The Lost Fleet Beyond The Frontier Leviathan

Includes an excerpt from The lost stars: Shattered spear.

Admiral Geary’s First Fleet of the Alliance has survived the journey deep into unexplored interstellar space, a voyage that led to the discovery of new alien species, including a new enemy and a possible ally. Now Geary’s mission is to ensure the safety of the Midway Star System, which has revolted against the Syndicate Worlds empire—an empire that is on the brink of collapse. To complicate matters further, Geary also needs to return safely to Alliance space not only with representatives of the Dancers, an alien species, but also with Invincible, a captured warship that could possibly be the most valuable object in human history. Despite the peace treaty that Geary must adhere to at all costs, the Syndicate Worlds regime threatens to make the fleet’s journey back grueling and perilous. And even if Geary escorts Invincible and the Dancers’ representatives home unharmed, the Syndics’ attempts to spread dissent and political unrest may have already sown the seeds of the Alliance’s destruction...

Includes an excerpt from The lost stars: Shattered spear.

New York Times bestselling author Jack Campbell’s action-packed Lost Fleet series has propelled readers from deep space to the very edge of their seats. Now Admiral John “Black Jack” Geary embarks on a thrilling new adventure to defend the Alliance and safeguard the future. Geary and the crew of the Dauntless have managed to safely escort important alien representatives to Earth. But before they can make tracks for home, two of Geary’s key lieutenants vanish. The search for his missing men leads Geary on a far-flung chase, ultimately ending at the one spot in space from which all humans have been banned: the moon Europa. Any ship that lands there must stay or be destroyed—leaving Geary to face the most profound moral dilemma of his life. To make matters worse, strains on the Alliance are growing as the Syndics continue to meddle. Geary is ordered to take a small force to the border of Syndic space. But what he finds there is a danger much greater than anyone expected: a mysterious threat that could finally force the Alliance to its knees. As Geary spearheads a desperate battle to protect the Alliance against a shrewd and powerful enemy, he’s left with just one question: Who are they?

Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary may have saved the Alliance only to destroy it, in this thrilling and eagerly awaited continuation of the New York Times bestselling series. Geary believed in the Alliance. Even when he uncovered overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps, he believed it was worth saving. And that his duty was to see that justice was served even though some factions feared that revealing the truth would cause the Alliance to crumble. But after narrowly surviving two assassination attempts when he brings evidence of the misdeeds to the capital star system, Geary realizes that some have decided the easiest way to make the Alliance's problems go away is to get rid of him. He finds himself ordered to undertake a perilous new mission outside of the reaches of human-occupied space while the Senate clashes over the evidence. Geary's warships must escort a diplomatic and scientific mission across the dangerous, disintegrating remnants of the Syndicate Worlds empire. But even if he can make it to Midway Star System, the gateway to alien-controlled space, Geary will face former Syndicate officials who have rebelled and regard the Alliance with deep suspicion. And that will be the easy part. . . .

HE SWORE TO PROTECT AND SERVE. NOW HE HAS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEM. When the American Lunar colony was threatened, he served his country in battle. But when high ranking officers betrayed him and his soldiers, he had only one choice—rebellion. Now Sergeant Ethan Stark is in charge of a rebel organization he never intended to create, and the United States has just joined forces with its former enemy to insure his destruction. Stark has no intention of compromising his honor, even in the face of impossible odds. He and his soldiers have no desire to fight American forces, but they are willing to pay any price to defend the rights of the colonists they were sent to protect. Now Stark and his soldiers must fend off deadly aggression from their own country without igniting a full scale civil war.

Admiral John “Black Jack” Geary was revived from cryogenic sleep to lead the Alliance against the Syndicate Worlds. But his superiors question his loyalty to the regime. Now in command of the First Fleet, he is tasked with exploring the frontier beyond Syndic space, a mission he fears deliberately puts the fleet—and himself—in harm’s way... An encounter with the alien enigmas confirms Geary’s fears. Attacked without warning, he orders the fleet to jump star systems—only to enter the crosshairs of another hostile alien armada. Ignoring the First Fleet’s peaceful communications, this species sends its ships into battle while it guards the exiting jump point with a fortress of incalculable power. Now Geary must find a way to reach the jump point without massive casualties—even though the enigmas could be waiting on the other side…

From the author of the New York Times–bestselling Lost Fleet series comes 11 action-packed stories of space exploration. In Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series, Campbell’s hero Captain “Black Jack” Geary explores the furthest reaches of space. Here, Campbell explores what kinds of problems mankind might face as our horizons expand. The third in a series of collections of Campbell’s short stories includes some of Campbell’s favorite stories, and some of his earliest. A brand-new author’s note accompanies each story. “Lady Be Good” is one of Campbell’s most popular stories, winner of Analog magazine’s “AnLab” reader poll for Best Short Story and cited in Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best SF. The Lady Be Good is an old ship, running obscure routes (not all on the right side of the law), with her loyal first officer Kilcannon and reclusive captain. When Kilcannon decides to rescue the survivors of an attack on a Vestral Company ship, a mysterious new passenger thanks him by asking difficult questions about the Lady, with unexpected answers. In “Kyrie Eleison,” the Verio shipwrecked centuries ago on an out-of-the-way planet, and the descendants of the ship’s survivors have gotten along as well as they can by following the orders that were passed on to them. But those orders weren’t intended to govern life on the planet’s surface, and when the Bellegrange arrives on a rescue mission, her captain will have to reckon with the unexpected social order on the planet. In “Do No Harm”, a ship is so technologically advanced that it can repair itself—but turning over the keys might not be the best idea. And in “Down the Rabbit Hole,” a series of failed attempts at faster-than-light travel lead to a novel approach: sending an untested Naval captain out in a space ship to see if he can figure out what’s gone wrong. With eleven stories in all, Ad Astra is the most multi-faceted introduction to the short fiction of Jack Campbell, and an essential complement to his bestselling book-length work.