Rubicon

By: J. S. Dewes

Narrated by: Eunice Wong

"Eunice Wong smoothly differentiates a diverse cast in this edgy military thriller."—AudioFile

J. S. Dewes, author of The Last Watch and The Exiled Fleet, returns with another science fiction space opera, Rubicon, that melds elements of Scalzi's Old Man's War with Edge of Tomorrow.

Sergeant Adriene Valero wants to die.

She can't.

After enduring a traumatic resurrection for the ninety-sixth time, Valero is reassigned to a special forces unit and outfitted with a cutting-edge virtual intelligence aid. They could turn the tide in the war against intelligent machines dedicated to the assimilation, or destruction, of humanity.

When her VI suddenly achieves sentience, Valero is drawn into the machinations of an enigmatic major who’s hell-bent on ending the war—by any means necessary.

The Divide series

The Last Watch

The Exiled Fleet

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

©2023 J. S. Dewes (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Rubicon and the trauma in it feel terrifyingly real. I couldn't look away.”—Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo-award winning author of the Lady Astronaut series

“Dewes (the Divide series) continues to demonstrate a gift for superior hard sci-fi with a standalone outing that is simultaneously thoughtful and pulse-pounding. ... Fans of smart military sci-fi will be riveted."—Publishers Weekly

“Rubicon is non-stop military SF action with plenty of twists. I couldn't put it down. J.S. Dewes has entered the military SF arena and firmly planted her flag as one of the best in the business today.”—Michael Mammay, author of The Misfit Soldier

Amazing

What a fun listen. Great story, writing, and narration. I'm sad that it is over and can't wait for more stories grow J.S. Dewes!

Almost great, but very dark

This book certainly has a lot going for it. Highly imaginative and compelling, it kept me listening, but ultimately I felt let down. It was just too dark for me.

Trope on trope

Narrator does a great job.

Beyond that, the story doesn't have much going for it. There are a couple of interesting ideas, but it doesn't handle the scope of the galaxy well at all. Characters are 1 dimensional, then they're dead.

I like female main characters in military situations, so that's a good point. But there isn't really anything likable, unlikable, or compelling about this one. She's just kind of there to take up space while the story moves her around like a garden gnome in the yard.

No spoilers, but the ending is pretty predictable. Just think "Kaiser Soze".

Bloody, Brilliant.

I can't love this book enough. Gripping and cinematic action scenes, relentless pacing, and emotional depth that will make you fist pump right before it tears your guts out. Praying that the publishing gods realize - as I do - that this book *needs* a sequel, or I will not be okay.

incredible

audible reset my review as I was writing it (great service thanks) so all i have the energy to relay from the original review I wrote is I loved it. truly a horror story, but like, only in the best ways a horror story can be.

It's Okay.

I had fun with Rubicon overall, but in general it feels like a step back from Dewes's Divide series. As a standalone it felt too rushed for me, especially in the final act. Still an author I'll continue to check out when she puts out new books. One of the better new sci-fi authors overall.

Great story

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of J.S. Dewes’ works. She does a great job of crafting characters that feel relatable. I didn’t love the narrator for this one though. Not having seen the actual text I can’t say for sure, but it felt like she was putting emphasis and punctuation breaks in the wrong places.

Tough but Good

A very interesting premise drives the story. Well written and well performed. There are a number of non-gratuitous descriptions of pain and trauma which are necessary to the plot, but hard on the reader. I gave it 5 stars because I felt the originality outweighed the tough subject matter, Real military space opera stuff.

Amazing

Great story with twists and turns and memorable characters. Can’t wait for the next sequel.

Mira's End, a fantastic military sci-fi!

Mira's End, what a fantastic military sci-fi standalone. Checked all the boxes for me, as I am drawn to character-driven stories that lean into close experience of the main character(s). Great balance of action, emotion, and tech and the pacing is stellar. There were times when I was consumed in Adriene's experiences, right there in the thick of the action and/or trauma at play - Dewes balances the internal and external so well. I very much enjoyed the way human, AI, and. mil tech blended in this. More than anything the reflections on, experiences of, and themes circulating around dying and death were very compelling to me. If there is where military sci-fi is heading count... me... in.