The last watch

After two major interstellar wars with the Viator, from whom humanity gained the advanced technology to colonize planets and overthrow them, the System Collective established Sentinels at the very edge of the universe. The crews of these outposts are outcasts from the Legion, soldiers who failed the service in some way and were exiled to serve as the first line of alert in case the Viator somehow return. Their tale is told from two points of view. Adequinn Rake was a Titan, a hero among heroes of the final conflict, who betrayed her last mission's objective and now commands the Argus, a decommissioned battleship serving outpost duty. Cavalon Mercer is the heir to the man who holds great power in the SC. He arrives in disgrace and just as the Argus faces a threat greater than any return of a Viator Fleet. He also happens to be indispensable to how Rake faces that threat, no matter his lack of military training. The Last Watch is a bravura debut that blends great action with compelling characters, lighting up this new series like a dark matter generator.

A group of likable rogues race to stop the universe collapsing in Dewes's gripping space opera debut, whose premise will put readers in mind of A Song of Ice and Fire's Night's Watch. Ships stripped of their engines line the edge of the universe, staffed by the Sentinels, court-martialed Legion soldiers sent to guard the Divide in case the hostile alien Viators return. Cavalon Mercer, a rebellious royal heir, becomes the only civilian among them when he's stripped of his titles and sent to the Argus to serve under stoic war hero Adequin Rake. Sharply pointed descriptions pepper Dewes's prose as Cavalon faces the soldiers' hostility over his family's background in eugenics, and an investigation into a suspected sensor error reveals that the Divide is collapsing. Failing communication systems compel Rake to send a group to the nearest jump gate to warn the Legion and request evacuation transports, but the gate is mysteriously abandoned when they arrive. Meanwhile, those aboard the Argus experience some delightfully strange temporal anomalies as the Divide races inward. Dewes fluidly interweaves complex worldbuilding with a fast-moving plot and satisfying character development in Cavalon and Rake. This should win many fans. (Apr.)

DEBUT At the edge of the Universe lies the Divide, an empty border where the Viators crossed and battled humanity. Since then, a xenocide plus a Resurgence War have cast the last of the alien race into oblivion. The Sentinels of the Legion, made up of little more than exiles and convicts, still patrol the Divide. Cavalon Mercer has been placed here, stripped of titles and support, as punishment for his attack on his royal grandfather's genetic lab. He should keep a low profile, since few like his family, but his attitude and intelligence refuse to bow, not even to Adequin Rake, commander of the Argus, a woman who holds her own past close. Now the Argus has been cut off, and Rake has no communications or resources except the rejected soldiers she oversees. The Universe is collapsing, and Rake, Cavalon, and the rest must find a way to stop it--if they can survive it. VERDICT Dewes's debut is an exciting, fast-paced ride around the edges of the universe, where those rejected by much of humanity are the only ones who can save it. Fans of K. B. Wagers's "Farian Wars" series and John Scalzi's Old Man's War will welcome this military science fiction thriller.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

After two major interstellar wars with the Viator, from whom humanity gained the advanced technology to colonize planets and overthrow them, the System Collective established Sentinels at the very edge of the universe. The crews of these outposts are outcasts from the Legion, soldiers who failed the service in some way and were exiled to serve as the first line of alert in case the Viator somehow return. Their tale is told from two points of view. Adequinn Rake was a Titan, a hero among heroes of the final conflict, who betrayed her last mission's objective and now commands the Argus, a decommissioned battleship serving outpost duty. Cavalon Mercer is the heir to the man who holds great power in the SC. He arrives in disgrace and just as the Argus faces a threat greater than any return of a Viator Fleet. He also happens to be indispensable to how Rake faces that threat, no matter his lack of military training. The Last Watch is a bravura debut that blends great action with compelling characters, lighting up this new series like a dark matter generator. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Scriptwriter for numerous films that have emerged from various festivals with awards, first-timer Dewes offers a world at the edge of the universe in The Last Watch, with only the scurvy Sentinels able to save the day (125,000-copy first printing). Two-time winner of South Korea's annual best sf novel competition, Kim offers two pairs of linked stories in I'm Waiting for You that go to the very heart of existence and its meaning (75,000-copy first printing). In First, Become Ashes, from Hugo and Nebula finalist Szpara, Lark grew up caged and scourged to build up his magic to fight monsters—and remains committed to his mission when he is later told by combined government forces investigating child abuse that the magic and the monsters are not real (75,000-copy first printing). Launching a new series, van Praag's The Night of Demons and Saints features two sisters torn apart after failing to defeat their demon father, with Goldie plotting a human sacrifice to redeem all she's lost and Liyana arguing that there's a better way (50,000-copy first printing). In librarian Walter's Malice, a debut that intriguingly retells the Sleeping Beauty story, Alyce, the Dark Grace, has cursed the kingdom of Briar's line of princesses to die young—but Princess Aurora changes everything by falling in love with Alyce.

DEBUT At the edge of the Universe lies the Divide, an empty border where the Viators crossed and battled humanity. Since then, a xenocide plus a Resurgence War have cast the last of the alien race into oblivion. The Sentinels of the Legion, made up of little more than exiles and convicts, still patrol the Divide. Cavalon Mercer has been placed here, stripped of titles and support, as punishment for his attack on his royal grandfather's genetic lab. He should keep a low profile, since few like his family, but his attitude and intelligence refuse to bow, not even to Adequin Rake, commander of the Argus, a woman who holds her own past close. Now the Argus has been cut off, and Rake has no communications or resources except the rejected soldiers she oversees. The Universe is collapsing, and Rake, Cavalon, and the rest must find a way to stop it—if they can survive it. VERDICT Dewes's debut is an exciting, fast-paced ride around the edges of the universe, where those rejected by much of humanity are the only ones who can save it. Fans of K. B. Wagers's "Farian Wars" series and John Scalzi's Old Man's War will welcome this military science fiction thriller.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

A group of likable rogues race to stop the universe collapsing in Dewes's gripping space opera debut, whose premise will put readers in mind of A Song of Ice and Fire's Night's Watch. Ships stripped of their engines line the edge of the universe, staffed by the Sentinels, court-martialed Legion soldiers sent to guard the Divide in case the hostile alien Viators return. Cavalon Mercer, a rebellious royal heir, becomes the only civilian among them when he's stripped of his titles and sent to the Argus to serve under stoic war hero Adequin Rake. Sharply pointed descriptions pepper Dewes's prose as Cavalon faces the soldiers' hostility over his family's background in eugenics, and an investigation into a suspected sensor error reveals that the Divide is collapsing. Failing communication systems compel Rake to send a group to the nearest jump gate to warn the Legion and request evacuation transports, but the gate is mysteriously abandoned when they arrive. Meanwhile, those aboard the Argus experience some delightfully strange temporal anomalies as the Divide races inward. Dewes fluidly interweaves complex worldbuilding with a fast-moving plot and satisfying character development in Cavalon and Rake. This should win many fans. (Apr.)