan of science fiction, I would recommend this.

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Magnificent! Jack Campbell has done an amazing job at bringing an epic space battle to life. The characters were full of depth and color. I kept finding myself rooting for the Squall, even toward the end when they faced unparalleled odds, they never gave up. Four stars!

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