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Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jack Campbell
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (236 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 27, 2006

Captain John “Black Jack” Geary’s legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic “last stand” in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance Fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndic.

Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance’s one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic “Black Jack” legend...


Frequently Bought Together

Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1) + Fearless (The Lost Fleet, Book 2) + Courageous (The Lost Fleet, Book 3)
Price for all three: $21.57

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A slam-bang good read that kept me up at night.”—Elizabeth Moon



“A rousing adventure…the kind of hero Hornblower fans will love!”—William C.



“The best novel of its type that I’ve read.”—David Sherman, coauthor of the Starfist series



“Military science fiction at its best.”—Catherine Asaro

About the Author

"Jack Campbell" is the pseudonym for John G. Hemry, a retired Naval officer (and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis). As Jack Campbell, he writes The Lost Fleet series of military science fiction novels. He lives with his family in Maryland.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Ace; Reissue edition (June 27, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9780441014187
  • ISBN-13: 978-0441014187
  • ASIN: 0441014186
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (236 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Jack Campbell" is the pseudonym for John G. Hemry, a retired Naval officer (and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis). As Jack Campbell, he writes The Lost Fleet series of military science fiction novels, as well as the Beyond the Frontier continuation of The Lost Fleet, and The Lost Stars series (a spin-off of The Lost Fleet). He has also written the Stark's War series and the Sinclair/"JAG in space" series, and has written many shorter stories featuring space opera, fantasy, time travel, and alternate history. Many of these stories can be found in the three Jack Campbell ebook anthologies. He lives with his wife (the Indomitable S) and three children (two of whom are autistic) in Maryland.

Customer Reviews

This was a good read, with well thought out space battles and interesting characters. K. Maxwell  |  52 reviewers made a similar statement
I look forward to reading the second book in this series. C. Cole  |  29 reviewers made a similar statement
The characters are very flat. M. Wilson  |  16 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
139 of 148 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Fallen Fleet July 16, 2006
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Captain John "Black Jack" Geary received his field promotion after everyone thought he'd died in battle. Instead, he'd been in suspended animation for a hundred years when he was found and revived. During that century of warfare that passed, the Alliance struggled against the Syndic, falling prey to the same kind of methodology employed against them by their enemy. Promoted to Fleet Commander after a Syndic betrayal, Geary wants to save as many of his people as he can. Boldly, he begins a campaign that will strand them light-years from home, with the only way back through enemy-held territory. If the Alliance had been the same Alliance he had died for, the chances would be slim. But now the Alliance is a shadow of its former self, no longer a competent force, broken down into segments of selfish officers who won't take orders.

Jack Campbell is the pseudonym for an accomplished SF author. THE LOST FLEET: DAUNTLESS is the first book in a new series.

The authors handling of the military is pitch-perfect. He knows the rules and regs, and he conveys the feeling of battle and being under fire really well. More than the sheer action, move and counter-move, though, he also understand the politics of running a large force and dealing with the enemy in an honorable fashion. The "science" that he's set up to deal with his universe is intact and he adheres to it. Not only do readers learn that the rules of engagement do allow mercy to an enemy, but also that anything over .1 light-speed leaves every other starcraft blurred and in uncertain positions. The military and scientific applications of the story, dealing with honor and command as well as real physics regarding how fast light travels, come across as real.
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86 of 95 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Original and Fun July 4, 2006
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I picked up this book and read the back cover and thought well that sounds different. I was not disappointed. The book is original in that it is military sci-fi with character development and growth. Black Jack Geary's thoughts as he trying to adjust to his new surrounds are amusing and totally in character. This book not only has great space battles and a 100 year war, but interesting characters that are more than military automatons. This is a full and interesting world I look forward to reading more about.
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39 of 43 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Burdens of Leadership April 20, 2007
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I was very impressed with this book. The highest praise I can give this book is that it is worthy of the comparison to the Hornblower series of C.S. Forester. It is the study of a leader who improbably finds himself thrust into a future war where the highly-developed tactics and strategies of space war have been lost owing to the severe attrition in the officer's ranks. It is a Rip Van Winkle tale of a man who must now live in the world of those who would be as old as his grandchildren and finds that much of the honor and discipline of his fighting force has been cast aside of seeming necessity.

Our leader, John "Black Jack" Geary has been picked up after drifting in space for over a hundred years. His exploits in the battle that stranded him are now legendary. Therein lies the unique power of this book--it allows the study of a character with all of the skills to be a fine leader who is unexpectedly thrust into a situation where suddenly he holds all the power and is forced to retrain an entire navy. What does he do? What are the effects of his virtually unlimited power?

The author takes every opportunity to teach the reader the value of discipline and military honor. It is this strong moral undertone that gives the book its power. It is far better than most books of its genre; indeed, this is the first author I have ever encountered who deals with relativistic effects in his portrayal of space battles.

Yet make no mistake, this isn't about battles. This is about a man who is in a position to lead and how he goes about persuading others to follow him. Fascinating five-star stuff.
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59 of 71 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Long on exposition, short on action. March 18, 2007
By Orion
Format:Mass Market Paperback
It's been said that Arthur Conan Doyle created Watson because that was the only way he could make Holmes look like a genius. That is, by making Watson dull, plodding, and unimaginative he accentuated Sherlock Holmes' intellect, making him look more brilliant than he actually was.

The Lost Fleet series is much the same. Captain "Black Jack" Geary is a competent though not brilliant starship captain in the Alliance fleet who executed a covering action for a convoy he was guarding against the Syndic, an archtypical Evil Empire (tm). Stuck in a cryosleep pod for a century he just "happens" to be found and thawed out by an Alliance fleet on a mission to attack the Syndic home system. Over the past century war seems to have wiped all all the smart Alliance officers and left the navy with a bunch of morons who can't fly in formation or spot an obvious trap w/o sticking their heads in it first.

Thrust into command because all the higher ranking officers flew off to a meeting aboard a Syndic fleet and got shot (I said all the bright ones were long dead) he finds himself in charge of a fleet run by kindergardeners who incidentally worship the deck plating he walks on. I said "kindergardeners", I meant to say, "not-very-bright" kindergardeners, the kind who don't tend to go on to college, much less become naval officers aboard extremely expensive warships. Collectively they seem to have IQs in the range of their shoe sizes and act accordingly. The Syndics in contrast act like The Evil Overlord Manual was required reading in school and think rings around the poor Alliance saps. All except Black Jack Geary, who singlehandedly whips the Alliance Fleet into shape and saves it from disaster time after time after time...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
I enjoyed this book very much but I don't recall any character descriptions whatsoever which was disconcerting. The writing and plot are very good. I will read more. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Silverwind7
4.0 out of 5 stars a different perspective on space opera
This story didn't immediately grab me like some stories. I was confused about the characters and who was doing what, but I could identify with the main character's confusion... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Sensei Mike
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Space opera!
Several great series have started with the Hero showing up at the right place, at the right time, with the right abilities, BUT, some liability- amnesia, time displacement,or... Read more
Published 29 days ago by Laserfisher
5.0 out of 5 stars Never Thought I'd Feel So Strongly!
Saw this series recommended on a blog and decided to try out the first book. Thoroughly enjoyed it, went on to buy the rest in the series... and am looking forward to the next one. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cindy Judd
2.0 out of 5 stars Not going for volume 2
Lots of good reviews, and I wanted a space opera read, so I went for it. Should have passed, I think.

Not bad writing, not great either. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Doctor Bob
4.0 out of 5 stars Great space opera
This continues in the series vein of a great space opera with giant fleets battling it out in a strategically contained environment.
Published 1 month ago by Jeff J. Watts
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Once I became involved in the plot and the story progressed, this book became exciting for me, with characters I could relate to. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jonathan G Scott
4.0 out of 5 stars What happens when you wake up and find that you are a legend?
In The Lost Fleet - Dauntless, Captain John “Black Jack” Geary is "woken" after a century of sleep in a survival pod. Read more
Published 2 months ago by R Schmidt
5.0 out of 5 stars An epic space saga
This series is simply fantastic. I'm re-reading it for the third time, and still enjoying it. The first volume builds to an climactic space battle and then pulls back to a smooth... Read more
Published 2 months ago by TechGeek
5.0 out of 5 stars The whole series rocks. Couldn't put it down
What else can you say. A really amazing Sci-Fi series that takes physics realistically into account. Glad I read it.
Published 3 months ago by Matthew Smith
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Only the first book on Kindle?
This is exactly one of those occasions where that whole publishing / drm stuff just annoys the hell out of me, how stupid is that: I can't buy the first book of that series because i live in europe. The other parts are available, though.
Mar 11, 2010 by Toni Baumann |  See all 11 posts
Is Amazon.com book review system flawed?
You have to read the review and judge for yourself. In the Dune reviews there is a lot of this going on right now with the reviews of the new books. Those are the only books I've reviewed so far, because that universe is important to me. However, with some of the new books its seems like tons... Read more
May 10, 2009 by C. Carter Holland |  See all 3 posts
Is this book part of a new wave of military sci-fi?
Nothing new. Military Sci-Fi has been around for decades. Starship Troopers, Sten, David Drake, William C. Dietz etc etc etc.

John Scalzi's books, "Old Man's War" and "Ghost Brigades" are the cream of the crop however. There is a reason they have won so many awards. ... Read more
Apr 19, 2007 by J. Ahrens |  See all 2 posts
Too many flaws
Time to reach .1c: we've no idea of their acceleration abilities and inertial dampeners are mentioned. I don't see this as a physics flaw in-and-of-itself (after all, if you're gonna accept artificial gravity and the associated inertial dampeners that also somehow provide hull integrity at the... Read more
Nov 7, 2008 by A. Gilliam |  See all 3 posts
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