Tarnished Knight

The Lost Stars, Book 1

By: Jack Campbell

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author puts the Alliance fleet’s enemy in the spotlight as the people of the Syndicate Worlds attempt to rebuild their lives after Admiral John “Black Jack” Geary defeated them....

The authority of the Syndicate Worlds’ government is crumbling. Civil war and rebellion are breaking out in many star systems, despite the Syndic government’s brutal attempts to suppress disorder. Midway is one of those star systems, and leaders there must decide whether to remain loyal to the old order or fight for something new.

CEO Artur Drakon has been betrayed. The Syndic government failed to protect its citizens from both the Alliance and the alien enigmas. With a cadre of loyal soldiers under his command, Drakon launches a battle for control of the Midway Star System - assisted by an ally he’s unsure he can trust....

CEO Gwen Iceni was exiled to Midway because she wasn’t ruthless enough in the eyes of her superiors. She’s made them regret their assessment by commandeering some of the warships at Midway and attacking the remaining ships still loyal to the Syndicate empire. Iceni declares independence for the Midway Star System on behalf of the people while staying in charge as “President”. But while she controls the mobile fleet, she has no choice but to rely on 'General' Drakon’s ground forces to keep the peace planet-side....

If their coup is to succeed, Drakon and Iceni must put their differences aside to prevent the population of Midway from rising up in rebellion against them, to defend Midway against the alien threat of the enigma race - and to ferret out saboteurs determined to reestablish Syndic rule....

©2012 John G. Hemry (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Military science fiction at its very best..." (Catherine Asaro, Nebula Award-winning author of Carnelians)

Enjoyable if you are fan of the Lost Fleet Series

Where does The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is in the Middle of the Pack as a Fan of the Lost Fleet Series this is a must read

What did you like best about this story?

The story build on the Lost Fleet Series from the other perspective. I like having the differing point of views told. It makes the story fill the larger world in which it takes place.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I really like the narrator from the Lost Fleet Series. This one does not have the depth of voice variations, and with the complex back and forth that occurs in this book I often found it hard to track which character the dialog was for.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reactions to the book. It was part of the broader Jack Cable (Black Jack) Universe.

Any additional comments?

I hope the second book does not start out as slow as this one. Once it started to pickup and get things rolling it was good but laying all the ground work was much harder to follow. I wish the author had a cleaner flow in the first part of the book. Over all I love the story as a whole and this audio book will be listened to many times over the years.

Not Sure

I had a tough time getting into this book...had to keep going back because I was not remembering what I heard....seemed to be better towards the end...

I think maybe it's because I couldn't find any likable or redeeming characters....will try the next and see!!!

Tarnished Knight: The Lost Stars, Book 1

What did you like best about Tarnished Knight: The Lost Stars, Book 1? What did you like least?

The story line is mature and has great potential, but it gets bogged down in politics. The book is well performed.

What could Jack Campbell have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

50% less talk of plots and political ambition and 50% more about everything else: Action, description, alien culture, sci fi tech, etc.

Was Tarnished Knight: The Lost Stars, Book 1 worth the listening time?

For all it's potential, this story was too much talking, threatening and political posturing for me, I wanted it to end.

a new sub series

I got hooked on The Lost Fleet and then Beyond the Frontier Series and now a new great sub series about the Midway Star system. The story picks up with life on Midway after Geary leaves Midway into the unknown space to explore it. The Midway Star System has declared independence from the Syndic and are forming a new government and alliances of neighbouring star systems. Jack Campbell's usual great space battles, intrigue between different groups all goes into creating action, suspense and the ending leaves me wanting the next volume in the series. If you like the other two series you will enjoy this new one.

Tarnished but still a Knight!

Campbell's latest work in his world of Alliance and Syndicate is a look into the world of the Syndicate. Focusing in on the world of Midway, Campbell spends less time in space and more time looking at human nature and diplomacy in a world "liberated" from Facist rule. As in the Lost Fleet Series, Campbell does a fantastic job of covering the riot of emotions and ideas that work to rebuild a world left devistated by 100 years of war. This look into the Syndicate world is a great addition to the Lost Fleet and Beyond the Frontier series. The Lost Stars Tarnished Knight series is going to be just as addictive to its readers as Campbell's previous series.

Marc Vietor is a change in narrator for the latest Campbell books, but it's a good fit since this is a new view of the same world and having Christian Rummel read it would have been good but not great. Marc Vietor takes Campbell's new world and makes it live and fight in the minds eye. Truly a great read all the way around.

the kind of book I expect from Jack Campbell

Would you listen to The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight again? Why?

a good book is always worth a second read

Who was your favorite character and why?

both the main characters

Which character – as performed by Marc Vietor – was your favorite?

the general

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

great special effects

Any additional comments?

no

Great Story...Tarnished Narration

When I listen to a book by Jack Campbell, I rarely feel compelled to hit the pause button. Tarnished Knight was no exception. Following the Syndicate defeat at the hands of Black Jack and the Alliance, the book is focused on the Midway star system and two former Syndic CEO's who have decided to create a new independent government. The author does a great job with the pacing, focusing on not just the politics but also on action both on the ground and in space. I especially enjoyed the battle preparation sequences and the battles themselves since they held my attention so effectively.

Questionable Points:

The narration was passable but was perhaps the most questionable point of the experience. The narration of the inner dialog of the CEO's gave me pause, as did some of the voices chosen for the various characters. Thankfully, the voices were not offensive and the inner dialog was rare. The rest of the narration got the job done, but definitely left me asking "why this guy?" at times. I felt the monotone and passionless narration helped highlight flaws in the writing that may have been less obvious if a more suitable narrator read the story.

Despite my concerns over the narration, Tarnished Night by Jack Campbell kept me captivated and in a good mood as I listened. When the book was completed, all I could think was "when can I buy the next book?"

Slightly dissapointing, hoped for better

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I knew right from the start (based on the reviews) that this listen would not be as well-done as the rest of the series, and the reviews proved to be correct. I wouldn't say that this was a bad listen, because I am a die-hard fan of Jack's series and I am willing to put up with a lemon. I listened because this book focuses on the Syndicate Worlds, a part of the universe that I wanted to learn more about. Jack fulfilled in that regard. But the narrator sometimes ran different characters together, which proved occasionally confusing and annoying. He was not the best narrator for Jack's style of writing. Was my time well-spent? I would say yes and no. Yes because I am curious about the Syndicate way of doing things, no because Jack let me down this time around. Like the reviewers have said, this book was just not the same as the rest of the series. Where Dauntless was riveting and well-paced, this was dull. Where I was rooting for Geary when he went into a battle and moved by his marriage, this was like watching paint dry. And I hate watching paint dry.

If you’ve listened to books by Jack Campbell before, how does this one compare?

That's the thing- it doesn't compare.

What aspect of Marc Vietor’s performance would you have changed?

I understand his difficulty but I paid for this book. Sometimes when I read one of Jack's books, I myself got confused and had to backtrack to find out which character was speaking. I can only guess that that was Marc's difficulty, also. Maybe someone else should narrate next time.

Did The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

I have said what needed to be said. Maybe better luck next time, Jack.

Good Military sci-fi

This is an enjoyable companion series to Campbell's equally enjoyable Lost Fleet series. I would probably read the Lost Fleet first, but you don't have to. Characters are pretty well developed, and there are interesting plot twists. The fleet actions are not as interesting in this series, but that is made up for by other elements. Nothing amazing, but good solid story and interesting action.

I like the Lost Fleet universe.

I enjoyed this look into the syndic side of the Lost Fleet universe. I will definitely keep reading.