Rubicon

De: J. S. Dewes

Narrado por: 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

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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".

A tired story that seem to be forced.

Unfortunately, I got the impression from this book that the author fell into a whole bunch of bad writer traps.

For ex: Continually trying to “tell” us. How badass her marine is, rather than show us.

Or Introducing characters just to achieve one simple plot point, and then killing them off.

Or Single color emotions, she’s afraid of one thing the hole book. maybe she’s afraid of other things, but she intentionally ignores them, I don’t know maybe the writer is trying to prevent confusing the audience with her complex backstabbing story.

also a lot of the action is thrown in as an afterthought. Like these Marines are scooting around the neighborhood, finding things to keep themselves occupied….. until the next backstabbing plot comes revealed.

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.

Many holes in the story but we'll read.

Romance was thrown in for no reason. Too many plot holes. The story starts slow then picks up in middle but begins to make little sense with too many holes by 2/3 and beyond.

Transhumanist Soup and I'm having a big bowl

Much like Dewes' Divide series, Rubicon is am exciting and thought provoking romp through the questions of "What is it to be human?" and "What it is to be alive" in the shell of video game esque action set pieces.

Our protagonist Adrian Valero is a wonderful example of the dehumanizing haze that follows trauma and how coming back from that isn't as simple as letting love into your life.

The ending left me reconsidering the actions and motivations of each character as I am left wondering "Who was right?" at the finish.

As a big J.S. Dewes fan, Mass Effect fan and fan of transhumanist Sci-Fi in general, my 5 star review is fully deserved as Rubicon is one of the best novels I have read in quite a while. Here's hoping I don't re-zone before the sequel

Great book, but that ending!

The story is pretty dark, well written in that it kept you hooked. The ending though…