The Geary's get it done

I have been missing Black Jack so I was very happy to read about his ancestor... This was a great book with a good premise, I look forward to references in the Lost Fleet series!

Seriously, let's get working on more Geary books! Any Geary...

11 people found this helpful

Riveting Story

Jack Campbell is one of my favorite military Sci-fi authors. I am a big fan of his “Lost Fleet Series” and its various spine-off series. This new series, “Genesis Fleet” is set in the time before the “Lost Fleet”. in other words, it is a prequel to the “Lost Fleet Series”.

War weary Earth refuses to be the policeman of the universe any more. Without a universal policeman to keep order, the pirates and two-bit plundering dictators are in full force. The four main characters to emerge are a failed politician, Lochan Nakamura, looking for a new start; an Earth bureaucrat, Carmen Ochoa, who grew up on anarchic Mars; a former Marine, Mele Darcy, looking for something to fight for and a former Naval Officer with the name of Robert Geary.

The book is well written. Campbell’s trademark is he creates men and women doing what is right even if it is difficult or unpopular. Campbell also attempts to use actual physics in his space battles. The book is full of action, strong characters and complex politics on multiple worlds. I cannot wait for the next book in the saga.

The book is nine and a half hours long. Christian Rummel does an excellent job narrating the book. Rummel is an author, actor and award-winning audiobook narrator. I am so glad they kept Rummel as he was the narrator of the Lost Fleet and all of its spine-offs.

47 people found this helpful

Great begining of a new series

Would you listen to Vanguard again? Why?

The story line and performance were captivating and entertaining. The action scenes were well described. There were nuances which I am sure to pick up on the second listening.

What other book might you compare Vanguard to and why?

The lost fleet series, also by John G Hemry (Jack Campbell)

Which scene was your favorite?

The first incursion into the Scatha base camp.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but could not put it down, especially in the last three chapters.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend this book. Christian Rummel does an outstanding performance in the narration of this book.

32 people found this helpful

Great Story in the Universe

This was a great novel. The characters all felt great, the story did seem kinda forced in places. But this was a very enjoyable read from start to finish.

I will say, that having the one romance that happened, play hard to get, felt very forced. Like she was only tangentially interested, instead of trying to help one of the main characters, find a way to express themselves. Or actually have the two characters gradually fall for one another.

That, and the hacker character feels way op. Like there isn't a computer system she can't break into, at all. that kind of genius is what governments hire to secure their data and transmissions. not someone they treat as an independent contractor.

those are my only two complaints, and they feel like nitpicks, instead of big flaws.

if you enjoyed the lost fleet, and the lost stars, you will enjoy this novel.

5 people found this helpful

Great family read!

These books by Jack Campbell are well written and well read. Engaging, believable, and satisfying, his books prove that an author doesn't have to use lewd conversation or inappropriate scenes to write a best seller! Thanks for another family friendly book!

27 people found this helpful

Where Science Fiction goes to Die

After scanning the reviews, I've come to believe that those who gave this book high marks had listened to Jack Campbell's previous Lost Fleet series. Not having that experience, I personally found Vanguard to be lacking in creativity and intrigue. The plot line flows like a 1940s WW2 novel - simple, formulaic, with a huge overdose of John (and Jane) Waynisms. BORING!

While I am always looking for a good series to become attached to, it won't be with the Genesis Fleet.

18 people found this helpful

Solid Addition to the Series

Jack Campbell goes back into starfaring exploration history with a new series set hundreds of years before the events in his "Lost Fleet" series.

For me, this seemed kind of like a way for him to reboot the series, stepping away from the massive scale battles that the series ended with, and returning to a much smaller theater which allowed him to focus on developing new characters. Just one strange issue with this, however. It seems that some of the characters are direct ancestors of the protagonists in the later series. The main character is yet another Geary, and his personality and speech traits are virtually identical to the "Black Jack" that we all know so well. It's like they're the same exact character. I don't know this was even deliberate on the author's part, or if he can only write a few certain types of characters.

At any rate, this was a missed opportunity to introduce very different characters in a different setting, and stretch his creativity and give us something that feels new. Instead, this is simply "Lost Fleet" scaled way back.

13 people found this helpful

Quit after 4 hours. This should be for male teens

Quit after 4 hours. This should be for male teens. The characters are cookie cutter. The adventure did not grab me. It felt like the first episode of a slow tv show.

This is the third and final series I've tried of Campbell. He gets great reviews, so I tried. I'm sorry, but for me - They are weak on sci-fi. Thin on characters.

Narrator annoyed me. Anyone with a foreign name is immediately given that accent. Cookie cutter.

12 people found this helpful

This guy's books keep you coming back for more

What made the experience of listening to Vanguard the most enjoyable?

Rummel is good, and it feels as though the story was written to be spoken.

What did you like best about this story?

It's a prequel in a universe that was already well hashed out and they old Earth is old but still fresh in the memories of some. Not some far off relic like when they visited in BTF.

Have you listened to any of Christian Rummel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He didn't speak as deeply when doing the voice of a Geary, but why should they all sound the same? I'd say it was on par. I find it insane that he does so many variations of voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The end made me think back to the time Captain Duellos had a shuttle ready for Geary in TLF which made me shed a tear but in this case I'm just curious if it's over.

Any additional comments?

I gave it 4 instead of 5 starts because it irked me a little that our protagonist was a Geary. It was cute that they another major name drop on a planet that was mentioned in the other books. I'll be back for more.

2 people found this helpful

OMG - Sooo Boring

Would you try another book from Jack Campbell and/or Christian Rummel?

No. No. Hell no.

If you’ve listened to books by Jack Campbell before, how does this one compare?

I tried Lost Fleet a couple years ago. It was yuchy too. If I had realized this book was by the same author I would have stayed away.

Which character – as performed by Christian Rummel – was your favorite?

I didn't care for his voice. And that surprised me because he was articulate, read at a good pace, and good inflections. I didn't like his male voice. If that was him doing the female voices, those were very good. Best ever.

Did Vanguard inspire you to do anything?

Finally had enough. I screamed and tore off my ear buds. And part of my ear.

Any additional comments?

Fluff, fluff, fluff. And did I mention, so much meaningless drivel.

I stayed with it a while because I thought there might be the kernel of an interesting story in there somewhere. But, I guess to stretch it out to multiple books the author had to insert a lot of his soapbox sermonettes.

Dialog was so amateurish. And he gave us so much of the character's background (see "fluff" above) that didn't add to the story - boring, mind numbing.

21 people found this helpful