Review: Pike’s Progress by John J Spearman

Pike’s Progress by John J Spearman is an action-splashed and cathartic installment of his innovative sci-fi military saga.

The Alliance has retaken control of some planets from HUW, but their previous power is far from restored, and the remaining Hegemony breakaway systems are a perpetual thorn for the recovering Alliance. Sandy Pike’s reputation and recent heroics have earned him a new ship – a massive dreadnought named the Audacious – and another chance at command, working within the Omega battle group.

The Alliance’s plans for a new offensive bring old comrades together again, including Monty Swift, a captain itching for a fight after years of working under someone else’s incompetent thumb. Commodore Pike is the same hard-nosed but heart-driven protagonist that loyal readers of this series have come to expect, and his peerless leadership and quick thinking make him an easy character to root for.

The return of Stick and Puss keeps the mood light at just the right moments, though there are plenty of hard and dark passages, particularly around the emotional burden being borne by Alison Lynch. Her deep connection with Sandy, who negotiated and paid her ransom from the Graz Syndicate, resurfaces when Mendele is freed by those same human traffickers. That psychopathic slaver has already tried to destroy Sandy’s life twice, and Ali is determined not to let him get another shot. Sliding back into ONI, her instincts as an investigator are sharp as ever, but her state of mind is anything but sound. Facing off against the same villains that nearly broke her, Ali pushes herself to a dangerous edge for the sake of revenge – and love.

New friendships, hard-won respect, and old rivalries collide in this military sci-fi procedural. As has been the case in all of Spearman’s writing, his firm understanding of hierarchy, military protocols, and on-duty responsibilities give the prose confidence and authenticity. The thematic undercurrents of each novel in this series have been slightly different, but this installment feels particularly timely – a diverse population attempting to overcome their differences for unity and the greater good, despite the manipulations of weak leaders and bad actors. Furthermore, this plot teeters on the edge of all-out war, which keeps the suspense nearly constant, without being exhausting.

On a technical level, there are very few grammatical or sloppy errors, and the editing is generally tight, with very few redundant moments. Some passages could be trimmed down, and some of the expositional moments could be tightened, especially further along in the book, once the action picks up. The pace is occasionally too slow, and readers are told the strategies of both the Alliance battle group and the Hegemony powers, so there aren’t as many twists or surprises as in the first two books. However, the dialogue is one of the most impressive parts of the prose and makes up for slowdowns in exposition. Every conversation is believable – from highly formal military briefings to casual small talk with crew members, Spearman conveys a natural cadence and easy-to-read speech patterns that immerses the reader in the scene.

Overall, the storytelling in Pike’s Progress is richly imaginative, the messaging is timeless, and Spearman cleverly ties up many of the series’ loose ends with this impressive and satisfying installment.