Rubicon by J.S. Dewes – Review

Published: March 28, 2023

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: N/A?

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 480 (Paperback)

My Rating: 5 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Sergeant Adrienne 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.

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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 followed by a series of harrowing missions.

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!