Reviews for Valiant (Lost Fleet Series #4)

The average rating for Valiant (Lost Fleet Series #4) based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-12-01 00:00:00 William Burke I still read it in one sitting, but it's starting to get a bit formulaic: 1) Fleet travels to another star system way behind enemy lines, has to fight battle. 2) Main protagonist agonizes over the fact that he's being held up as some sort of deity like hero when he's really just human 3) Some of the captains in the fleet try to undermine his influence and get him out of the leadership position 4) He agonizes again over the fact that he's being held up as a deity like hero 5) Some random romantic tension 6) He continues to agonize over his deity-like hero status. 7) Fleet travels to another star system way behind enemy lines and has to fight battle (repeat from step 2). Names change, the plot doesn't. But given that there are only two more books in the series, eventually there has to be some progress in the plot, right? Despite the criticism in this review, the writing is generally good, and I am invested in the series. It's just, I worry he's gonna pull a David Weber and make this another Honor Harrington series. Goodness knows it's similar enough in so many other ways...

Review # 2 was written on 2013-03-15 00:00:00 Robert Scharfe Portions of this installment really, really seemed to drag (quite an accomplishment for a book that doesn't even crack 300 pages). Rione has become an almost unbearably obnoxious character to me at this point, and the first half of the book is basically her being an irritating wench about her relationship with Geary (a relationship she's done nothing but swear up and down means nothing to her emotionally). As a female reader I find it equal parts annoying and mildly offensive that the female characters in this series are so one-dimensional (basically their entire function is to throw themselves at the male hero - one a characature of the tricksy, scheming power-broad and the other your dutiful, rock-steady, hero-worshipping doorstop to whom the hero can do no wrong). But anyway, four books in I should have more or less accepted the characterization style of this author. I've been able to essentially deal with it in the previous 3 volumes because the action moved along quickly enough to keep me distracted from the more soapy elements. That was much more difficult in this volume, as there really isn't much going on that's new or interesting. Our hero continues to be the living stars' gift to humanity, while scratching his head over the potential alien enemy on the horizon.