Campbell's characters walk off the page and have the reader glued to the book every time. This is a long running series, each book able to stand alone but much more satisfying when read as a whole. The war between the Syndicate and the Alliance has finally come to an end but bitterness and hatred remain. The new leaders of the Syndicate pledge new ways of governing but old habits of a hundred year war are hard to break and the Alliance finds traitors in their own ranks. Admiral Geary brings the evidence to the Senate in hopes of saving what remains of the Alliance and becomes the target of fanatics and power hungry people. He must be sent away as the people look to him to declare himself leader and save them all. Geary sets off on a new adventure to learn more about aliens who have proven themselves allies in the past war efforts.

Boundless is the first volume in a new sub-series about The Lost Fleet and the legendary Black Jack who becomes Admiral Black Jack Geary.

After settling a century old war, Geary has brought his Fleet home - only to encounter ferocious politics. Wisely, he accepts a new assignment - to go way out beyond the limits of known worlds and make contact with the Aliens he encountered in the earlier adventures.

This #1 in a new series within that series has the characters we learned to love, some new problems, and an example of Geary's ability to maneuver a combat fleet in space.

But it is mostly a political-power story, about personal power, the power of reputation, and the control of the military by civilians.

Geary's fleet is escorting an unarmed Diplomatic ship complete with Ambassador and staff, plus scientific researchers. This puts him in a new position, career-wise, the fate of the maturing combat professional -- desk work and politics.

He is married to the Captain of his flagship, and she is as clever and powerful as he is. Some of the Captains in his fleet are his friends, some maybe not-so-much, and some are competent and some who-knows?

Judging from this first entry in the new series about the same people, this will be a story about Geary's ability to assess the talents, abilities, maturity, and potential of his officers, and very likely of the Aliens he will have to deal with. The Ambassador and her staff are supposed to do that, but it just doesn't seem like that's how it will play out.

I highly recommend the entire LOST FLEET series, and this new sub-series is already a delight.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/06/15/boundless-by-jack-campbell/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
&nbsp;

<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

If you have enjoyed Jack Campbell's other series, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/41101-the-lost-fleet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Lost Fleet</strong></em> </a>and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/55861-the-lost-fleet-beyond-the-frontier" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Beyond the Frontier</strong></em></a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/88284" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Lost Stars</strong></em></a>,  <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/190735-the-genesis-fleet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Genesis Fleet</strong></em></a> series, you will love this too.  I started reading Jack Campbell in 2015 when I was sent an ARC of one of the <strong>Leviathon</strong>, which was the final book in the <em><strong>Beyond the Frontier</strong></em> series.   Of course with my OCD,  I had to read the previous NINE books before I could read it.  I was in the middle of moving from Minnesota to North Carolina, so I got the audio CDs from the library.  And thus, my love affair with this world began.

These are people with character strength , compassion and intelligence. Characters of this exceptional quality are classic in Jack Campbell's works.    I love the strategy and technology and politics!  I love Geary's reaction to the politics.  This reaction, along with the personal qualities of some of the crew provide some humor in what is often a life and death situation.

<strong>Boundless</strong> is the start of the new <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/298045-the-lost-fleet-outlands" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Outlands</strong></em></a> series which is the farthest into the future of the Lost Fleet world.  It is a joy for fans like me who have read everything and want to know what happens next after the Alliance and the Syndicate worlds have a peace treaty.  Well, the politics and battles are not over.  People either want Geary to be their leader or assassinate him because they think he has too much power.   The Senate sends him on a new diplomatic and science mission while they sort out those who worked around the Senate and the ongoing politics.

First, their ships must have repairs and that allows John and Tanya to visit the Geary home in Glenlyon.  My heart was full with learning even more of this history.   Then they went on to the Midway star system which is a revitalized Syndicate world, now operating independently.  The <em><strong>Lost Stars</strong></em> series is the one which shows the development of the Midway star system at the end of the war.  It was great to see the characters here who are like old and dear friends.

The missions are to further development of the hypernet gates and then go on for a new diplomatic mission with the Dancers.   <strong>Boundless</strong> is only the start with the work at Midway with the hypernet gates.  Many people don't know what to think about the different aliens discovered in Geary's previous mission. They didn't expect them to find aliens; it was supposed to be a suicide mission to get rid of him. Instead they found three alien species and were able to establish communication with the Dancers. I was worried all through about some who seem to have prejudices about the Dancers.  I feel protective about the Dancers.

I am ecstatic to have more of this world and these characters.  I hope <strong>Boundless</strong> will have an audio version.  I was glad to have listened to some of the earlier books on audio.  Christian Rummel gave a wonderful performance with just the right emotional tones.  Reading <strong>Boundless</strong>, I could hear his voice (pronunciations) of the the names of characters and places.
<blockquote>After Iceni's and Drakon's virtual presences had left, Bradamont lingered to salute Geary. " Thank you for getting my colonel back safely to me, sir."

Ambassador Rycerz beamed at her. "They understand now, don't they? That I really am in charge here?"

"No," Bradamont said, shaking her head. "They still think he runs the Alliance, but is doing so behind a screen. Even his time leaving Midway to go to Kane is to them simply more proof of how Admiral Geary is maintaining the pretense of answering to you rather than you answering to him."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not. That's how they view the universe, and everything they see is filtered through that. But they also view Admiral Geary as an, um, enlightened leader in their own mold, which is why they remain willing to deal with the Alliance as long as the Alliance is perceived to be Admiral Geary's kingdom."

"Fine." Ambassador Rycerz had apparently developed yet another headache.</blockquote>

Another great book in the list fleet series. The books are full of action and will keep you thoroughly interested! I could not put this book down, I had to finish it in one reading! A must read for the fans of the lost fleet series.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Boundless by Jack Campbell, Campbell has brought our favorite "Black Jack" back again! His problems seem endless and the faceless enemies are still playing with fire in the background.

This is a great addition to Black Jack's adventures. The writing, story, and characters are all solid. The pacing seems a bit slow unless you realize that it's a space opera and therefore a serial. The last 20% of the book had me irritated every time the phone rang, because I didn't want to leave the story.
I look forward to the next installment.