Read: Dreadnaught

Dreadnaught is a follow-up to six-book The Lost Fleet (TLF) series that ended with Victorious last year.

TLF is set against the backdrop of a war between two space-faring human civilizations—the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds that has lasted for a hundred years. Captain John Geary succeeds in bringing home the battered Alliance fleet from deep inside Syndic space, leaving behind the Syndic fleet effectively decimated. The return of the fleet, however, is not wholly welcomed by the Alliance government. Now that the Syndic threat is behind them, the powerful fleet is viewed with suspicion by the civilian authority, especially with Geary’s immense popularity. In Dreadnaught, the fleet is ordered to go to the other side of Syndic space to gather further information about an enigmatic alien race it encountered earlier.

What I like best about TLF is the detailed battle scenes, which no doubt benefited from author John G Hemry’s experience as a US Navy officer. They are also very realistic: Logistics and energy management is always a factor. A message from a ship two light minutes away takes two minutes to arrive. In short, the battle scenes are nothing like what you see in Star Wars or Star Trek. Throughout the series, the characters spend a lot of time discussing their problems and options. A common complain about TLF, however, is the author’s tendency to recapitulate, which he explains as to help new readers of the series.

The next book in the new The Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier series has already been announced for a May, 2012 release and I am definitely looking forward to it.