Rubicon is a compelling and propulsive military sci-fi headed by a complex/conflicted MC. As expected after The Divide series, Dewes offers cinematic writing with lots of action but stays grounded by themes of mortality, artificial intelligence, ethics, and nature vs technology.

I really appreciate the depth given to Sargeant Valero to provide a lens through which to view the world of Rubicon. Someone who has been rezoned (aka "reborn") 96 times after combat would most definitely have a different outlook on life. Standout secondary characters Kato and Daroga, as well as the rest of her squadmates, breathed life back into Valero and I enjoyed seeing her reconnect both with herself and others. Valero's Rubicon (her Virtual Intelligence turned Artificial Intelligence) is sarcastic and precious - wish there would've been more page time between the two of them!

The fast pace kept me flipping those pages and I had quite a few feels even after remembering that death isn't a regular concept in this military world. I yelled at the ending. I yelled and would've slammed the book shut if I hadn't been reading off my Kindle.

Something to note, there is one character with a physical disability that falls into a stereotype. While I am not part of the disabled community, it did stand out to me. The amputee does experience phantom limb pain and has made the choice to keep their amputated limbs rather than rezoning. There is more involved to this character and plot point, but I can't say more because spoilers.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I love clone novels so I was excited to pick this up.  Machines are at war with humans.  The humans are not winning but with clone technology they are trying to turn the tide.  Adrienne Valero is a sergeant serving in the military's expendable 802nd unit.  She has died 96 times and just wants to die for good next time.  However, the clone technology makes the user effectively immortal and, frankly, a bit crazy.

When Adrienne is transferred to an elite special forces group, she is grateful for the chance to stay in her current shell for a while.  But PTSD is taking its toll.  When Adrienne is assigned a new "rubicon" AI interface she doesn't trust it.  But as she settles into her new assignment, the AI becomes essential to her survival and humanity.  As Adrienne learns what it is like to live again, she is drawn into confrontation with a human menace that might destroy them all for good.

I adored the set-up for the novel and how the 802nd unit worked.  I also enjoyed Adrienne's adjustment to her new ship, crew, and AI.  While I enjoyed the majority of the characters and how Adrienne combats her PTSD, I found the plot to be the weak part of the novel.  I did not like the bad guy at all and thought his motivation was both short sighted and nonsensical.  Adrienne should have caught on way sooner.  I also did not like the "reveal" of how the machines were created.  The novel started to fail for me after the climax when the big bad tries to take over.  It was too much drama and action and felt rushed.  Also the plot of this whole section didn't work for me.  And the ending made me angry.  I thought this was a standalone and was very disappointed with the last couple of pages.  If there is a sequel, I am not sure how the author can make it work.

This doesn't walk the plank because of how much I enjoyed the beginning and the characters overall.  But I hesitate to recommend it to another reader unless I know there is going to be future explanation for the downer of an ending.  Arrr!

Right off the bat, we get an explosive introduction to Valero and her team as they battle the Mech and they all end up dying only to be rezoned... Where they awaken in new bodies that are exactly like the ones they left behind minus any injury. That should be amazing, right? but waking up with the phantom echoes of whatever killed you and doing it 96 times leads to Valero not really being able to feel or care about anything anymore. When she gets transferred to the 505th she has no idea that she will end up with a new team that she will end up caring for, and a mission objective that should put an end to the war with the Mech once and for all.

I love Valero and her Rubicon, they are both snarky and sarcastic, and I love how the Rubicon actually helps Valero as well in processing her emotions and leading her to actually be able to feel and care about her teammates, and develop an intimate connection with civilian contractor. I really liked her right from the beginning, but seeing her grow into this new person made me like her even more. Her teammates are a great fit for her and I especially like Kato who seems to be able to fall asleep anywhere at any time and stay that way until someone wakes him up.

The story really begins to take off again about halfway to three-quarters through the book, and while I was already flying through the book at this point I couldn't have put it down even if I wanted to. There are some big reveals, and after that ending, all I could say was WHAT? and cross my fingers that there is going to be a sequel to this book. It hooked me from the beginning, and even though it slowed down a bit after that we really get to know Valero, her AI, and her teammates which made me really fall in love with them all the more. I really hope we get a sequel, but in the meantime, I'll be checking out J.S. Dewe's other sci-fi series

Velaro has been resurrected 96 times and this time is sent to a special force unit where she receives a Rubicon for her specialty but what she doesn’t know but quickly finds out, is that hers is special, it starts doing things out of the ordinary for her specialty and for her. Her and her unit complete more missions that should have been impossible. Do you want to play a game?
That is what it reminds me off, people creating things without the forethought of what might happen if something goes a little differently than they originally thought. This is a good book where the HAL machine is on the side for good, and the person takes its sentient into account. It has plenty of action and a lot of suspense. But this is a good book that anybody would like especially the techy reader.

Rubicon is the latest novel by J. S. Dewes, and I loved it. Yes, I am a huge nerd and love all the science that comes with novels set in space. I adore the potential for alien interactions, and a good action story will win out over a good romance any day of the week. Thankfully, Rubicon has all that and more.

I don't think I took a single breath once I hit the 75% mark in the novel. Up until that point, there are brief moments of respite in which you can catch your breath and reflect on the huge amount of information you have learned so far. At that mark, though, Ms. Dewes ratchets up the action to the point where you honestly don't know what the outcome of all of it will be. You are helpless as you watch Valero struggle through twist after twist, each more shocking than the last. Even the very last scene will leave you gasping in shock.

Rubicon is not all action, however. Ms. Dewes includes a lot of ideas that challenge our understanding of free will, artificial intelligence, and life itself. For example, we meet Valero right before she dies for the ninety-sixth time. Except she doesn't die. Scientists found a way to download and upload everything that makes you a person into a new body, meaning that every time your body dies, your memories/ethics/experiences all jump into a new body set in one of many storage tanks set around the universe. You even remember your death. How is that for trauma?

As we watch Valero struggle to find meaning in her life after dying NINETY-SIX times, Ms. Dewes forces you to think about what it means to be alive. At the same time, the enemy Valero and her fellow soldiers are fighting are sentient artificial intelligent robots who want nothing more than to eradicate the human race. This brings to mind the age-old fear explored hundreds of times in other science fiction novels and movies regarding the dangers of A.I. and humankind's ability to wage war against beings that are more intelligent and less fleshy than humans. How do you continue when there appears to be no hope, especially in light of the fact all you can look forward to is dying over and over again to fight this seemingly unwinnable war?

Crossing the Rubicon is a metaphor for reaching a decision and undertaking an action from which there is no return. There are several Rubicons in Rubicon, all of which are moments when humans think they are taking the next natural step in advancement or a necessary step to help them win the war. As with so many things in life, those Rubicon moments have much more far-reaching ramifications and serve as reminders that scientific advancement for the sake of itself does not mean that it is a good thing for humankind or necessary. If anything, Rubicon is a strong warning to think before taking the next great leap.

With its almost non-stop action and the many thought-provoking ethical quandaries, there is no way I would not adore J. S. Dewes' Rubicon. For me, it hit all the right notes. It has the perfect blend of action, science, and ethics, with a little romance to provide hope in a hopeless situation. Valero is the perfect science fiction hero - experienced and wise, careworn, fiercely loyal, and asking all the right questions. I do not doubt that other science fiction fans will love Rubicon as much as I did.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. And that ending! My brain was absolutely *howling* “NO NO NO NOOOO” in the final chapter, which left such an open ending and a definite potential for a sequel. I’ve been left flabbergasted, but certainly not speechless at the ending of this blockbuster worthy sci-fi novel!
Let’s back up to the beginning.
Adrienne Valero is a specialist in the 803rd and as we meet her, she’s about to die for the 96th time. Humanity has been fighting the hive-minded Mechan for two decades, trying to break their blockade of the system humanity is so desperately trying to escape. The sun is dying and in order for humans to survive they desperately need to find a new home but the Mechan are content with trapping them and destroying new colonies… almost as if they want something from the humans other than death.
When Valero rezones into a new body following her death, she’s promptly transferred to the elite and secretive 505th where they are in need of a new pathfinder for the Forward Recon squad. Upon arrival, she’s outfitted with a virtual interface implanted in her brain and dumped unceremoniously into missions with a new voice in her head and a suit she’s barely learned to use. When, in the midst of combat, she can suddenly sense everything and take out four Mechans in just over a minute she realizes something about her Rubicon implant isn’t standard. Then the real fun begins and she gets drawn into a host of secrets she was unprepared for.
While this might be the cool as hell military sci-fi story I’ve been waiting years for, it’s also a moving story about a grizzled veteran who learns to feel again. When Valero isn’t on a mission, she’s drinking herself into oblivion during the shorter and shorter spans between rezones. Until she’s transferred to the 505th, where most soldiers have only rezoned a handful of times. They’re lively and though she doesn’t want to get close, she finds herself caring for her squadmates, particularly Kato, who can sleep anywhere and at any time. Then there’s Carl Daroga, a civilian working for a military contractor - he’s the one who installed Valero’s Rubicon implant - and though she loathes to admit it to herself, Valero likes him. I’ve yet to mention how delightfully sarcastic yet supportive Valero’s rogue Rubicon actually is. He’s a wonderful character in and of himself and the snappy convos between the two are just fantastic and even rather emotional at times!
The whole story is action-packed and is written so well that I could visualize how the scenes would look on the big screen. And let me tell you, I would 10/10 love to see this book adapted into a movie. It would be like Edge of Tomorrow meets The Terminator! Coming back to my thoughts on the ending that I so eloquently stated in the first paragraph - it was incredible and left me completely aghast. If this is truly a stand alone I may actually weep because I need more closure than that!

After an explosive first chapter, this is a rather slow build military sci-fi. I really enjoyed our main perspective, Adrienne. She was an interesting character to follow, navigating her new VI and the war that had been happening for years against intelligent machines.

This novel is gripping and had me intrigued to the very end. I do wish there was more to do with the VI - this aspect is what originally caught my interest in this.

I really hope that we get a sequel for this even if I was not a big fan of the ending. I had a fun time with this and hope for more!

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the arc!

Rubicon
by J. S. Dewes
Tor Books (Mar/28/2023)
It’s not that Sargaent Adriene Valero minds dying. It’s the waking up and having to do it all over again that she hates. Transferred from the expendable 802nd to the elite 505ers, she’s hoping she’ll get to stay in this version of her war-weary body long enough to remember what it feels like to be human. Whether the jumped-up AI they’ve slotted into her brain is going to help or hinder that is open to debate, but suddenly she’s the pointy end of the spear in mankind’s fight against the mechos, sentient bots left over after the race that created them died out, but still determined to keep humanity bottled up in a dying system.

Rubicon is starts a new bit of Mil-SF-Space Opera from J. S. Dewes, author of both The Last Watch (2021) and The Exiled Fleet (2021), in which humanity faces a collapsing universe and an exiled fleet that was its only hope for making peace with an alien army and halting the destruction. In her new universe, humanity is facing destruction from its own star and finds itself trapped by an alien menace. Fortunately, we have a few good men (and women), and technology reminiscent of both John Scalsi’s Old Man’s War (2007) and Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow (2014). It’s Mil-SF, but Tor is putting it out as Space Opera, which is probably a good call, because while an enjoyable read, Dewes comes across as more gamer than grunt in her first take on ground pounders at play. Recommended.

Rubicon was a slow build of a novel. It had a slow start as it worked to establish this new universe and its main character, Adrienne, but it quickly picked up pace with action packed combat scenes and some… tense situations.

J.S. Dewes did a great job with the world-building here. It took me a little time to get the full picture, but I never felt overwhelmed with information at any point. It was great to experience the story through Adrienne’s eyes and come to understand how everything worked.

Adrienne was a pretty great main character. I liked her hesitancy at the beginning of the book–she was struggling and dealing with quite a few things–and how she slowly transformed as a person and character. The Rubicon being an integral part of that change was also wonderful to read about!

The plot was pretty straight-forward, though? There weren’t many surprises along the way and it was pretty easy to guess where the plot was going. I will that the final chapter caught me a bit off guard if only because I had an inkling it was going to happen? And then Dewes went there and I didn’t like it at all lol

But yes! Overall, a solid standalone sci-fi read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn’t read pure adult science fiction in se real years before picking this one up, so I had a bit of a rough start getting into it, but once I got re-used to the genre, I was engrossed. I adored these characters and the issues they were grappling with. What I love about science fiction is that it takes universal human issues (like what it even means to BE human) and makes it fantastical, and this book succeeded in that regard.

I am still grappling with and coming to terms with that ending though. Please tell me there’s going to be a sequel? I need something here! So many loose ends I need tied up (besides the glaringly obvious one).

For years, Sergeant Adriene Valero has been fighting a war without end against sentient machines, where death only means waking in a new body and being redeployed to the field. After the trauma of ninety-six deaths, Valero barely cares about anything anymore, but a new posting to a covert special forces unit brings a faint bit of hope. Outfitted with the best weapons, armor and a high tech virtual intelligence, Valero may actually go a few months between deaths. But when Valero’s VI evolves into an illegal AI, she discovers that she could be the key to ending the war once and for all.

RUBICON is a kinetic sci-fi adventure, one full of explosive action and emotional resonance. From the very first chapter, I knew I was going to love this book. Dewes is skilled at tense fight sequences, ones that feel practically cinematic in their presentation. She has done a fantastic job of weaving futuristic tech into combat operations, with soldiers taking advantage of everything from mechanized suits to VI to telemetries of every kind.

But the author doesn’t let the action overwhelm the story. There’s plenty of time to breath in between sequences, with a significant storyline going to just how traumatic it is to die over and over and OVER again. When we meet Valero at the beginning, she is completely disconnected from the world, because numbing the emotional pain is the only way to go on. Learning to process that trauma and pain so that she can open up again is just as important to the story as finding an end to the war is.

To that end, Dewes also brings back her signature hint of mystery to this sci-fi adventure. In between all the fighting, there’s that central question of why the machines are even attacking to begin with. These machines are not human in origin, so who created them and why? As this is a standalone, you won’t get a huge sweeping space opera, but you will get a self-contained snippet of the galaxy that I found wholly satisfying on its own.

RUBICON is a perfect cocktail of action, mystery, and character, and it has cemented J.S. Dewes as an autobuy author for me. Simply put, if you are a fan of fast-paced sci-fi, you need RUBICON on your list, followed by the rest of the Dewes’s books.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this science fiction novel dealing with aliens, war, and returning to life, even when the dark is preferred.

As a long time reader of science fiction, I've read a lot of military science fiction, but was never a big fan. Starfleet or the Rebels always was my armed forces of choice, not the Terran Federation Army of Starship Troopers. I've read a lot of them though. Most of the Bolo Books, Hammer's Slammers, the Berserker series, the Man-Kzin Wars. They were fine, but didn't really speak to me. One of my favorites of this era was the book Armor by John Steakley, which I must have read at least ten times, finding something new everytime I did. Reading Rubicon by J. S. Dewes I felt that same feeling from years ago. Discovering a galaxy at war, for reasons neither side communicates, where life is so cheap it can be recycled, and where allies are sometimes worse than the enemy trying to kill you.

The book opens with the last moments of Adriene Valero life, dying by her own hand in a battle with the savage Mechans. Humans and Mechans have been battling each other for almost 20, years, when the Mechans destroyed almost all the human colonies, trapping them in on system, with a a sun that is slowly dying. One weapon humanity has developed is rezoning. At the moment a soldier dies, their soul, or essence is placed in another body. Their memories remain intact, and troops can share what they learned, what they did wrong, and how they died. Valero is on her ninety- sixth rezone, and cares very little for anything anymore. Valero is given a new assignment, and a tool to fight the Mechans. A Virtual Intelligence Assistant that will help in the fight. The only problem is Valero's VI is making her too good at her job, and others are starting to take notice.

I have read the two books in The Divide, and earlier series by Dewes and enjoyed them, but this is a big leap in ideas and writing, though the strong female characters remain. The story is grim, dark, mean, violent, and yet is really absorbing and has a very strong plot, lots of ideas, and really really moves. The world makes sense, the science is cool, the action is really excellent, and the characters are all different, not stereotypical, well the more gung ho characters are there, but Valero, her teammates and others are really very well portrayed. And again this book just moves, but never skimps or skips details. The idea of the Mechans, the military, the idea of rezoning, the action, even the religious beliefs of one of Valero's fellow soldiers are well thought out and fit perfectly with the story. Dewes poses a lot of questions, and really looks at war from a different point of view. What if when your play pieces were damaged, you got them all back to try again. This is suggested by Valero, since without stakes stupid plans can be tried over and over, with everyone dying able to come back. Not the story I expected, and one that I enjoyed far more than I thought I would.

Recommended for fans of John Scalzi's Old Man's War series. And for people who like complex action stories with a lot going on. I really do want to see more about this universe, and the ending does set up a lot of possibilities. Read it before it comes to Netflix, because this would make one great show or movie.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and had some great conversations about what it means to be human.

I like J.S. Dewes a lot, so I was very excited to read this book. And wow, it delivered!! Humans are fighting sentient robots intent on destroying them. When soldiers die, they’re brought back to life in new bodies over and over again. You get a real sense of the weariness of the main character. So many deaths. So many new bodies. So much trauma from the rebirth experience. She’s transferred to a new assignment, which comes with new toys and a virtual intelligence implanted in her brain.

Of course, there’s so much more going on than she realizes. The story grabs you immediately with intense action. Throughout the whole book, the action scenes are gripping. But this is military sci fi with heart. The characters are fantastic- the friendships, the camaraderie. The main character, especially, grows so much over the course of the story. Her AI came to be one of my favorite characters.

This book is so good. It’s stay up too late, can’t stop reading, don’t want to put it down good. And THE END. I finished the book and can’t stop thinking about it. Please let this have a sequel!

I absolutely recommend this. Loved it. Five stars. Can everyone who likes science fiction please start reading books by J.S. Dewes? It comes out March 28. Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for my copy.

Specialist Adriene Valero had just died for the 96th time when she was transferred from the 803 Exoplanet Reconnaissance Division to the 505th Special Forces as a pathfinder sergeant. As part of the intake to the 505th, Adriene is fitted with a virtual interface, only hers is a special model with features she only learns about over time. These special features allow her to survive her first outing with the 505th and brought her into the orbit of Major West, the inventor of the Rubicon VI device. Major West has a theory of how to win the war against the Mechans and has plotted a campaign to gain the information to really win the war. But will Major West's plot destroy humanity or save it? Adriene has to make a decision soon that will affect everyone. Plenty of drama, character development, a bit of romance and a very twisted ending that just begs for a sequel!

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title!

3.5, rounding up 🤖
*truly and genuinely amazed that the author managed to knock off a whole ass star in like seven pages lol


humanity has a problem. specifically a tech problem; they're locked in a fight to the death with a group they call Mechans, enormous humanoid-ish robots who refuse to let humans leave their lil planetary system. maybe this would be a limitation humanity could live with, except for the fact that their home star is rapidly losing viability and that there's no consensus on how long any of their planets have left.

understandably, humans consistently and desperately throw themselves against the Mechan blockades trying to find a way out. as one might imagine, we get quite shorthanded thanks to this 'technique'. Mechans rarely if ever pursue humans within the system, but they will neatly and effectively murder them if humans are trying to wriggle out. (there's also an option B that is lovingly called "hybridizing", but more on that later.)


"Adriene ground her teeth, silently cursing whatever blighted species invented these manufactured fucks, then had the sensible idea to make them self-aware before letting their murderous, hive-minded junkbots loose on the galaxy. It was at least satisfying to know they'd in all likelihood been wiped out by their own terrible choices."


to bolster their military, humans have the bright idea to start cloning. kind of. it's called zeroing out (or in classier circles, "rezoning") and is basically a human mind/soul/whatever transferring from one dead body to a new, freshly grown 'husk'. hilariously these are all marked with lil SKU numbers on their forearms, for inventory purposes.

we follow Specialist Adriene Valero, a soldier who has died many, many, many times. there's a bit of degradation the more times someone is zeroed out (whoops) and in her latest body Adriene is struggling a lot with appropriate emotional responses. she's apathetic, and while minimally surprised when she abruptly receives a transfer order not otherwise ruffled.

she moves into the 505th and gets reassigned as a Pathfinder, working with a new Forward Recon squad. they are comprised of Lieutenant Miles "Brig" Brigham (leader & medic), Sergeant Lian Kato (comms & engineering), and Vivienne Gallagher (overwatch & sniping). at first Adriene flounders with her new teammates but receives an unexpected boon upon her transfer; a VI installed straight tf in her head.

each and every soldier in the 505th has one, and they're all called Rubicon. there's a lot of emphasis on the V part of the VI; they are not AI machines, and have no independent thoughts or personalities. they are however, exceedingly helpful in emergency situations, and aid their soldier in piloting their enormous suits around, targeting and spatial awareness, and a number of other little things. Adriene's Rubicon even ends up helping her lay new emotional groundwork, which was surprisingly lovely to witness.

Adriene's biggest fear in life is getting hybridized. again. unfortunately, she's the one soldier with the claim to fame that she actually survived in her next husk when her hybridized body died among the Mechan. hybridization is basically sticking some ugly mask on a human's head (called a crucible) and yoinking them into the Mechan hivemind. individual choices vanish; the captured soldiers become extra fingers and toes for the Mechans themselves but remain trapped in their traitorous bodies until death.

it's a pretty awful fate, so fully understandable why Adriene doesn't want that to happen again, but unfortunately Mechans can do this easy peasy because of the rezoning chip all soldiers have installed in their head. Adriene is desperate to get hers removed, to completely eliminate the chance of being hybridized again.

so Adriene consents to her Rubicon and when things start going a bit sideways he ends up being an extraordinary resource and friend. I won't speak more on the plot but I loved their relationship a lot; Rubicon's learning software picking up her sarcasm was by far the highlight of their conversations.

I was sitting at a 4.5 rating and leaning towards a 5 until literally the last like seven pages. to be clear, this was completely my personal preference !!! the ending doesn't inherently suck and other readers might enjoy it significantly more than me, but I wanted to be clear that other than that last little bit I really loved this book.

p.s. please check tws, there's a ton of discussions of more sensitive topics (largely suicide and alcoholism/addiction, among others).



thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc ✨

Valero is transferred to the 505 and is equipped with a Rubicon which is like a sentient computer in her brain. The book is about how she comes to terms with that and how it changes her life.

The ENDING... OMG it just about killed me.

With such a strong premise and as a fan of Dewes' previous work, I expected to be gripped by Rubicon from the very start. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to stay engaged off-and-on throughout the first half. The action is heart-pounding, there are interesting characters, and it's solid military sci-fi. And yet there was something missing that prevented me from getting completely sucked in until the end, at which point I couldn't put it down. Because my expectations were so high going in, I ended Rubicon a bit disappointed, but I'd still recommend it to anyone who lives space operas or military sci-fi.

A 4.5/5 for sure.

This futuristic techno-military thriller with the fate of humanity in the balance, I really enjoyed nearly everything about this story! While some themes seemed a bit derivative, they were pieced together in a refreshing way that held my attention, and kept be wanting more. My only critique was it's ending... perhaps a sequel can remedy that for me! (Hint, hint, Dewes...)

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

https://onereadingnurse.com/2022/12/16/rubicon-by-js-dewes-arc-review/

Well... I finally finished Rubicon even if it took me a month. I don't know why it was so hard to sit down and read this book. The long chapters didn't help and I really only got enthusiastic about Rubicon in the final 150 pages, and then couldn't put it down.  I think it just has a LOT going on. It's a  character driven space opera, there's military involvement, there's a discourse on AI and ethics (my favorite), aliens, and just so much else happening.

Dewes did a lot of things well, like the characters and their trauma, coping and new relationships and team bonding. The military operations would go from zero to 100 real quick as did Adrienne's relationship with the Rubicon.

I generally wanted more from the science in a lot of places. Dewes dedicated the book to a Warcraft character (also a great name for a dog) and turned the game's resurrection protocol into chips and rezone areas. I think the overall concept was great and we did eventually get some of the "how" behind it. There are weapons and advanced tech, contact with alien vessels, and the terrible truth that in order to avoid becoming part of the hive mind, it's best to just "wipe" or kill yourself in order to rezone instead of being captured. I liked learning about the alien history too and just wish she had connected it personally to... The big boss guy. I'm pretty sure there were a few more WoW things in the book but I could also be projecting.

After some thought, I've decided that I love the ending. Oh those poor characters LOL but I'm here for it. I'm afraid I won't remember what happened when the sequel comes out (oh hey, publishers - make it clear when a book is going to be a series, yeah)? But man, oh man, that was an ending for you. 100% the ending bumped her rating up.

Overall: I can't say any one thing that the book did wrong (although hopefully they edit out how many times someone's lock of curly hair is mentioned) but I also can't latch onto anything that grabbed me until the final plot line emerged. It was a solid military sci-fi adventure with good characters and many different elements. I'd recommend for space opera fans if you aren't squeamish about suicide and I will definitely read the sequel!