Our universe is expanding, and there exist three possible states of universal growth. The first, and most likely, is that the universe will continue to expand forever to its heat death. The second is that whatever force is causing the universe to expand will reach equilibrium with gravity, and the universe will reach a stable size. The final is that gravity will eventually overpower the expansion force, and the universe will begin to contract. This is known as the big crunch. In The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes, the universe has reached equilibrium and is neither expanding nor contracting. This gives the universe an edge, an end point, and who better to stick there than the misfit soldiers and the occasional misbehaving prince. Soon, that lovely edge begins to move inward, destroying anything and everything in it’s path, including the ship set to guard the edge against humanity’s ancient foe, the Viator. Can Commander Adequin Rake protect her crew from the universe itself?
Disclaimer: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Any opinion that follows is mine and mine alone.
TL;DR
J.S. Dewes impressive debut, The Last Watch, had me staying up late wanting to read just one more page from beginning to end. The Last Watch feature big ideas, kick-ass characters, and an environmental collapse; you have to try to not be interested in this book. Highly recommended!
From the Publisher
The Expanse meets Game of Thrones in J. S. Dewes’s fast-paced, sci-fi adventure The Last Watch, where a handful of soldiers stand between humanity and annihilation.
The Divide. It’s the edge of the universe. Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything with it. The only ones who can stop it are the Sentinels—the recruits, exiles, and court-martialed dregs of the military. At the Divide, Adequin Rake commands the Argus. She has no resources, no comms—nothing, except for the soldiers that no one wanted. Her ace in the hole could be Cavalon Mercer–genius, asshole, and exiled prince who nuked his grandfather’s genetic facility for “reasons.” She knows they’re humanity’s last chance.Review: The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes
The Last Watch starts off with the intake processing of Cavalon Mercer, who, though not a soldier, got himself stationed at the edge of the universe. Cavalon gets thrust into an important role quickly because of his studies. As an idle royal, Cavalon spent his time pursuing advanced degrees, which sounds heavenly to me. He soon meets Excubitor Adequin Rake, commander of the Argus, hero of humanity, and legendary Titan. For her sins, she got promoted to babysit misfits at the edge of the universe after the war with the deadly Viator ended. The Argus is ancient and falling apart. It’s also humanity’s first line of defense if the Viator return. In reality, it’s a place to stash the soldiers that the military doesn’t want. Cavalon nuked his grandfather’s genetic labs, which was enough to get exiled from the family and sent to the Divide. As the edge of the universe begins to collapse, Rake has to deal with losing the people under her command without help from the inner systems. Along the way, she also has to tame the petulant Cavalon in order to use his knowledge and talents to save as many as possible.
As soon as I read about this book on Edelweiss, I knew I wanted it. Once I saw that beautiful cover, my interest grew. The Last Watch blew away all my expectations. I don’t often enjoy natural disaster novels, but I loved The Last Watch. This novel is built on BIG ideas, but the focus remains on the characters and their decisions. Cavalon starts out a jerk who thinks the world is against him, and what he needs is Rake. She challenges him to be better and gives him structure. Since he hasn’t been through the same basic training as the other soldiers, his inexperience in space and high pressure situations degrade his expertise. Rake, burdened by her own secrets, acts more as a babysitter for the misfits on the Argus than a commander, and this suits her just fine. As the collapse begins, she tries to push off her leadership duties as soldiers under her command lose their lives. I loved both of these characters journeys towards being better people. Cavalon struggles to learn how to perform and live up to expectations from someone he respects, and Rake must adjust her leadership style to save her people.
The Viator
Humanity’s enemy doesn’t show up much in the novel, and when they did, it had all the more impact. Instead, we get to see the two species that were the Viator geneticists attempt to cross themselves with humans. The Savants got intellect, grace, and an appearance that is alien yet not frightening. The Drudgers, however, look more like Viators than humans, and they were created to be front line warriors. They’re large, strong, and nearly impervious.
That said, when we do see the Drudgers, they’re not quite as frightening as they’re supposed to be. The humans deal with them relatively easy yet not without taking damage. I hope we get to see more of them in the next books; I want to see more of why they’re so feared.
Politics
The politics of the Divide aren’t front and center, but if you pay attention, the hints are quite interesting. Cavalon is a prince, who notes that his grandfather is the power behind the throne. I’m interested in seeing more of how the politics work. Cavalon’s grandfather leans heavily toward the fascistic side of the political spectrum. Is this just his world? Or are the many worlds of humanity ruled by monarchs? In this high tech age, has humanity reduced itself to feudalism?
Space Well Done
Dewes nailed the mechanics of space and how novices would react to being surrounded by it. There’s a scene where Rake and Cavalon have to go outside a ship to fix it. Rake is a veteran of space operations, but Cavalon has never been outside a ship in the hard vacuum. The stark difference between how they move and how they react rang true to me. For example, Cavalon drops a screw and reaches down to pick it up. But in space, you don’t drop anything as there’s no gravity. The screw will stay where you release it (assuming you’re not moving), but Cavalon reacts as he would in full gravity by bending over to pick up the screw. This is a terrible idea, and he upsets the balance of forces, requiring a rescue. I won’t say more, but I loved this minor scene.
As an aerospace engineer, reading about space involves a lot of suspension of disbelief in SF novels. Modern SF novels have much better depictions of space, but I can’t remember reading a description of space that made me as claustrophobic as Dewes wrote in the above scene. I loved it. The vastness of space is difficult to imagine because so much of our experience involves gravity. Dewes does a great, great job describing what I believe what working in space is like.
The Environment at the Edge of the Universe
The Last Watch features the collapse of the environment in a much more literal way than what we are facing with climate change. But the humans in the story react similarly. When they learn what is happening, they deny it. This creates a delay, and lives are lost because of the delay. This perfectly encapsulates how many people treat climate change. They won’t acknowledge the truth until they have no choice. I think this is well done and not – repeat, not – didactic.
One of the coolest features in the book takes place near the edge of the universe. The high amount of gravity along the divide creates ripples in time. They’re cool and weird. It was a wonderful addition to an odd concept of the edge of the universe.
Conclusion
J.S. Dewes’s The Last Watch is a fantastic debut novel. Big ideas, great characters, and universal collapse make for a fun, fast read. I’m ready for the sequel, and I’m confident that Dewes has a great story to tell. I had high expectations for The Last Watch; it was my most anticipated debut novel for the year. This disaster novel delivered on…well, everything. I can’t wait to see where the Divide series takes me.
The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes is available from Tor Books on April 20th, 2021.
9 out of 10!
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