The Javan War

The Cruel Stars #0

by John Birmingham, Jason Lambright

The Javan War plunges readers into a war that shatters not only bodies but memories and time itself. Sub-Lieutenant Lucinda Hardy, tethered to a strike team on the enemy warship Jakarta, feels every shot and death through her neural link. But as gigaton blasts tear through space, they rip apart more than fleets of giant warships—they fragment Lucinda's perception of time, unravelling her memories and erasing the line between past and present. Between the chaos of battle, the story pulls readers into Lucinda's past—a corporate dystopia where a young girl loses her father to debt collectors and is forced into a military career for survival. Each moment of combat sends shockwaves through her fractured mind, where the echoes of her brutal childhood merge with the deadly reality she faces. As war dismantles her sense of self, Lucinda Hardy must fight not just to survive but to hold on to the pieces of who she once was.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 5, 2024

About the author

John Birmingham grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and was educated at St Edmunds Christian Brother's College in Ipswich and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. His only stint of full time employment was as a researcher at the Defence Department. After this he returned to Queensland to study law but he did not complete his legal studies, choosing instead to pursue a career as a writer. He currently lives in Brisbane.

While a law student he was one of the last people arrested under the state's Anti Street March legislation. Birmingham was convicted of displaying a sheet of paper with the words 'Free Speech' written on it in very small type. The local newspaper carried a photograph of him being frogmarched off to a waiting police paddy wagon.

Birmingham has a degree in international relations.

Reviews

[Anton Sal]

Great little prequel to the Cruel Stars. I hope John and Jason collaborate again to produce more of these shorter series expanding on the universe.

[Brendan Eales]

Worth a look

I haven't yet bought a book by this guy which I didn't enjoy immensely.
Do i really have to add 6 more words?

[Michael Gilchrist]

Another great read JB

We were ready for this back story on Lucinida. Bring on the third book.
Well done. Have you got any more?

[Reader]

The Javan War plunges readers into a war that shatters not only bodies but memories and time itself. Sub-Lieutenant Lucinda Hardy, tethered to a strike team on the enemy warship Jakarta, feels every shot and death through her neural link. But as gigaton blasts tear through space, they rip apart more than fleets of giant warships—they fragment Lucinda's perception of time, unravelling her memories and erasing the line between past and present. Between the chaos of battle, the story pulls readers into Lucinda's past—a corporate dystopia where a young girl loses her father to debt collectors and is forced into a military career for survival. Each moment of combat sends shockwaves through her fractured mind, where the echoes of her brutal childhood merge with the deadly reality she faces. As war dismantles her sense of self, Lucinda Hardy must fight not just to survive but to hold on to the pieces of who she once was.

[Simon]

Recent Reads: The Javan War. A novella prequel to John Birmingham's Cruel Stars milSF space opera series. An exploration, through fragmented memories, of the backstories of some of the main characters. It all goes to show, the good guys are not as good as they think they are. But there is worse.

[Tim Hanton]

Short and sweet. Much like myself.

[John Jasons]

A little disappointed. Goes over the stuff we learnt from the main books. Short, just a series of flash backs. Ending shows just how fun these book are when they get going. Looking forward to the main Book 3 and more books in this universe.

[T]

Outstanding

[Dale (Aus)]

nice story

A different approach to the story but enjoyable. I liked the first book I read in this universe. I am glad there are more.

[Andreas]

The backstory of Cadet Lucinda Hardy, from her time as an orphan to her daring exploits during the Javan War.

The timeline of this novella shifts back and forth between Lucinda's orphan days, putative "present time" during the Javan War, and her time at the naval academy, with a brain injury and memory reconstruction as a framing device. Fast paced and full of action, it is a solid bildungsroman.

https://www.books.rosboch.net/2025/11...

[Sean Lee]

The prequel we had to have. Love this series. What a universe!