The Exiled Fleet

The Divide, Book 2

By: J. S. Dewes

Narrated by: Andrew Eiden, Nicol Zanzarella

J. S. Dewes continues her fast paced, science fiction action adventure series, the Divide, with The Exiled Fleet, where The Expanse meets The Black Company—the survivors of The Last Watch refuse to die.

The Sentinels narrowly escaped the collapsing edge of the Divide.

They have mustered a few other surviving Sentinels, but with no engines they have no way to leave the edge of the universe before they starve.

Adequin Rake has gathered a team to find the materials they'll need to get everyone out.

To do that they're going to need new allies and evade a ruthless enemy. Some of them will not survive.

The Divide series
The Last Watch
The Exiled Fleet

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

©2021 J. S. Dewes (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Well-crafted intrigue, tense battles, and a lot of heart make for a page-turning adventure on the way to a conclusion that will leave fans anxiously awaiting the next installment." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"Dewes's follow up to The Last Watch keeps the action front and center, while presenting an expansive science fiction story that is both richly complex and accessible." (Library Journal)

"Screenwriter Dewes knows how to twist her story in unexpected directions and pull her well-drawn characters out of impossible situations." (Booklist)

best I have heard in a while

very sympathetic characters, excellent premise and plot. you really get caught up in it. excellent narration. you should read the last watch first

Tag Team Narration

... is my new favorite audiobook thing. Also the book fucking rocks. The next book can't come soon enough.

good but defently a sequel book

minor spoilers but I'll be vague..
I liked the overall story and flow. but I got really annoyed by the constant "sacrificing" themselves over and over... J for R, R for J , K fir R, R for K over and over again. felt like a never ending circle of let me die for you

good but predictable

the plot was super predictable. every twist I seen coming a mile awhile, but I still enjoyed the story. it was fast paced I was never bored.

One of the best!!!

I read a ton of science fiction. This series is one of my all-time favorites. Highly, highly recommended!!!

Compelling story, great performance

A great listen overall.
I was initially unsure how the dual narrator approach would work, but as it turned out, it was very effective and very entertaining.
The story is broad-based and far-reaching, and the characters are very compelling.
The narration is very impressive.
I guess I’ve never really thought about the skill it takes to narrate audiobooks, but listening to the two narrators, you quickly the recognize that they are remarkably skilled that their craft.
I’m looking forward to the next book in the series that comes out in November 2024.

Actually Fresh

It’s so dope to actually find a sci-fi series that is not only good enough to get through, but dodges a lot of the cliches that plague the genre. I’m sure other readers can find some to dislike, but this is a perfect sci-fi series imo. Military, but without excessive bravado and jargon. Drama, but subdued and relationships drive characters without overwhelming the narrative. Space travel and settings, but the science is well balanced and not a burden to get through. Deus ex-machinas are solutions to every problem and generally have solid support from the story.

It’s just hard to find something that feels new these days in the genre and this one has been so refreshing.

wow so great to see a new sci Fi force

All I can say is when is book 3 . this is a grand space epic. She weaves a great tale with physics, the human condition, blurred lines of who the enemy actually is .

keep going and please do no make us wait for too long.

Wonderful

absolutely loved it. the only problem I have is the book three is not yet.

Another fantastic entry to a new series.

While it captivated me as quickly as Last Watch did, it did take me more than a few pages to reacquainted with the crew. The book begins in medias res, and approx. 6 months after TLW. Names and ranks tossed about jarred me momentarily – readers who skipped LTW will be lost (WHY WOULD YOU SKIP LTW?!), but I got comfortable quickly. If I have one brief complaint, it’s that I wish we had a Divide wiki or appendix that explained rank and some of the history. A galaxy map would be a dream. I had the same critique with LTW as well. I absolutely kills me I can’t research the history of this universe! My OCD for backstory is putting the hairs on the back of my neck on edge!

But I guess if my one minor criticism for the book is just wanting more of it, it’s not a terrible thing.

We’re in an whole new world of shit as TEF picks up. The old crew joined by new members, as Rake has spent the last 5 months saving as many Sentinels from the Divide as she could and taking every loss just as hard. Meanwhile Cav is working to jumpstart the Typhos’ engines (which happens to be a miniature star). Supplies are dwindling and a decision has to be made – a team has to jump back home, back to the Core. A Core that views the group as, at best criminals, at worst traitors. And a Core that is home to Cav’s grandfather, a wannabe dictator of the known universe.

Dewes Introduces new characters and a much larger look into the politics of this universe. We are given a deeper look into the characters we grew to love in TLW, with some surprising reveals that are spoiler heavy to even hint at. Many new questions are raised. The ever collapsing universe is still a threat, but is put on the backburner here, at least for now. But the implications of it emerge again by the time we reach the final chapters, and I’ll just leave it at that.

Thankfully, again, we aren’t left with a cliffhanger by the time we reach the final page. But that doesn’t mean the story is over. I feel as though Dewes has created such a deep and complex universe that the story can go anywhere, at any time. Questions are raised in the final chapters that made me audibly gasp – a more than one I said out loud, “oh, shit.”

Do not wait to read this. If you enjoyed TLW, don't hesitate. And if you haven't read TLW, do it. Do it now.

It hard to want more from an author who gave us 2 amazing books in a single year, but readers are a greedy bunch. I can't wait for another!