The Exiled Fleet by J. S. Dewes: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The Exiled Fleet by J. S. Dewes

The Exiled Fleet is the second book in The Divide sci-fi series by J. S. Dewes. It starts six months after The Last Watch ended for Cavalon, and five weeks after it for Adequin Rake, thanks to time distortions created by faster than light travel and the void at the edge of the universe where the Sentinels have been posted.

At the end of the first book, the crew of discarded soldiers stopped the shrinking of the universe by activating the devices created by the alien race that humans have tried to wipe out of existence. Not that anyone knows they’ve saved the universe, because they have been deliberately abandoned to their fates at the Divide, the edge of the void.

Rake has been busy saving what was left of the Sentinels and activating the rest of the devices. It’s been only five weeks for her, and she’s still reeling from everything and mourning the death of her lover. Returning to the ancient ship that is the only thing that survived the void is difficult for her, and being greeted as a heroic leader by people who have had months to recover is a bit too much for her.

Meanwhile, Cavalon, the disowned prince of the ruling family of the universe, has been busy building a genius engine that will allow them to make warp jumps with the engineless star ship. But the first jump burns all their fuel, stranding four thousand Sentinels to starve to death unless they can find more. Rake instantly seizes the chance to head on to another adventure. Anything to escape the people she’s made herself responsible of.

The quest isn’t easy. Cavalon’s grandfather has destroyed all but one factory that makes the fuel to control the FTL travel. The small crew must venture deep into the core of the galaxy, a perilous journey that’ll take them straight to the heart of the empire, the palace of the emperor Cavalon has made his best to escape all his life. There he learns some truths about himself that nearly make him destroy himself again. And Rake has to make yet another sacrifice to save the people she’s responsible for.

This book was slower to start than the first. Events were constantly in motion, yet it felt like nothing happened. Once the quest got underway, the pace picked up and kept me in its grips. The character dynamics, especially the friendship between Rake and Cavalon, were as odd as they were in the first book. Partly that’s because apart from those two, I didn’t remember any of the characters. There were no introductions or reminders about who they were to the story and other characters, so I never quite understood what the characters went through (looking at you, Jackin). But we learned a lot about Rake’s and Cavalon’s pasts, which gave depth to them.

In a way, this felt like a smaller book too. The first book took mostly place in a large star ship with constant buzz and random characters creating havoc. Most of this one took place in a small cruiser with a compact cast, and even though they travelled long distances to achieve the impossible, the focus was always within the group.

I liked how the universe expanded though, with new peoples and places added to it. The alien technology was a good way to achieve the impossible tasks the crew had to accomplish without quite feeling like deus ex machina solutions (apart from the ending). However, the addition of the mystical element that brings the universe and the fates of the people where they need to be, felt a bit too much.

I like where the crew ended at. It offered a conclusion while setting the adventures of the next book. I’m looking forward to reading that.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.