J. S. Dewes knocks her debut out of the park with her first entry in the The Divide series. I remember seeing this cover last year and being super excited and curious what this Science Fiction novel would bring to the genre. It’s no secret that Sci-Fi is my favorite genre so I had to read it! I’m glad this was my first read in 2022! This review will be spoiler free.

Synopsis

This story follows two main characters, Adequin Rake and Cavalon Mercer. Adequin commands a crew of Sentinels that protect the edge of the universe called The Divide. Cavalon finds himself being stationed on the ship called the Argus. Anomalies start to happen with the Divide and force the crew to fight to survive.

World Building

I found that world building was one of the strongest attributes about The Last Watch. J.S. Dewes masterfully crafts believable backstories for the characters. She successfully gives great moments where we learn about the characters life through the stories Adequin and Cavalon share between each on their adventure. I found this didn’t feel like large information dumps for the sake of needing something but it felt like natural moments in which people would share their life in a meaningful way. I liked the Universe was lived in on the level of a series like Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time. We know of other stations that crews like Adequin’s are working on. We hear about the Inner Core and Outer Core of the galaxy. The story might take place in a small area of the universe but it feels like there is so much happening everywhere. There are mentions of wars the galaxy and even the main character went through. It wouldn’t be a Sci-Fi story with out a different species that inhabits the Universe as well. I thought The Last Watch represented World Building magnificently!

Plot

I enjoyed using a similar idea like the Wall from Game of Thrones and putting it in space. It’s an interesting concept that I think works really well. I always thought there could be amazing side stories or events that happen that could take place there. This certainly filled that void for me. I found myself turning the page and wondering what will happen next and how will they solve the problems that arrived. The Last Watch is certainly a fast paced story with lots of interesting twist that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Characters

The characters were written in a way I felt drawn to them. I really enjoy Cavalon and his storyline as it unfolded. The opening line of the book really sets the expectation for tone with Cavalon’s character. Maybe it was a little too convenient that he could answer or solve a lot of answers but I still enjoyed the value he brought to the crew. Adequin was a character I fell in love with right away. I liked how she was the hero who had fallen from grace. I felt her story resembled the likes of Ender from Ender’s Game. Adequin is definitely on the hero’s journey. There are a lot of things she is still trying to overcome and I loved that about a main character.

The one thing that made the characters – main characters and side characters – stand out in the story was everyone felt like they were distinct. They came from different background and different walks of life. They had many different personalities. This made it easy to remember who was who as the story continued to move and add new characters to it.

Final Thoughts

The Last Watch was hard to put down! I found myself invested in the story from the opening line to the last page. As soon as I put down The Last Watch, I ordered The Exile Fleet. I am excited to see where the story will go from here and can’t wait to get back into this series very soon! If you are looking for a gripping space opera with tons of drama, intrigue, mystery and suspense this is the story for you. I highly recommend The Last Watch!