Short version: hoo, boy, these were fun. I kind of wish that I had read them earlier; but then what would I have been reading over the last two weeks? My reaction, by series:
- The Lost Fleet. I’m a sucker for good space opera, particularly when it’s based on historical events (the Anabasis, just in case you hadn’t figured it out just yet) and can tap into some good mythic. I pretty much mainlined this series, Kindle book to Kindle book and I feel no shame.
- The Lost Stars. Theoretically, I should have started up with the Beyond The Frontier series first, but I had grabbed all the books from the library and the first book in this series was the first one I grabbed. It took me a while to notice the significance of the names, but I laughed when I figured it out. I also kind of enjoy watching people discover, to their shock and horror, that they’re actually not evil. That moment of seeing them writhe as their souls are untwisted and renewed? Glorious.
- Beyond the Frontier. The direct sequel to The Lost Fleet series itself. Funnier, more comfortable; also considerably more openly religious. The religious aspects of all three series are actually pretty cool; Jack Campbell explored the concepts in a way where the reader could still tell himself that there were no supernatural interventions going on at all*. It was really well done.
So check out these books. They’re prime stuff.
Moe Lane
*In reality, of course, Black Jack Geary really was sent back by his ancestors and the living stars to stop the war, save the Alliance, and even help out the Syndics. It’s ridiculously obvious, honestly. Although, to be fair, the only one that really needed to be convinced was Geary himself.
As a non-participant in your religion, can you give me an idea of how hard upside the head Lost Fleet will try to hit?
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Are we talking Narnia? Lord of the Rings? Superman?
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Mew
It’s fairly subtle: most of the people in the stories are matter-of-fact religious, and consider their faith to be a support and protection.
Moe is right. The religion involved in the book is a form of ancestor worship. Most people in the book believe in it to a greater or lesser degree, and allow it to guide their actions to that extent. But it’s presented in very general terms, and is not an analogy for anything.
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He is also right that the book goes to great lengths to provide a realistic explanation for why Black Jack Geary would be in the position he’s in at the beginning of the series. The reader is left to decide which explanation is better supported by Ockham’s razor: the realistic, or the supernatural. It’s so well done that I have found myself bouncing back-and-forth in my opinion of which one must be right.
That sounds .. readable. I will add it to the queue.
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Mew
Watch out for the three-tier pricing on Amazon. First taste is three bucks, second is five, and after that Amazon knows that your wallet is theirs.
As much shopping as I do on Amazon, I still buy most of my books in person at B&N. There’s just something about holding the book in your hand, I guess….
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On another note, The Anabasis turns out to be one of those weird gaps in my knowledge. Despite all those FRP games I played, and the countless volumes I have read, I don’t believe I have ever even seen it mentioned anywhere before…