As for this Dauntless . . . this so-called Dauntless . . . I liked it a lot. It's kind of old-fashioned science fiction, but I would not call it Hard Science Fiction. Nor would you, unless you don't know what Hard Science Fiction is. Which could be good or bad, I suppose, depending on your inclinations there. (Not to mention Your Thinking, which makes it so.)
It is a little bit reminiscent of the Battlestar Galactica premise, in that the story (at least so far as this first novel is concerned) is at its heart the story of a fleet of ships on the run from an enemy force which is clearly its superior in terms of might. But when you look closer at the details, there are some significant differences.
First . . .
In Battlestar Galactica (both television series--not sure about the other mediums it appeared in, but that's not relevant anyway, is it?), the humans are lured into negotiations with The Enemy, and it's clear that it was stupid of them to have allowed this to happen. (Well, stupid plus some corruption, but still . . . stupid to the bone.) And they suffer heavy damage because of their stupidity, and then they light out for The Territory.
In The Lost Fleet, the Alliance guys are lured into attacking The Syndicate guys in a clever ruse (no spoilers here), and stupidity is not a factor on either side of the equation. The Alliance guys suffer heavy damage because of their tactical misjudgment, and then they light out for The Territory.
Second . . .
In Battlestar Galactica, The Territory is a mythical place called Earth. So the Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet was not only running away pell-mell, they were also running with no clear idea of their ultimate destination. Running down a dream, as it were.
In The Lost Fleet, The Territory is a very real place called Earth. The Rag Tag Fleet isn't Fugitive . . . isn't even really Lost. They are going back to their base so that they can resupply, re-strategize, and renew the fight against the enemy. Mmm-hmm.
Third . . .
In Battlestar Galactica, our heroes fight when they have to, but they are not looking for a fight. When it comes right down to it, this is a story about running away.
In The Lost Fleet, our heroes are looking to kick against the pricks, no doubt about it. In fact, Captain Jack (who probably will not get you high tonight) has to restrain those in his command from preemptively fighting when it is not tactically sensible.
So those are some big fucking differences, foe show. Maybe that also explains why even though I loved Battlestar Galactica--especially the second one with the smoking hot Cylon & the smoking hot Starbuck--I always felt that the Galacticans were kind of too far on the pussy end of the hero spectrum for me.
The Lost Fleetians are manly men. Even the women are manlier than those Battlestar pussies, come to think of it. (Except for the hot Starbuck. She was pretty damned manly. I think that's why she ended up in Absaroka County.)
And seeing as how I'm such a manly man myself, maybe that explains why I am looking forward to reading Book Two of The Lost Fleet series: Fearless. In fact, I put a request in to the LFPL a couple of days ago for it. Looks like somebody else beat me to it though. Hmm. I know I've got all of those Hungarian books to read . . . and I really wanted to get back to my traipse through the Kurt Vonnegut novels . . . not to mention wanting to do some time with my main man Herman Melville . . . but . . . well, I did see Fearless at Half-Price Books for $2.99 yesterday . . . .
More news as it happens.
And a P.S.: I am going to send a message to Jack Campbell reference the proofreading errors in Dauntless. Here's what I'm going to say:
Dear Mr. Hemry *
I just finished reading The Lost Fleet: Dauntless, and enjoyed it immensely. So much so that I am going to read Fearless immediately, even though I have quite a few other books vying for my attention.
One thing I wanted to ask you about, though: I couldn't help but notice that there were quite a few proofreading errors in the text of the book. I was wondering if you would be interested in having a list of those errors(with an eye towards future printings)? I have not contacted Ace Books with this information as in the past I have found that publishers are not appreciative of this "intrusion"--and, in fact, sometimes actually seem to resent it.
Brother K.
* Jack Campbell's real name.
I'll let you know how that goes.
Oh, and BTW, you can get The Lost Fleet: Dauntless as an ebook from Amazon for a mere $2.99. I don't know if that's a special price or if it will stay there, but I have usually found that when I don't obey my impulses and buy low, the low price goes away. Just sayin', sir.
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