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Blood on the Stars #6
Dauntless
The pulsar…an ancient weapon of unimaginable power, one that threatens the Confederation with total destruction. The Union is preparing for the final invasion, one that cannot fail with the great artifact at the head of their fleet. The clock is ticking quickly toward midnight.
There is a chance to avoid annihilation, a small one. The Confederation has its own ancient device recovered from the Badlands, a stealth generator. It is not as powerful as the pulsar, but it just may be enough.
The generator can hide a single vessel, so Tyler Barron and the crew of Dauntless reunite to take their aging battleship once more into the breach. They will go to the Bottleneck, the system where the Union is preparing the final assault. They must sneak around the vast forces of the Union fleet, into the heart of the massively-defended system, and somehow destroy the pulsar.
The fleet will be with them, all the might the Confederation can muster, but success hinges almost entirely on Dauntless’s desperate attack. And, even if Barron and his people succeed in their mission, they will be trapped behind the enemy fleet, cut off and alone.
Dauntless is book six of the Blood on the Stars series. Blood on the Stars will continue with The White Fleet.
Blood on the Stars Reading Order
Duel in the Dark (Book 1)
Call to Arms (Book 2)
Ruins of Empire (Book 3)
Echoes of Glory (Book 4)
Cauldron of Fire (Book 5)
Dauntless (Book 6)
The White Fleet (Book 7) - Coming
There is a chance to avoid annihilation, a small one. The Confederation has its own ancient device recovered from the Badlands, a stealth generator. It is not as powerful as the pulsar, but it just may be enough.
The generator can hide a single vessel, so Tyler Barron and the crew of Dauntless reunite to take their aging battleship once more into the breach. They will go to the Bottleneck, the system where the Union is preparing the final assault. They must sneak around the vast forces of the Union fleet, into the heart of the massively-defended system, and somehow destroy the pulsar.
The fleet will be with them, all the might the Confederation can muster, but success hinges almost entirely on Dauntless’s desperate attack. And, even if Barron and his people succeed in their mission, they will be trapped behind the enemy fleet, cut off and alone.
Dauntless is book six of the Blood on the Stars series. Blood on the Stars will continue with The White Fleet.
Blood on the Stars Reading Order
Duel in the Dark (Book 1)
Call to Arms (Book 2)
Ruins of Empire (Book 3)
Echoes of Glory (Book 4)
Cauldron of Fire (Book 5)
Dauntless (Book 6)
The White Fleet (Book 7) - Coming
396 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 7, 2018
1123 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
November 1, 2018
Well, you know, I've been enjoying this series so far. Overall it is a solid MilSF, that is not without it's flaws.
Some spoilers here:
- There's too much of repetition, not only with how the battles go but also with info repeated about characters etc whenever they are mentioned. This is almost used to just add more words to the book.
- The cultures of the primary factions are still a bit quirky, especially the Alliance with their whole Romanesque empire thing going on. As well how fast the Union is recovering...they shouldn't be a threat again for a few decades at least.
I may complete the rest of this series, I've already started book 7. Just hoping there's something different rather than the "Dauntless vs enemies on her own, they take massive damage, Fritz fixes the engines/ship, hundreds die, most of the fighters die and fight against numerically superior enemies...".
Some spoilers here:
- There's too much of repetition, not only with how the battles go but also with info repeated about characters etc whenever they are mentioned. This is almost used to just add more words to the book.
- The cultures of the primary factions are still a bit quirky, especially the Alliance with their whole Romanesque empire thing going on. As well how fast the Union is recovering...they shouldn't be a threat again for a few decades at least.
I may complete the rest of this series, I've already started book 7. Just hoping there's something different rather than the "Dauntless vs enemies on her own, they take massive damage, Fritz fixes the engines/ship, hundreds die, most of the fighters die and fight against numerically superior enemies...".
February 1, 2018
Boring
The action is totally predictable and the characters run through their emotions and dialogue like a poorly directed community theater group.
The lack of direction of empires at war is unbelievable. The two large empires are bad copies of Honor Harrington's universe sliding into a roughly Reagan-era media myth of the Soviet vs U.S. political dynamic. The idea could be fruitful if effort is put into it but it wasn't.
The economic ruin of one empire doesn't get shrugged off in six months of television appearances by an evil leader. His society was ruined for generations. The damage done to the Soviet Union by the revolution, purges and world war 2 still marks their economy. That's the quickest example that comes to mind.
The quirky little Roman themed Alliance is just weird. Their main opponent is any stock dictator with a few systems under his belt and a successful dictator grandfather (borrowed from the North Korean model?).
Empires making policy because of poll numbers is hilarious. Policy makers in an obviously capitalist society answer only to what is in the best interest of the powerful, as long as it can be sugarcoated as benefiting the society as a whole. The powerful being the economic rulers, not a gaggle of political frontmen (senators, etc.).
American media has glorified that reality openly for more than a generation. No need to read political science or history. Last but hardly least, it is too painful to read the nonexistence of non-whites in this universe. Even all names are English or French, the two major enemies or Latin names (I still laugh at that whole Roman thing). So we know nothing about the old empire except that every trace of Indian, Chinese, Eastern European, Western European, Mediterranean, South American, African, Arab, etc. genes and culture have disappeared and so have any pesky non-English names (again except the evil French themed empire).
To read one or two of these books is a stretch even with my quality filters set to low but the writer's worldview and lack of effort are just too much.
The action is totally predictable and the characters run through their emotions and dialogue like a poorly directed community theater group.
The lack of direction of empires at war is unbelievable. The two large empires are bad copies of Honor Harrington's universe sliding into a roughly Reagan-era media myth of the Soviet vs U.S. political dynamic. The idea could be fruitful if effort is put into it but it wasn't.
The economic ruin of one empire doesn't get shrugged off in six months of television appearances by an evil leader. His society was ruined for generations. The damage done to the Soviet Union by the revolution, purges and world war 2 still marks their economy. That's the quickest example that comes to mind.
The quirky little Roman themed Alliance is just weird. Their main opponent is any stock dictator with a few systems under his belt and a successful dictator grandfather (borrowed from the North Korean model?).
Empires making policy because of poll numbers is hilarious. Policy makers in an obviously capitalist society answer only to what is in the best interest of the powerful, as long as it can be sugarcoated as benefiting the society as a whole. The powerful being the economic rulers, not a gaggle of political frontmen (senators, etc.).
American media has glorified that reality openly for more than a generation. No need to read political science or history. Last but hardly least, it is too painful to read the nonexistence of non-whites in this universe. Even all names are English or French, the two major enemies or Latin names (I still laugh at that whole Roman thing). So we know nothing about the old empire except that every trace of Indian, Chinese, Eastern European, Western European, Mediterranean, South American, African, Arab, etc. genes and culture have disappeared and so have any pesky non-English names (again except the evil French themed empire).
To read one or two of these books is a stretch even with my quality filters set to low but the writer's worldview and lack of effort are just too much.
February 27, 2018
I have read all the previous books in the series and really enjoyed them. I found this book a bit long winded and hard work to read. To be honest I found myself losing interest as the plot appeared to go from disaster to disaster and it became very predictable and boring. A pity really as the other books in the series kept my attention all the way through the books.
September 14, 2019
This is a review of both book 5 and book 6 in the Blood on the Stars series. These books do kind of go together a bit more than the rest of the books in the series. At least that is the excuse I’m using for bundling these two books together to compensate for my chronic failure to avoid building up a backlog of books that I’ve read but not reviewed.
Anyway, this series is, possibly with the exception of Echoes of Glory, really my kind of military science fiction. They do not really manage to get to a five out of five rating but they are mostly solid four out of five star ones.
In these two books Tyler Barron and his Dauntless first have to sort out the mess that the political machinations in Echoes of Glory created and save what is rest of the proud warriors of the Alliance. This takes place in the 5th book, Cauldron of Fire, but unlike the preceding one, in this book the focus is back to military strategy, tactics and action.
It is battleship against battleship, fleet against fleet, commander against commander. I really like this kind of books. Tyler Barron is himself and he is kicking arse as usual. The combat is great and of almost epic proportions. That’s what happens when you sling fleets of capital ships against each other. Throw in a couple of huge battle stations and it just gets better.
In the 6th book the adventure continues. The Alliance, or what is left of it, is saved but, as was already mentioned in the previous book, the Union now has a operational pulsar and plans to end the Confederation once and for all.
So when you see a ghost, sorry a pulsar, who are you going to call? Surprise, surprise it falls on Tyler Barron to save the day…again.
Although there are some epic fleet battles in this book as well the main part of the story is focused on Barron and Dauntless when they try to sneak in behind enemy lines with their newly discovered stealth device and destroy the pulsar.
Overall these two books were really enjoyable for me. Action, characters, story etc. are really good. As I wrote, maybe not 5 out 5 good but definitely 4 out of 5 good.
There are, unfortunately, some political bullshit creeping in. Especially towards the end and I really hated that bit. I almost took of a star for the useless, dumbass and totally unnecessary political twist towards the end.
Well, at least it looks like I will not have to complain about Dauntless being shot to pieces in every book at least.
Overall, really good books and the installment is already on my to-read shelf.
Anyway, this series is, possibly with the exception of Echoes of Glory, really my kind of military science fiction. They do not really manage to get to a five out of five rating but they are mostly solid four out of five star ones.
In these two books Tyler Barron and his Dauntless first have to sort out the mess that the political machinations in Echoes of Glory created and save what is rest of the proud warriors of the Alliance. This takes place in the 5th book, Cauldron of Fire, but unlike the preceding one, in this book the focus is back to military strategy, tactics and action.
It is battleship against battleship, fleet against fleet, commander against commander. I really like this kind of books. Tyler Barron is himself and he is kicking arse as usual. The combat is great and of almost epic proportions. That’s what happens when you sling fleets of capital ships against each other. Throw in a couple of huge battle stations and it just gets better.
In the 6th book the adventure continues. The Alliance, or what is left of it, is saved but, as was already mentioned in the previous book, the Union now has a operational pulsar and plans to end the Confederation once and for all.
So when you see a ghost, sorry a pulsar, who are you going to call? Surprise, surprise it falls on Tyler Barron to save the day…again.
Although there are some epic fleet battles in this book as well the main part of the story is focused on Barron and Dauntless when they try to sneak in behind enemy lines with their newly discovered stealth device and destroy the pulsar.
Overall these two books were really enjoyable for me. Action, characters, story etc. are really good. As I wrote, maybe not 5 out 5 good but definitely 4 out of 5 good.
There are, unfortunately, some political bullshit creeping in. Especially towards the end and I really hated that bit. I almost took of a star for the useless, dumbass and totally unnecessary political twist towards the end.
Well, at least it looks like I will not have to complain about Dauntless being shot to pieces in every book at least.
Overall, really good books and the installment is already on my to-read shelf.
August 22, 2020
Same thoughts as the rest of the series, that Allan repeats the same thoughts over and over and over.
Yes, we need to know how A feels about B, but do we need to know it again and again. That isn't an overstatement. There are literally the same character thoughts repeated whenever their POVs appear.
This also extends to the action, where at one point we see six! POVs of the same moment in a fight. It was possibly seven, as there was a seventh in the battle, but I can't quite recall if the exact moment I'm talking about was played out in that POV as well as the other six!
Also no spoilers but he does the thing again where any sense of actual realistic combat goes out the window in exchange for a last-minute rescue (actually several times but once really badly to the point that it makes a third of the plot irrelevant if you think about it).
Mostly just got frustrated with the constant repetition and pointless padding. I enjoy the plot and it's well written (despite being rammed with filler) and I'll probably continue with the series at some point, but I have no concrete plans to do so and will just wait until I need a book that will both cleanse my palette and let me move onto others without the urge to keep reading the rest...
Yes, we need to know how A feels about B, but do we need to know it again and again. That isn't an overstatement. There are literally the same character thoughts repeated whenever their POVs appear.
This also extends to the action, where at one point we see six! POVs of the same moment in a fight. It was possibly seven, as there was a seventh in the battle, but I can't quite recall if the exact moment I'm talking about was played out in that POV as well as the other six!
Also no spoilers but he does the thing again where any sense of actual realistic combat goes out the window in exchange for a last-minute rescue (actually several times but once really badly to the point that it makes a third of the plot irrelevant if you think about it).
Mostly just got frustrated with the constant repetition and pointless padding. I enjoy the plot and it's well written (despite being rammed with filler) and I'll probably continue with the series at some point, but I have no concrete plans to do so and will just wait until I need a book that will both cleanse my palette and let me move onto others without the urge to keep reading the rest...
January 11, 2018
A fitting capstone
The war between the Union and Confederacy comes to head as all sides commit everything in a desperate battle for survival. Packed with action from start to finish Dauntless delivers a fitting conclusion to the Blood on the Stars series that does not disappoint.
Bravo Mr. Allan, bravo!
The war between the Union and Confederacy comes to head as all sides commit everything in a desperate battle for survival. Packed with action from start to finish Dauntless delivers a fitting conclusion to the Blood on the Stars series that does not disappoint.
Bravo Mr. Allan, bravo!
January 16, 2018
Love this series
The Blood on the Stars series is the first of Jay Allan’s that I read and I couldn’t get enough. So I read all of the others that I could get my hands on. I love the human interactions and the battle scenes are described it such detail. As always, I’m looking forward to the next book.
The Blood on the Stars series is the first of Jay Allan’s that I read and I couldn’t get enough. So I read all of the others that I could get my hands on. I love the human interactions and the battle scenes are described it such detail. As always, I’m looking forward to the next book.
January 27, 2018
Best of series
I would give this book six stars if allowed. The story hooked me from the onset i couldn't put it down. Among the best storytelling the author has accomplished. Please continue this story.
I would give this book six stars if allowed. The story hooked me from the onset i couldn't put it down. Among the best storytelling the author has accomplished. Please continue this story.
February 1, 2018
Space navies
Good reading, space battles that are viewed from on the common fighter, credit dished out to the crew. A book that leaves me feeling good about people.
Good reading, space battles that are viewed from on the common fighter, credit dished out to the crew. A book that leaves me feeling good about people.
November 22, 2018
I have to say that the military strategies used in this book were almost entirely driven by how much drama they would create. Logically, they made no sense. Perhaps this has been the case for the earlier books, but this one really started to get under my skin. Still, I enjoyed the book.
January 21, 2018
Back again with Commodore Tyler Barron and the Confederation. They are now and have been in a long, drawn-out war with the Union. But, now it appears the tide may be changing and the Union could break the stalemate with an ancient weapon. This weapon can destroy most any Confed starship with one shot. And now, plans are in the works by the Union to make the one and only weapon of this kind, mobile. If they can manage to somehow bring this weapon forward, they could clear out all Confed assets all the way to the Confed capital. So, Fleet Admiral Striker knows that the only way to prevent that from happening is to attack. Somehow they must destroy that weapon without destroying the entire Confederation fleet. He, himself, doesn’t have a plan, but Commodore Barron comes up with one that is about as insane as they come.
Through Captain Andi Lafarge’s efforts and her ship, Pegasus, the Confederation has an ancient weapon of their own. Only it’s not an offensive weapon and they don’t exactly know how it works. But, it’s believed to be a cloaking device. Once turned on and operating, the ship that it’s in pretty much disappears from all sensors know to man. This ancient weapon will play a significant role in Commodore Barron’s plan. He also wants to carry out this mission using the Dauntless, his old ship. Things have changed since the last book and now Captain Atara Travis in now in command of the Dauntless, with just about everyone from the old crew under Tyler Barron promoted and transferred to other assignments. Still, Commodore Barron wants to command this mission from the Dauntless using his old crew. Doing something like that is highly unlikely especially during a war. But, since this is science fiction, anything can happen and does.
So, with the entire crew back aboard the Dauntless and with Tyler Barron again the Captain, the happy little battleship is ready to go back to the fight! Only this appears to be a suicide mission, for the entire crew and the ship! Captain Barron intents to sneak his ship into the “Bottleneck” where the Union weapon is located and destroy it. He’ll be facing just about every starship the Union has and his ship won’t be able to fire while cloaked, if the cloak device actually works like it’s supposed to.
So, the mission is set. Commander Fritz, his former Chief Engineer promoted to Captain is now back aboard and in charge of the ancient cloaking device. She’s got it working for now, but she doesn’t know why or how it’s working, just that it is, for now. That’s a pretty bad plan to have to rely on a piece of equipment that might or might work when you need it most. And, it does fail!
The Union is not in very good condition. The war is costing them terribly. The Union has not ever been a place for happy people and they have had to suffer even more shortages and harder working conditions since the war started. They really don’t have much choice in the matter until they start revolting. Several Union planets are doing just that and Sector Nine is called in to quell the rebels. But, these people are tired of being treated like slaves by their own government. One of the story lines in this book covers the conditions in the Union and we learn that the Union my fall from within at any time.
Then there’s the Alliance, now an Ally of the Confederation. They have sent ships and crews to fight with the Confederation against the Union, but they may have sent too many and now face a challenge by one of their supposedly weak neighbors. Help won’t be coming back from the fight with the Union so Imperator Vennius has to rally all those left behind to put up a defense to stop this invasion and save his empire. It won’t be easy and will be very costly.
As I mentioned, there are several story lines in this book. A lot of personal interaction is also going on with people reacting to their feelings while still trying to stay professional and get the job done. Andi Lafarage is still in the picture even though Tyler Barron tries to send her off to safety. She also has a loyal crew that won’t take no for an answer which is a good thing because they wind up saving Tyler Barron’s life.
While this book has a significant ending, there could still be more stories to come. I think I’ll enjoy reading those since most, but not all, of the original characters will be in these books also.
Through Captain Andi Lafarge’s efforts and her ship, Pegasus, the Confederation has an ancient weapon of their own. Only it’s not an offensive weapon and they don’t exactly know how it works. But, it’s believed to be a cloaking device. Once turned on and operating, the ship that it’s in pretty much disappears from all sensors know to man. This ancient weapon will play a significant role in Commodore Barron’s plan. He also wants to carry out this mission using the Dauntless, his old ship. Things have changed since the last book and now Captain Atara Travis in now in command of the Dauntless, with just about everyone from the old crew under Tyler Barron promoted and transferred to other assignments. Still, Commodore Barron wants to command this mission from the Dauntless using his old crew. Doing something like that is highly unlikely especially during a war. But, since this is science fiction, anything can happen and does.
So, with the entire crew back aboard the Dauntless and with Tyler Barron again the Captain, the happy little battleship is ready to go back to the fight! Only this appears to be a suicide mission, for the entire crew and the ship! Captain Barron intents to sneak his ship into the “Bottleneck” where the Union weapon is located and destroy it. He’ll be facing just about every starship the Union has and his ship won’t be able to fire while cloaked, if the cloak device actually works like it’s supposed to.
So, the mission is set. Commander Fritz, his former Chief Engineer promoted to Captain is now back aboard and in charge of the ancient cloaking device. She’s got it working for now, but she doesn’t know why or how it’s working, just that it is, for now. That’s a pretty bad plan to have to rely on a piece of equipment that might or might work when you need it most. And, it does fail!
The Union is not in very good condition. The war is costing them terribly. The Union has not ever been a place for happy people and they have had to suffer even more shortages and harder working conditions since the war started. They really don’t have much choice in the matter until they start revolting. Several Union planets are doing just that and Sector Nine is called in to quell the rebels. But, these people are tired of being treated like slaves by their own government. One of the story lines in this book covers the conditions in the Union and we learn that the Union my fall from within at any time.
Then there’s the Alliance, now an Ally of the Confederation. They have sent ships and crews to fight with the Confederation against the Union, but they may have sent too many and now face a challenge by one of their supposedly weak neighbors. Help won’t be coming back from the fight with the Union so Imperator Vennius has to rally all those left behind to put up a defense to stop this invasion and save his empire. It won’t be easy and will be very costly.
As I mentioned, there are several story lines in this book. A lot of personal interaction is also going on with people reacting to their feelings while still trying to stay professional and get the job done. Andi Lafarage is still in the picture even though Tyler Barron tries to send her off to safety. She also has a loyal crew that won’t take no for an answer which is a good thing because they wind up saving Tyler Barron’s life.
While this book has a significant ending, there could still be more stories to come. I think I’ll enjoy reading those since most, but not all, of the original characters will be in these books also.
July 16, 2020
There’s a lot to like...and dislike...with this series
Book 6 follows the same game plan as the rest of the books. I love the imagination behind the differing cultures and the idea that these cultures are the remnants of a vastly superior and technologically advanced human empire. However, the writing style is, as I have stated before, quite gushy and cheesy. The author overuses the “run the diagnostics again”...a third time, fourth time...5, 6 times, etc. Diagnostics don’t really work that way! The author has a habit of “skipping” dramatic moments. For example, the Dauntless is using a never-before-seen cloaking device. The author skipped that critical moment when the cloak fails and the enemy finds them. He uses a quirky flashback. What a waste of a great moment. He’s done this many times during the series and it’s annoying. Also, weird plot holes...like the Cap’s love interest taking her civilian ship “into a battle” just to hang around and see if she can help. It’s downright stupid because it’s far to unbelievable an enemy battle group would ignore a ship. Another plot hole...projectiles launched at planetary or stationary targets??? The author doesn’t consider this and it would have made a huge difference in this story. There’s a bunch of space/science plot holes. Finally, there is so much fluff!!! Explaining and reexplaining the same stuff over and over and over. If you cut out all the fluff then you’d have a book about 1/2 as long. Find something interesting to write about and don’t use filler just to make it novel length. Again, there’s a lot to like here...but the author needs to be more science conscious, keep in mind believability, and reduce the fluff.
Book 6 follows the same game plan as the rest of the books. I love the imagination behind the differing cultures and the idea that these cultures are the remnants of a vastly superior and technologically advanced human empire. However, the writing style is, as I have stated before, quite gushy and cheesy. The author overuses the “run the diagnostics again”...a third time, fourth time...5, 6 times, etc. Diagnostics don’t really work that way! The author has a habit of “skipping” dramatic moments. For example, the Dauntless is using a never-before-seen cloaking device. The author skipped that critical moment when the cloak fails and the enemy finds them. He uses a quirky flashback. What a waste of a great moment. He’s done this many times during the series and it’s annoying. Also, weird plot holes...like the Cap’s love interest taking her civilian ship “into a battle” just to hang around and see if she can help. It’s downright stupid because it’s far to unbelievable an enemy battle group would ignore a ship. Another plot hole...projectiles launched at planetary or stationary targets??? The author doesn’t consider this and it would have made a huge difference in this story. There’s a bunch of space/science plot holes. Finally, there is so much fluff!!! Explaining and reexplaining the same stuff over and over and over. If you cut out all the fluff then you’d have a book about 1/2 as long. Find something interesting to write about and don’t use filler just to make it novel length. Again, there’s a lot to like here...but the author needs to be more science conscious, keep in mind believability, and reduce the fluff.
January 26, 2018
Dauntless (Blood on the Stars #6) by Jay Allan
A very good conclusion to this series! And this series needed to come to a close, especially after the events in the last few books. But make no mistake, this universe still has quite a few stories to go, so who knows? Happily the characters are well written and textured. The action scenes (most of this book) are well done and gripping. By thus point you know the people, and also know thier intentions, abilities and shortcomings. And the beauty of this series is that all the characters have plenty of nuanced shortcomings and also bits of brilliance.
So yes, this last, heroic effort by Tyler and the fleet is what the Confeds need against the Union. And the Alliance is there to help, but also has it's own problems back at home (Thank you Sector Nine). And the Union is on the verge of collapse, and the Confederation is sick and tired of a never ending war (oh look, Sector Nine is at it again).
But this battle is for all the marbles, and it plays out in spectacular fashion! Read on to see what the conclusion is, and then wonder about the next plays.
A very good conclusion to this series! And this series needed to come to a close, especially after the events in the last few books. But make no mistake, this universe still has quite a few stories to go, so who knows? Happily the characters are well written and textured. The action scenes (most of this book) are well done and gripping. By thus point you know the people, and also know thier intentions, abilities and shortcomings. And the beauty of this series is that all the characters have plenty of nuanced shortcomings and also bits of brilliance.
So yes, this last, heroic effort by Tyler and the fleet is what the Confeds need against the Union. And the Alliance is there to help, but also has it's own problems back at home (Thank you Sector Nine). And the Union is on the verge of collapse, and the Confederation is sick and tired of a never ending war (oh look, Sector Nine is at it again).
But this battle is for all the marbles, and it plays out in spectacular fashion! Read on to see what the conclusion is, and then wonder about the next plays.
February 4, 2020
This noble warrior would do what ever it takes, they'll never besmirch their honor, no matter the cost. Repeat ad nauseum.
Now you've written an installment in this series.
I think I'm hate reading this now. I'm also sure I don't want to look up this author's real life politics. I basically listen to these books for background noise when Im playing a mobile game now.
The first few weren't bad, the 2nd(?) or 3rd one was actually pretty good. Now though every single character is the same, they say the same shit, they do the same shit.
There are 2 characters in these books they just have a million different names. There is the "Tyler" the honorable warrior, who does what ever it takes to win, and who always has a strange feeling that will help them overcome the trap they've walked into by character 2 the "Frenchie". There's a "Tyler" named Raptor, Fritz, Striker .
The only other real flavor of hero is conniving french commie. Their all ruthless evil idiots.
I'll probably keep reading, I have all of them, but I couldn't tell you why other than buyers remorse, or sunk cost fallacy.
Now you've written an installment in this series.
I think I'm hate reading this now. I'm also sure I don't want to look up this author's real life politics. I basically listen to these books for background noise when Im playing a mobile game now.
The first few weren't bad, the 2nd(?) or 3rd one was actually pretty good. Now though every single character is the same, they say the same shit, they do the same shit.
There are 2 characters in these books they just have a million different names. There is the "Tyler" the honorable warrior, who does what ever it takes to win, and who always has a strange feeling that will help them overcome the trap they've walked into by character 2 the "Frenchie". There's a "Tyler" named Raptor, Fritz, Striker .
The only other real flavor of hero is conniving french commie. Their all ruthless evil idiots.
I'll probably keep reading, I have all of them, but I couldn't tell you why other than buyers remorse, or sunk cost fallacy.
May 11, 2020
The Confederation is facing a potential loss in their war with the Union. The Union has found an ancient super weapon called the Pulsar and it is capable of destroying the entire Confederation fleet in a space battle. Even with the help of their new allies, the Alliance fleet, they still cannot defeat the Union.
The Confederation has found an ancient weapon of their own and it is a stealth shield for a spaceship. Tyler Barron has offered to make a potentially suicide mission, using the stealth generator, to try to destroy the Union’s Super weapon. He plans to take his old ship, the Dauntless, and his entire original crew has volunteered to go with him. The only problem is that they have to sneak by the entire Union fleet and destroy the most powerful weapon ever known and then escape.
This is a great story that is full of action and suspense. I loved the story line and all of the different scenarios that the story presented from beginning to the end. It is a good story to close out this segment of the saga and I enjoyed it.
The Confederation has found an ancient weapon of their own and it is a stealth shield for a spaceship. Tyler Barron has offered to make a potentially suicide mission, using the stealth generator, to try to destroy the Union’s Super weapon. He plans to take his old ship, the Dauntless, and his entire original crew has volunteered to go with him. The only problem is that they have to sneak by the entire Union fleet and destroy the most powerful weapon ever known and then escape.
This is a great story that is full of action and suspense. I loved the story line and all of the different scenarios that the story presented from beginning to the end. It is a good story to close out this segment of the saga and I enjoyed it.
January 17, 2018
Dauntless is an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable read. One reviewer criticized it for being "too long." Frankly, it was long, but worth every page-turning, action-filled moment. The characters have been developing throughout the series, but this final(?) chapter lets them bloom into either dearly loved or truly despised characters.
Personally, I hate it when I come to the end of a good book, or what appears to be the end of a great series. Including this book, the entire series captured my attention and kept me entertained for a couple of weeks...taking my Kindle with me wherever I went. Enabling me to sneak in a chapter or two while standing in line at Costco for instance. The ending is very satisfactory, however, and without any spoilers, it leaves open the possibility of a Book 7, perhaps? I eagerly await the announcement of such.
Personally, I hate it when I come to the end of a good book, or what appears to be the end of a great series. Including this book, the entire series captured my attention and kept me entertained for a couple of weeks...taking my Kindle with me wherever I went. Enabling me to sneak in a chapter or two while standing in line at Costco for instance. The ending is very satisfactory, however, and without any spoilers, it leaves open the possibility of a Book 7, perhaps? I eagerly await the announcement of such.
January 25, 2018
Before you start this one, please note it is the sixth book in a series: you will need to have read the previous five in order or this one won’t make much sense to you.
This one started off a little bit slow for me, but it did pick up and is one of those series where it gets better with each new installment. Without having a spoiler, and consistent with the other books in the series what I continue to like about it the most is the character development. Sure, you have the battle scenes, etc., but even after six books in the series we still learn more about the characters. The author does a nice job of winding it up: this could be the end of the series, or the start of something new.
I certainly received more than the Kindle purchase price of $2.99 worth of entertainment value out of it; if you enjoyed the other five books of the series, I’m fairly confident you will enjoy this one
This one started off a little bit slow for me, but it did pick up and is one of those series where it gets better with each new installment. Without having a spoiler, and consistent with the other books in the series what I continue to like about it the most is the character development. Sure, you have the battle scenes, etc., but even after six books in the series we still learn more about the characters. The author does a nice job of winding it up: this could be the end of the series, or the start of something new.
I certainly received more than the Kindle purchase price of $2.99 worth of entertainment value out of it; if you enjoyed the other five books of the series, I’m fairly confident you will enjoy this one
November 14, 2022
Dauntless ends the Confed-Union war as Tyler Barron uses a cloaked vessel to attack the enemy super weapon. Mr. Allan is tying up some threads as he aims to branch out with another thread. Obviously this is not the end of our heroes and heroines.
At the same time, there were some threads left unresolved because he rushed the ending. The Union's peace overtures were more or less accepted but now the Confederation has the upper hand, did they cede those planets that the Union wanted? It did not say. A Union world rebelled successfully* (define successfully loosely) but did it stay independent? Didn't say. The people got lucky, but minor spoiler alert: the leader had to resort to Union tactics to stave off the "counter-revolution". Now, where have I heard that before??
On the whole, I did enjoy this book but Mr. Allan keeps using ancient superweapons of a bygone era that have the reputation of being "ultimate weapon" but then the Good Guys managed to figure out how to defeat it. This is a trope that he keeps using in later books (even if you read just the blurb, you'll see it).
At the same time, there were some threads left unresolved because he rushed the ending. The Union's peace overtures were more or less accepted but now the Confederation has the upper hand, did they cede those planets that the Union wanted? It did not say. A Union world rebelled successfully* (define successfully loosely) but did it stay independent? Didn't say. The people got lucky, but minor spoiler alert: the leader had to resort to Union tactics to stave off the "counter-revolution". Now, where have I heard that before??
On the whole, I did enjoy this book but Mr. Allan keeps using ancient superweapons of a bygone era that have the reputation of being "ultimate weapon" but then the Good Guys managed to figure out how to defeat it. This is a trope that he keeps using in later books (even if you read just the blurb, you'll see it).
January 25, 2018
Two and a half stars. This was a good story to round out the story of the battle with the Union. There was a good balance of drama and action and not nearly as much repetition as in the other books in this series (that isn't to say there is still a LOT of repetition.) Where this really fell apart for me was the characters. Most of the characters have never developed past two dimensions even after six books. In this book even the semi-developed characters become cartoonish caricatures of themselves.
The epilogue hints at a new series with these characters. This might give Allan an opportunity for redemtion. This was a lackluster finish to an unremarkable series.
The epilogue hints at a new series with these characters. This might give Allan an opportunity for redemtion. This was a lackluster finish to an unremarkable series.
June 23, 2023
Blood on the Stars is so true in this book about a continuing war in space between empires. This book continues the story of war with the latest events and efforts to keep from losing. Adventure abounds, characters do their best, villains also work at doing their evil worst/best. Some new characters are introduced and some more give their all. Yes, I am keeping this vague, and I believe a review should be more than a summary of the book. If you have been reading this series, then you know. If you have looked at the size of the series and are daunted, then you should be Dauntless. Start with the first book in the series and read them in order.
December 21, 2020
This book should have been about 200 pages. The author continues his patterned of repeating over and over whatever internal struggles each character is having every time he switches to that characters viewpoint. It's frustrating but I've learned to skip large swaths of the drivel pretty effectively. In terms of the fundamentals of space the same problems are there but a little worse this time. The author's space battles are nonsense with ridiculous actions and behaviors shoehorned into the story to manufacture drama.
January 26, 2018
Kick da can!
If ya don’t finish up da problems when ya gots a chance. They’ll surely come back to bite ya good. Ty Barron’s govt enacted a peace accord with Da Union when a victory was assured by the routing after Dauntless gave da kiss of death to da ancient artifact with a death ray. Arresting a needed cleaning out of da black hats. This peace bubble has a shelf life of.......
If ya don’t finish up da problems when ya gots a chance. They’ll surely come back to bite ya good. Ty Barron’s govt enacted a peace accord with Da Union when a victory was assured by the routing after Dauntless gave da kiss of death to da ancient artifact with a death ray. Arresting a needed cleaning out of da black hats. This peace bubble has a shelf life of.......
September 20, 2018
If you like Space Opera...
I vacillate between hard sci-if and space opera. I’ve enjoyed this series thus far. My only complaint is that Allan seems to repeat himself to the point where I began getting annoyed. It would be more effective to just move on rather than reiterate the character’s motivation each and every time the story shifts. I can remember why Jake hated Jovi, by the 3rd repetition it began to feel like he was just trying to fill pages. Basta!
I vacillate between hard sci-if and space opera. I’ve enjoyed this series thus far. My only complaint is that Allan seems to repeat himself to the point where I began getting annoyed. It would be more effective to just move on rather than reiterate the character’s motivation each and every time the story shifts. I can remember why Jake hated Jovi, by the 3rd repetition it began to feel like he was just trying to fill pages. Basta!
June 19, 2019
Another close call for the Federation...
Book 6 of this series is by all means rich and interesting, yet it has left me in a dark mood: Too many heroes died in this single tome. The well used salvation-at-the-very-last-minute pattern may have been casted one time too many here... On the other hand I have to admit that Jay Allan is a hell of a story teller. I will surely buy Book 7 of this series, hoping that the plot will surprise me.
I will give this book 4.5 stars.
Book 6 of this series is by all means rich and interesting, yet it has left me in a dark mood: Too many heroes died in this single tome. The well used salvation-at-the-very-last-minute pattern may have been casted one time too many here... On the other hand I have to admit that Jay Allan is a hell of a story teller. I will surely buy Book 7 of this series, hoping that the plot will surprise me.
I will give this book 4.5 stars.
August 20, 2020
7/10: Good solid read, something to get your teeth into.
He could face danger, battle to the end against the enemy, but he didn’t want to vomit in front of his crew.
Still loving Barron.
But I am finding the lengthy battles a little annoying (one battle = whole book). More character development would be good. And more time spent with Andi (or just in the Badlands finding Old Tech).
Despite that, I can't seem to stop reading them. Onto the next!
He could face danger, battle to the end against the enemy, but he didn’t want to vomit in front of his crew.
Still loving Barron.
But I am finding the lengthy battles a little annoying (one battle = whole book). More character development would be good. And more time spent with Andi (or just in the Badlands finding Old Tech).
Despite that, I can't seem to stop reading them. Onto the next!
February 14, 2022
JAY ALLAN HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!
THE DAUNTLESS CREW HAS FOUND A WAY TO WIN AGAINST ALL ODDS. I COULD NOT STOP READING. I GOT IN TROUBLE TEO NIGHTS IN A ROW FOR STAYING UP TOO LATE. THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS. THE BOOK GOES FROM GOOD TO GREAT TO FREAKING OUTSTANDING. SO I AM COMPELLED TO READ TO THE FINISH. I LOOK FORWARD TO READING THE WHITE FLEET!!! THANKS JAY ALLAN! KEEP THEM COMING!
THE DAUNTLESS CREW HAS FOUND A WAY TO WIN AGAINST ALL ODDS. I COULD NOT STOP READING. I GOT IN TROUBLE TEO NIGHTS IN A ROW FOR STAYING UP TOO LATE. THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS. THE BOOK GOES FROM GOOD TO GREAT TO FREAKING OUTSTANDING. SO I AM COMPELLED TO READ TO THE FINISH. I LOOK FORWARD TO READING THE WHITE FLEET!!! THANKS JAY ALLAN! KEEP THEM COMING!
January 19, 2018
What a way to go out
In this the latest book of this series, we see that the crew of the Dauntless has to face impossible odds. Can they come out on top? Mr Allan has given us the readers a fast paced ride from book one, and the climax is as expected. Looking forward to reading more.
In this the latest book of this series, we see that the crew of the Dauntless has to face impossible odds. Can they come out on top? Mr Allan has given us the readers a fast paced ride from book one, and the climax is as expected. Looking forward to reading more.
January 19, 2018
As usual.
This was one of Jay’s best series which is saying something. On more than one occasion I’ve left reviews for other Jay Allan wannabes informing them to read Jays books in order to learn how to write proper space operas, especially ones involving space marines. Hopefully they’ll heed my advice.
This was one of Jay’s best series which is saying something. On more than one occasion I’ve left reviews for other Jay Allan wannabes informing them to read Jays books in order to learn how to write proper space operas, especially ones involving space marines. Hopefully they’ll heed my advice.
May 27, 2018
What a pleasure to read and find out the outcome for Zack and Kaylan. This was another one of those books that you just can't put down. This whole series was exciting and had plenty of twists and turns to keep you engaged. I can't recommend this book enough. You must read it! (After you read the first 5 books!)
July 22, 2018
Another excellent space opera
Lots of action, just enough back story to catch things up, a bit of a drone as each character restates what has already been stated - just from his (or her) perspective, and one minor thing in what is normally a science based tale - people SEEING laser blasts erupt past them. Seriously, seeing lasers? Oh well, nit picking.
Lots of action, just enough back story to catch things up, a bit of a drone as each character restates what has already been stated - just from his (or her) perspective, and one minor thing in what is normally a science based tale - people SEEING laser blasts erupt past them. Seriously, seeing lasers? Oh well, nit picking.
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