Jack Campbell’s The Lost Fleet: Victorious is a worthwhile, if somewhat disappointing end to the series. Having demolished most of the Syndic fleet, Black Jack Geary returns to his enemy’s home system for one final battle. Unfortunately, there’s not much to the fight — having gutted the Syndics in his earlier encounters, there’s only a token force left to protect their home world. The ensuing battle is underwhelming compared to the rest of the series — I’d been hoping for something a bit more epic.
The first confrontation with the mysterious aliens (whom earlier books revealed have been manipulating humanity for the last hundred years ago) could have been that battle, but Campbell cuts to the chase too quickly by having Geary see the alien tactics for what they are. I’d rather have seen some close-quarters combat, with things getting a bit desperate for the “Lost Fleet” than the 1-2-3 engagement we saw.
Having said that, Campell nicely ties up the character storylines, including big one involving Geary and his love interest, Captain Desjani of the Dauntless. It’s not a bad place to leave the series, and it sets ups a potential sequel series dealing with the aliens and the Syndic successor states.