Call to Arms follows up Duel in the Dark with few surprises or literary merits. Dauntless has spent weeks in dock being repaired. Meanwhile, the war against the Union is going poorly, as seemingly endless waves of battleships and fighters pour out of the wormholes. The Confederation is forced backwards, from one stand after another.

Dauntless rendezvouses at the scene of the last battle, and with the help of the Intrepid, a friendly battleship hiding in a dust cloud, destroys a major supply convoy and finds a major clue to the strategic situation in a captured database. The Union's impossible offensive is being supported by a massive secret mobile supply base. The two Confederate battleships must launch a desperate assault to stem the tide of enemy reinforcements.

Call to Arms has all the flaws of the first book in the series, and few new charms. Aside from a gesture that logistics matter (which honestly is appreciated), the war is Midway in Space. Characters are two dimensional, with the addition of a required fighter pilot rivalry, and a "good" spymaster who usurps the constitution because that's what survival needs. The Union are the USSR in space, except they all have French names (wow, much creativity).

I guess my biggest problem with this series, aside from the generally average writing, is how much the spacecraft seem to run on the will of the captain. The main battery is broken, until it's really vital to get a shot. The interceptors will take 20 minutes to prep for launch, but you can do it in 10 if you try hard enough. Engines and guns are pushed to 110% charge, with no sense that these are delicate machines that are being burnt out for a tactical advantage. I want to sit Allan down with a copy of Shattered Sword and explain that this what heroism looks like, under the parameter's you've sketched.

Is there a way to leave an ebook at the beach?