Science Fiction Annotation - The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield

The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield by Jack Campbell

Science Fiction. Published by Ace Books in 2013.

The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield is the second book in the Lost Stars series. The series is a follow-on series to the Lost Fleet series which began with Lost Fleet: Dauntless. Also, some parts of this novel show a different side of the action from the book Guardian in the Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series. All three series are by Jack Campbell.  

Perilous Shield continues the story of the Midway star system. Midway sits at the edge of human controlled space and at the periphery of what was Syndicate space. Midway was a breakaway system that rebelled, and it is now under its own control. The leaders in the revolt now have given themselves new titles to reflect their new positions: General Drakon and President Iceni. The revolt happened after the Alliance legend, Admiral Black Jack Geary, lead his fleet into the Midway system and then beyond into space controlled by the aliens known as enigmas. As former Syndicate CEOs, their preparation for leadership was ruthless corruption. The Syndicate loyalists and the enigma both are poised and ready for attack.

The setting of the story is in deep space. In some cases the story is on remote planets or in spaceships travelling through the dark.

The tone is purposeful. There is always a mission, always something to guard, to attack or to flee. The language is descriptive.

The characterizations are interesting. The earlier series, Lost Fleet, had Black Jack Geary as a central figure. He was heroic, so much so that he was idolized by his own crews. In this case the majority of the central figures are Syndics, raised to their ranks by assassination, treachery and corruption.

Some read-alikes suggested by Novelist are

• Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
• Valor’s Choice by Tonya Duff
• One Day on Mars by Travis Taylor
• Starstrike by Kevin Dockery