I was enthusiastic about this series even though I'm not always a fan of space opera. JAG in SPAAAACE! The world building is excellent and the plot is intriguing. Characters have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the writing is pretty horrible. I was especially disturbed at the inner monologues... nobody actually talks like that to themselves and in dialogue heavy scenes it was sometimes difficult to tell which character was speaking. The exposition was heavy handed as well. My first real space opera is the far superior Honor Harrington by Weber. I may give the series one more book to improve because I do like the foundation, but… ( )

A clunky space navy YA: few pleasant characters, overdrawn cartoonish villains, and lapses into preachiness, especially near the end. (Note that I'm carefully distinguishing idealism, which I like, from preachiness, which I don't care for except in 19th century novels.)

I was annoyed that when Paul was trying to decide what, if anything, to do about the unjust charges against his captain, he didn't go talk to the lay minister who identified hirself in the earlier death-of-a-crewman episode. This kind of moral quandary is exactly what chaplains are for.

Better space navy books with YA elements: [a:Elizabeth Moon|10518|Elizabeth Moon|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1199059504p2/10518.jpg]'s Serrano Legacy, [a:David Feintuch|304225|David Feintuch|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1354905102p2/304225.jpg]'s Seafort Saga.

If somebody handed me the sequels, I'd read them; but I wouldn't go buy them.

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Too formulaic

I found the characters likable, the military presentation believeable, the worldbuilding good, the drama good, it appears this is the same author who signs "Jack Campbell" which seems a little crazy because in the Dauntless book, the captain is everything - whereas here the other officers fill significant roles.

overall will read more by author ( )

A young man, Paul Sinclair, is fresh out of Space Academy and on a ship for the first time. One of his side duties is to be the ships legal advisor. The captain fires upon a civilian ship outside of US territory and is court-martialed. Sinclair testifies on the captain's behalf, even though he doesn't like him at all, because he believes that the charges brought against the captain do not reflect accurately. Ends up with Sinclair getting involved with an officer on another ship and the captain being reassigned to some backwater office, instead of getting hung. ( )