The Lost Fleet
Encyclopedia
The Lost Fleet is a military science fiction
series written by John G. Hemry
under the pen name
Jack Campbell. The series is set one-hundred-plus years into an interstellar war between two different human
cultures, the Alliance and the Syndics. The protagonist of the story is discovered floating in a suspended animation
escape pod
one-hundred years after he made a "heroic last stand
" against an enemy fleet. In the present, he's a renowned hero to the Alliance and his name and actions are used to justify poor tactics and decisions. Awakened after being discovered during a secret mission that turns out to be an enemy trap, he's suddenly dropped into the fleet commander's chair and expected to live up to the legend that has grown around him.
The series has ended with Victorious (2010). The author however plans to continue the Lost Fleet series with two spin-offs: Beyond the Frontier, focusing on the main characters from the Lost Fleet, and The Lost Stars, focusing on the collapse of the Syndicate Worlds.
Beyond the Frontier
The Lost Stars
", allowing them to directly attack the Syndic homeworld. This turns out to be a trap and the remnants of the Alliance fleet find themselves trapped in enemy territory.
Before the battle the fleet had come across the hibernation escape pod of Captain
John Geary. Known as "Black Jack" in the present, his legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild and he is revered for his heroic last stand in the early days of the war. The posthumously promoted survivor still sees himself in the light of a regular and all-too fallible naval officer, one who could not possibly live up to his flawlessly heroic legend. After an act of treachery during peace negotiations, Geary is left as the de facto fleet commander and with great reluctance takes it upon himself to lead the fleet to the safety of Alliance space. Geary does this in the knowledge that the survival of the hypernet key, the fleet, and of the Alliance itself, all depend on him.
Geary is also forced to retrain the fleet to fight in formation instead of the new tactics of charging straight at the enemy supposedly influenced by Geary's example at his famous last stand. Geary's attempt to change the fleet's culture causes tension with some captains, including one egomaniacal demagogue figure, a captain freed from a labor camp of Alliance POWs with a reputation almost as famous as Geary's, using it to split a good portion of the fleet off on a suicide mission.
The above insubordination is made possible through the advent of a pseudo-democratic command structure that Geary is faced with. Over a century of war, characterized by heavy losses and poor training, the Alliance Navy's command structure morphs into independent ship captains voting on fleet decisions. The system resembles an allied clan structure, with a traditional command structure existing below fleet rank. Geary's command of the Alliance Fleet is constantly threatened by ship commanders who oppose his leadership. Insubordination, defection, and, eventually, sabotage is instigated against Geary's "faction." This faction is opposed by still another faction who wish to instigate a coup with Geary as Tyrant of the Alliance. Geary resists the temptation offered by this faction with great effort, though they continue to apply pressure to him throughout the series.
As the entire military force of the Syndicate Worlds continues to hunt the Alliance fleet, Geary is often forced to raid Syndic worlds for supplies. Supply shortages continually plague the fleet; reasons for these shortages include everything from lack of opportunity to acquire raw materials, to using said materials to create the wrong supplies because of Geary's unique fighting style. During some of the supply raids, the Alliance uncovers evidence of a third faction in this war. Geary believes they are an unknown alien
civilization who scared the Syndics enough to start a war with the Alliance. These aliens may even have been responsible for humans discovering the hypernet and may have had sinister reasons for giving humans the technology after Geary discovers that a hypernet gate could be used to destroy a single star system. The hypothetical aliens also have a means of remote destruction of hypernet gates, which will allow them, given time, to extend the war indefinitely.
The alien civilization, whatever their designs for humanity are, do not appear to want the Alliance fleet to reach their home space. When Geary leads the fleet to attack the Lakota star system, the aliens manipulate the Syndic hypernet to divert a Syndic fleet to the system.
Throughout the series, Geary is troubled by larger issues. First, he is troubled by the declining state of the Alliance Government. Specifically, the Alliance government is beginning to lose control of member worlds and losing the support of the military forces; the latter is evidenced by the size of the faction devoted to a military coup of the Alliance within Geary's fleet. Also, in its desperation, the government may choose to imprison Geary as a threat to its own power. Also, the Alliance Navy itself has allowed its standards to slip, and commonly bombards civilians, murders prisoners of war, and ceased salutes and other traditions reaffirming the command structure. Geary fears that the Alliance may not deserve any victory they might achieve. Combined with these is Geary's speculation that, if the increasingly less hypothetical aliens are actively maintaining a state of war within human controlled space, what might their actions be if he can somehow end the war?
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
series written by John G. Hemry
John G. Hemry
John G. Hemry is an American author of military science fiction novels. Drawing on his experience as a retired United States Navy officer, he has written the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series. Under the name Jack Campbell, he has written six volumes of the Lost Fleet series...
under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Jack Campbell. The series is set one-hundred-plus years into an interstellar war between two different human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
cultures, the Alliance and the Syndics. The protagonist of the story is discovered floating in a suspended animation
Suspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
escape pod
Escape pod
An escape pod is a capsule or craft used to escape a vessel in an emergency, usually only big enough for one person. An escape ship is a larger, more complete craft also used for the same purpose...
one-hundred years after he made a "heroic last stand
Last stand
Last stand is a loose military term used to describe a body of troops holding a defensive position in the face of overwhelming odds. The defensive force usually takes very heavy casualties or is completely destroyed, as happened in "Custer's Last Stand" at the Battle of Little Big HornBryan Perrett...
" against an enemy fleet. In the present, he's a renowned hero to the Alliance and his name and actions are used to justify poor tactics and decisions. Awakened after being discovered during a secret mission that turns out to be an enemy trap, he's suddenly dropped into the fleet commander's chair and expected to live up to the legend that has grown around him.
The series has ended with Victorious (2010). The author however plans to continue the Lost Fleet series with two spin-offs: Beyond the Frontier, focusing on the main characters from the Lost Fleet, and The Lost Stars, focusing on the collapse of the Syndicate Worlds.
Novels
The Lost Fleet- The Lost Fleet: DauntlessThe Lost Fleet: DauntlessThe Lost Fleet: Dauntless is the first book in Jack Campbell's The Lost Fleet series that was published in 2006. Dauntless sets the stage for the six novel saga about a fleet of over 200 ships trapped deep behind enemy lines and cut off from traveling to their home territory.-Plot summary:John...
(2006) - The Lost Fleet: FearlessThe Lost Fleet: FearlessThe Lost Fleet: Fearless is the second book in Jack Campbell's The Lost Fleet series that was published in 2007.-External links:**** on LibraryThing...
(2007) - The Lost Fleet: CourageousThe Lost Fleet: CourageousThe Lost Fleet: Courageous is the third book in Jack Campbell's The Lost Fleet series that was published in 2007.-External links:* on SF Site*...
(2007) - The Lost Fleet: ValiantThe Lost Fleet: ValiantThe Lost Fleet: Valiant is the fourth book in Jack Campbell's The Lost Fleet series that was published in 2008.-Plot summary:Not sure what to expect after the heavy damage the Syndicate's inflicted on his fleet when they escaped 11 days before, John 'Black Jack' Geary discovers the system is...
(2008) - The Lost Fleet: RelentlessThe Lost Fleet: RelentlessThe Lost Fleet: Relentless is the fifth book in Jack Campbell's The Lost Fleet series. It was published in 2009.-Plot:The plot of Relentless picks up in Dilawa. Jack Geary, commander of the fleet, after much deliberation, mostly due to struggling with potential losses regardless of his decision,...
(2009) - The Lost Fleet: VictoriousThe Lost Fleet: VictoriousThe Lost Fleet: Victorious is a military science fiction novel by Jack Campbell, pseudonym for John G. Hemry, released on April 27, 2010. Victorious is the sixth and final volume in Hemry's The Lost Fleet series, though not the last book featuring Captain John "Black Jack" Geary.-Plot:Having...
(2010)
Beyond the Frontier
- Beyond the Frontier: DreadnaughtBeyond the Frontier: DreadnaughtThe Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Dreadnaught is the first book in Jack Campbell's Beyond the Frontier, which is part of the larger The Lost Fleet series.-Plot summary:...
(2011) - Beyond the Frontier: Invincible (2012)
The Lost Stars
- The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight (2012)
The Lost Fleet
The Alliance has been fighting the Syndicate Worlds for a century, neither side able to gain an edge over the other. The Alliance, however, has gained access to a Syndic "hypernet keyHyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
", allowing them to directly attack the Syndic homeworld. This turns out to be a trap and the remnants of the Alliance fleet find themselves trapped in enemy territory.
Before the battle the fleet had come across the hibernation escape pod of Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
John Geary. Known as "Black Jack" in the present, his legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild and he is revered for his heroic last stand in the early days of the war. The posthumously promoted survivor still sees himself in the light of a regular and all-too fallible naval officer, one who could not possibly live up to his flawlessly heroic legend. After an act of treachery during peace negotiations, Geary is left as the de facto fleet commander and with great reluctance takes it upon himself to lead the fleet to the safety of Alliance space. Geary does this in the knowledge that the survival of the hypernet key, the fleet, and of the Alliance itself, all depend on him.
Geary is also forced to retrain the fleet to fight in formation instead of the new tactics of charging straight at the enemy supposedly influenced by Geary's example at his famous last stand. Geary's attempt to change the fleet's culture causes tension with some captains, including one egomaniacal demagogue figure, a captain freed from a labor camp of Alliance POWs with a reputation almost as famous as Geary's, using it to split a good portion of the fleet off on a suicide mission.
The above insubordination is made possible through the advent of a pseudo-democratic command structure that Geary is faced with. Over a century of war, characterized by heavy losses and poor training, the Alliance Navy's command structure morphs into independent ship captains voting on fleet decisions. The system resembles an allied clan structure, with a traditional command structure existing below fleet rank. Geary's command of the Alliance Fleet is constantly threatened by ship commanders who oppose his leadership. Insubordination, defection, and, eventually, sabotage is instigated against Geary's "faction." This faction is opposed by still another faction who wish to instigate a coup with Geary as Tyrant of the Alliance. Geary resists the temptation offered by this faction with great effort, though they continue to apply pressure to him throughout the series.
As the entire military force of the Syndicate Worlds continues to hunt the Alliance fleet, Geary is often forced to raid Syndic worlds for supplies. Supply shortages continually plague the fleet; reasons for these shortages include everything from lack of opportunity to acquire raw materials, to using said materials to create the wrong supplies because of Geary's unique fighting style. During some of the supply raids, the Alliance uncovers evidence of a third faction in this war. Geary believes they are an unknown alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
civilization who scared the Syndics enough to start a war with the Alliance. These aliens may even have been responsible for humans discovering the hypernet and may have had sinister reasons for giving humans the technology after Geary discovers that a hypernet gate could be used to destroy a single star system. The hypothetical aliens also have a means of remote destruction of hypernet gates, which will allow them, given time, to extend the war indefinitely.
The alien civilization, whatever their designs for humanity are, do not appear to want the Alliance fleet to reach their home space. When Geary leads the fleet to attack the Lakota star system, the aliens manipulate the Syndic hypernet to divert a Syndic fleet to the system.
Throughout the series, Geary is troubled by larger issues. First, he is troubled by the declining state of the Alliance Government. Specifically, the Alliance government is beginning to lose control of member worlds and losing the support of the military forces; the latter is evidenced by the size of the faction devoted to a military coup of the Alliance within Geary's fleet. Also, in its desperation, the government may choose to imprison Geary as a threat to its own power. Also, the Alliance Navy itself has allowed its standards to slip, and commonly bombards civilians, murders prisoners of war, and ceased salutes and other traditions reaffirming the command structure. Geary fears that the Alliance may not deserve any victory they might achieve. Combined with these is Geary's speculation that, if the increasingly less hypothetical aliens are actively maintaining a state of war within human controlled space, what might their actions be if he can somehow end the war?