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This is both the first book I’ve read by Jack Campbell and the first book in a series. They’ve apparently appeared in several short story magazines, and I might have read something by them there. I do know I’ve read book length works by this author before, though, just not under the Jack Campbell name. I’ve read at least the first book, and probably more of the John G. Hemry JAG in Space series.

This specific book here is the first in a series that follows, at least the first book does, a man a hundred years out of time. A hundred years before the start of this book, Captain John "Black Jack" Geary fought in a particular battle. He ‘died� doing ‘heroic� things that became the model for the Alliance space navy for the next 100 years. Using phrases that include Black Jack like ‘Black Jack would have done x�, ‘Even Black Jack couldn’t have saved us there�, became common phrase. To the point there’s at least one scene wherein someone begins to say that directly to ‘Black Jack�.

As the last sentence in the paragraph above might have indicated (or maybe the first sentence?, or the ‘� around ‘died�?), Captain John Geary didn’t actually die in his ‘heroic� defeat of the Syndicate ships who ambushed his ships (or the Synds? They are a Corporate based society, with top leaders of bases having the title CEO as opposed to Admiral or General or the like). Also, he wasn’t ‘Captain�, he was ‘Commander�. He got that ‘Captain� ‘posthumously� (that’s a lot of ‘�, eh?). No, Geary didn’t die. He ended up in an escape pod. For a hundred years. Apparently it’s the kind of escape pod that ‘freezes� a person instead of just have them sit there while the ship auto-pilots, or sit there trying to pilot the pod. That’s one of those confusing things, of course, one of those unexplained things (at least in this book) � no other escape pod was described that way. There was mention of Synd escape pods bouncing around and Captain Geary talking to a ‘CEO� in one of the pods, and directing him to make sure that none of the pods fly a particular direction (which may or may not indicate that they were human piloted ships -> and there’s this huge discussion about how much the Alliance just hates AI piloted ships, so I ‘assume� pods aren’t auto-piloted, so what the (view spoiler)[fuck (hide spoiler)] is up with Captain Geary’s ship being some other type of ship that ‘freeze� their escapee’s? Yes yes, 100 years different technology and attitudes, but there was no indication that the pods changed in that way, and indication that people of Geary’s time also had an issue with AI controlled ships (though not a law against it).

Right. So. 100 years after popping into an escape pod, his pod is found by Alliance ships. There’s a reason why his pod wasn’t found prior to that point, but let’s just move on. Geary was never a Captain while ‘alive� in his previous existence, but he was promoted to the position shortly after he was presumed dead. So, when the admiral of the fleet that found Geary, wanders off to ‘negotiate� with the Synds, that admiral puts Geary in charge. Both because he’s the captain with the oldest promotion date (by about a 100 years), and because, well, he’s Black Jack Geary!

Admiral and some others dart over to Synd ships. Get promptly executed. The Alliance fleet is in the Synod (wait, is it Synod?) home system � after attempting an ambush based on getting a ‘key� (don’t ask) that let’s them ‘in�. The fleet is badly damaged. Likely will be destroyed. Everyone assumes it will be destroyed, or surrender. Black Jack’s in command, though, and he spots something no one else thought to notice � a different method of exiting the system. A point that wasn’t guarded by the Synds. And older technology way of leaving the system.

And so� most of the fleet escapes and Black Jack tries to reconcile the difference between his time period and the time period he now finds himself in. While attempting to maintain control of the fleet (which has a very different idea of how things are run). Book continues. Stuff happens.

Quite interesting book. I wasn’t going to dive into the sequel immediately, but I was interested in it. Until I read a description. Eh, I might still dive into it. I’m happy enough, though, with the book I read.

The Syndicate is a ‘Corporate State� type dictatorship. The Alliance is more of a republic type thing that has a big ‘honoring your ancestor (and or the stars)� layer superimposed on everything. Not sure what that means, if anything, but that’s there. Also the Synds appear to have a more NAZI type corporate state than a USA corporate state. At least there was that vibe.

Rating: 4.42

October 23 2019