349 books
—
767 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Last Watch (The Divide, #1)” as Want to Read:
The Last Watch
(The Divide #1)
by
The Expanse meets Game of Thrones in J. S. Dewes' fast-paced, sf adventure The Last Watch, where a handful of soldiers stand between humanity and annihilation.
The Divide.
It’s the edge of the universe.
Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything with it.
The only ones who can stop it are the Sentinels—the recruits, exiles, and court-martialed dregs of the military. ...more
The Divide.
It’s the edge of the universe.
Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything with it.
The only ones who can stop it are the Sentinels—the recruits, exiles, and court-martialed dregs of the military. ...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 480 pages
Expected publication:
April 20th 2021
by Tor Books
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Last Watch,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The Last Watch
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Last Watch (The Divide, #1)

A band of scrappy criminal misfits banished to the edge of space, forced to act fast to save the universe from certain destruction? Um yeah, don't mind if I do!
THE LAST WATCH is everything you want in your new favorite sci-fi series, but what sold me most was how deeply I fell in love with every single character. Cavalon Mercer, pure of heart and dumb of ass. Rake, who I'd take eight bullets for. Griffin, bless his large soul. Jack, the emotionally reticent right-hand man of my dreams. Every cha ...more
THE LAST WATCH is everything you want in your new favorite sci-fi series, but what sold me most was how deeply I fell in love with every single character. Cavalon Mercer, pure of heart and dumb of ass. Rake, who I'd take eight bullets for. Griffin, bless his large soul. Jack, the emotionally reticent right-hand man of my dreams. Every cha ...more

Great new SF. Like Battlestar Galactica meets the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones. Excellent space action, great characters. I read this a while back, when it hadn't been added to goodreads yet. Highly recommended for anyone who likes The Expanse, CJ Cherryh's books, or other semi-realistic space action.
...more

Exciting, well-paced, space adventure! Pitched as Battlestar Galactica meets the Night's Watch from A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones), which is accurate in all the best ways. I'll take the liberty of adding: with a captain that gives off major Commander Shepard vibes (Mass Effect). I enjoyed the ride and cannot wait to read more (dangit why did I read an ARC? Now I have to wait even longer for the next book, woe unto me!) As an aside I am jealous of J.S. Dewes' skills with dialogue. Thril
...more

"The Night's Watch in space" is a good way to pitch this book, but it also doesn't do THE LAST WATCH justice. Because this is a book that takes place in space, but it's also a book about people, and the relationships between them are the most interesting part. And let me tell you, I am here for character-driven sci-fi.
I was hooked from the very first page by Cavalon's personality alone, but as the book goes on, I ended up feeling for every single character, especially Rake. RAKE!! And Griff! An ...more
I was hooked from the very first page by Cavalon's personality alone, but as the book goes on, I ended up feeling for every single character, especially Rake. RAKE!! And Griff! An ...more

Science Fiction is one of my favorite genres, and J.S. Dewes' debut novel The Last Watch was a compelling adventure in space. The absorbing plot and engaging characters kept me enthralled.
The Sentinels stationed on the Argus are a mixed bag that have some problematic reason for their posting: hacking, disobeying an order, lack of respect for officers, etc. Adequin Rake, the Commander of the Argus, is a Titan--one of the elite soldiers during the last war. Titans are legendary heroes and Quin is ...more
The Sentinels stationed on the Argus are a mixed bag that have some problematic reason for their posting: hacking, disobeying an order, lack of respect for officers, etc. Adequin Rake, the Commander of the Argus, is a Titan--one of the elite soldiers during the last war. Titans are legendary heroes and Quin is ...more

TL;DR
J.S. Dewes impressive debut, The Last Watch, had me staying up late wanting to read just one more page from beginning to end. The Last Watch feature big ideas, kick-ass characters, and an environmental collapse; you have to try to not be interested in this book. Highly recommended!
Disclaimer: I received an eARC from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Any opinion that follows is mine and mine alone.
Review: The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes
Our universe is expandin ...more
J.S. Dewes impressive debut, The Last Watch, had me staying up late wanting to read just one more page from beginning to end. The Last Watch feature big ideas, kick-ass characters, and an environmental collapse; you have to try to not be interested in this book. Highly recommended!
Disclaimer: I received an eARC from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Any opinion that follows is mine and mine alone.
Review: The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes
Our universe is expandin ...more

As soon as I read the description for this book, it became one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. Thankfully I didn't have to wait until release! I received an advanced copy and it did not disappoint.
The Last Watch starts gently, sketching out life on the edge of the universe for a cast of scrappy rejects and fallen heroes. Then everything, essentially, explodes (or more accurately, implodes), and you're riveted to the edge of your seat for the next 400 pages of heart-pounding, Drudger-stabb ...more
The Last Watch starts gently, sketching out life on the edge of the universe for a cast of scrappy rejects and fallen heroes. Then everything, essentially, explodes (or more accurately, implodes), and you're riveted to the edge of your seat for the next 400 pages of heart-pounding, Drudger-stabb ...more

A totally engrossing and exciting book. The story starts fast and never lets go! So many different things are happening at once, twisting and turning as it goes and yet this book barely scratches the surface of where this can go. The characters and world building are complex and compelling. Even the universe seems to have a mind of its own. I can't wait to follow along at warp speed to see where we end up. Fabulous!
...more

Really quite excellent! I’m a massive sci-fi fan, buts it's often the case that many decent sci-fi stories have either an interesting idea, or actually well written plot with engaging characters (See Ringworld for a fascinating idea told with cardboard cut-outs). The Last Watch manages to nail both, with memorable characters, a tight plot with epic yet believable stakes, and a conflict that is genuinely unique and inventive. Also manages to balance grim subject matter with a real sense of humor
...more

All who enjoy science fiction space operas need to add THE LAST WATCH by J.S. Dewes to their tbr list come April 2021. It’s fabulous.
The setting is a colonized universe many, many millennia into the future. A governing body known as the System Collective, composed of an Allied Monarchy and a military called the Legion, rules with an iron grip. Soldiers are banished to the starless boundary of the known universe as a disciplinary measure. There they become Sentinels guarding the furthest reaches ...more
The setting is a colonized universe many, many millennia into the future. A governing body known as the System Collective, composed of an Allied Monarchy and a military called the Legion, rules with an iron grip. Soldiers are banished to the starless boundary of the known universe as a disciplinary measure. There they become Sentinels guarding the furthest reaches ...more

THIS BOOK. THIS BOOK YA'LL. TORE MY HEART OUT. MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH THE CHARACTERS. HAD ME ON THE EDGE OF MY WITH THE THRILLING PLOT. AND THE WRITING--SO GODDAMN SMOOTH IT WAS LIKE AMBROSIA. HUMOR THAT HAD ME SNORTING LIKE A MANIAC OUT IN PUBLIC.
THIS IS THE BOOK THAT REALLY REALLY GOT IN INTERESTED IN SF ONCE MORE. THE BOOK THAT MADE ME CURIOUS ABOUT ADULT SF (I'M USUALLY A YA DIE HARD).
AND I DONT THINK I EVER TOLD DEWES, BUT THIS WAS THE BOOK THAT CONVINCED ME TO PURSUE AEROSPACE ENGINEER ...more
THIS IS THE BOOK THAT REALLY REALLY GOT IN INTERESTED IN SF ONCE MORE. THE BOOK THAT MADE ME CURIOUS ABOUT ADULT SF (I'M USUALLY A YA DIE HARD).
AND I DONT THINK I EVER TOLD DEWES, BUT THIS WAS THE BOOK THAT CONVINCED ME TO PURSUE AEROSPACE ENGINEER ...more

It was fun, It was fast, it's basically "Scrappy Solders in Space" vibes throughout. If you enjoyed "The Expanse" series or the movie "Starship Troopers" you're going to enjoy this ride!
...more

I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this book and you guys DO NOT want to miss it! I had an eARC, which meant I just walked around my house balancing my laptop on my palms for three days because I could not stop reading it.
Where do I even begin? The characters were so incredibly real in this story. I found myself relating deeply to both the screw-up-royal-turned-soldier, Cavalon, and the badass-war-hero-with-a-dark-secret Adequin Rake. The societal structure set forth by THE LAST WATCH is comp ...more
Where do I even begin? The characters were so incredibly real in this story. I found myself relating deeply to both the screw-up-royal-turned-soldier, Cavalon, and the badass-war-hero-with-a-dark-secret Adequin Rake. The societal structure set forth by THE LAST WATCH is comp ...more

JEN'S MY AMAZING CRIT PARTNER SHE'S SO GOOD BUY HER BOOK OMGGGG
...more

Nov 02, 2020
♠ TABI⁷ ♠
marked it as to-read
here to support a woman adult sci-fi writer . . . but also because this sounds epic

Thanks so much to Tor Books / Netgalley for getting me an early copy of this book.
I wrote a full review that you can read here
The universe is collapsing, and it's up to a ragtag group of exiled war heroes, a POW survivor, a pick pocket, and an exiled prince to stop it. Using alien technology they barely understand, they're humanity's only chance to stop the very forces of the universe from implosion. This layman's terms hard scifi deals with a little bit of everything: nuclear fission, dark ener ...more
I wrote a full review that you can read here
The universe is collapsing, and it's up to a ragtag group of exiled war heroes, a POW survivor, a pick pocket, and an exiled prince to stop it. Using alien technology they barely understand, they're humanity's only chance to stop the very forces of the universe from implosion. This layman's terms hard scifi deals with a little bit of everything: nuclear fission, dark ener ...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
J. S. Dewes has a Bachelor of Arts in Film from Columbia College Chicago, and has written scripts for award-winning films which have screened at San Diego Comic-Con and dozens of film festivals across the nation. Her debut novel The Last Watch is forthcoming in April 2021 from Tor Books.
She can be found on social media @jsdewes and her website www.jsdewes.com. ...more
She can be found on social media @jsdewes and her website www.jsdewes.com. ...more
Other books in the series
The Divide
(2 books)
Articles featuring this book
Get ready for some out-of-this-world reading and some insane near-realities with the science fiction and fantasy books that are catching the...
251 likes · 24 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »