Rogue Agent

A Star Nation in Peril #1

by Skyler Ramirez, Madeleine Brolly (Narrator)

Book 1 of 3: A Star Nation in Peril
🎧Listening Length = 4 hours and 59 minutes

When everyone else dies trying…they call her.

For four centuries, the Order of the King’s Cross has worked in the shadows to protect Promethean society. Known only to the King and his closest advisors, the agents of the Order carry out their monarch’s will throughout the Federated Planets and their neighboring star nations, cleaning up messes, investigating heinous crimes, and most often, eliminating threats.

Heather Kilgore is one of the deadliest agents the Order has ever trained. Young, focused, and coldly efficient, the King sends her in when all else has failed. But when a man she once called her love, a traitor to his star nation, turns up dead under mysterious circumstances, Kilgore may have finally met the mission she can’t complete.

Partnered with an old mentor turned rival and operating behind enemy lines, Heather Kilgore must discover who and what killed Commander Connor Monroe before everyone else around her turns up dead. What she’ll find is a shocking truth, a dastardly betrayal, and a trail of bodies leading to a secret that will threaten the very existence of her star nation.

Spy thriller meets science fiction action adventure and space opera in this exciting new complementary series in the universe of The Worst Ship in the Fleet and Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes. You won’t be able to put this book down as you work with Heather Kilgore to try to discover what killed the only man she’s ever loved, and what she’ll need to do to save her kingdom from ruin.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Audible Audio

First published January 9, 2024

About the author

Skyler grew up in Southern California, under the best weather that state has to offer. So, he's shown a little of his insanity over the years in moving to colder, wetter places: New York City; Provo, Utah; Bainbridge Island, WA. He now resides with his family in Texas, which (apart from the humidity) gives him that great weather once again.

Skyler has been and continues to be a leader and executive with multiple Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, working across a variety of functions, both technical and non-technical. In other words, he's very much a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. Maybe that's why he has now decided to be an author as well. In it, he’s finally found the thing he loves to do most.

Mr. Ramirez currently resides in Texas with his wife, Lindsey, and their four children.

Reviews

[Lau ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing I love more than trying hidden gems, so I decided to try this after someone recommended it on Reddit without really knowing what it was about. I don’t regret it, but I’m also aware this book probably deserved better than the rating I’m going to give it based on my personal enjoyment.

Rogue Agent is an YA action-packed science fiction that’s really straightforward and easy to follow. It’s plot-driven and fast paced, which is exactly why it didn’t work for me. I read books because of the characters, the plot is always secondary. If you are tired of science fiction books full of info dumps, descriptions and slow-scenes to get to know the characters, you’re probably going to appreciate this one more than I did.

My main problem with this one was the lack of characterization. I’d like to say the characters were flat, but I’m not sure it was the case; there weren’t enough pages of them to know that. There were always things happening, but it was very predictable. I saw the two main plot twists coming (okay, one I was sure and the other I was only suspicious about), so nothing really shocked me.

Still, I understand the crazy 4.33 actual rating on goodreads. Sometimes you just need something fast to pass the time. It was refreshing that it was only 200 pages.; it felt like a novella, but it actually told the whole story and even had a moment for romance. I also appreciated this didn’t follow the structure of most YA books. It felt like an adult book/novella, but easier to read and without graphic romantic scenes.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK sci-fi action thriller. It mixed plenty of action with a bit of mystery and spy related intrigue.

Set in a far flung future where humanity had expanded to multiple star systems the tale followed the adventures of Heather Kilgore. Heather was a spy/assassin in her Kings most elite organisation. Her latest mission saw her sent to a neutral planet in a disputed star system. Things get complicated when a former lover of Heather’s winds up dead outside their embassy on the planet. He had defected to the rival Empire so turning up dead outside their embassy looked like a retaliation killing. Heather was sent in to find out what really happened to him as the locals had little interest in upsetting either powerful Empire and were happy to pass the death off as a heart attack. To make matters worse she gets paired on the mission with her old mentor, who she had fallen out with, and had to deal with folks try to kill her from the moment she set foot on the planet!

It was a readable tale but nothing special. The mystery was solid and the action plentiful but nothing was particularly memorable. It was readable though and Heather was easy enough to root for even if she was a bit of a ruthless assassin.

This was fairly short so I’ll read the next one for sure.

Rating: 3 stars.

Audio Note: This was narrated by Madeleine Brolly. She gave a solid performance of the audio.

[Sammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Fred Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful, Intriguing, and Action Packed Murder Mystery.


"Rogue Agent: A Science Fiction Tale of Assassins, Spies, and Bettrayals! (A Star Nation in Peril book 1) by Skyler Ramirez is a action packed murder mystery brain-teaser that will keep you guessing who's the good guys and who's the bag guys from everyone from the King's Cross agents, the Promethean government, the Koratan government, criminal syndicates, to a group of space nazis. Just when you think that you finally figured out the bad guys, Skyler throws a new twist having you doubting yourself. This is a great book from teens to adults who enjoy a good mystery, action, with heros who give their all, with a little bit of science fiction thrown in. I enjoyed this first book in this series, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming additional books in this series . I hope you will too.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quick read from the dumb luck and dead heroes universe. It was nice getting to learn more about Kilgore since you don't learn much about her past from the main series. Most parts were predictable, but that didn't mean it was boring.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining space opera listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account book one of three

I have listened 🎶 to a number of series by this author and have not been disappointed 😀

They have been sent to the planet 🌎 to search for mafia gangs and eliminate them. It is going well but who is the head of the gang? It all comes to a happy ending 😀.

I would recommend this series and author to 👍readers of space opera adventure novels 👍🔰. 2025 👒😉

[Fred Tyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were things I liked about the story, but in the end I didn't feel amazed. I leave the 5-star reviews for those kinds of books.

There were some intricate plot details that I enjoyed about the story, but in the end I don't feel like there was enough emotion involved. It felt more like a head-game kind of book. I understand that these are agents, but at some point one of these agents defected (let their emotions dictate their behaviour). I felt that could have been felt a bit more by the reader somehow. As it is, I just don't recall anything, so it must not have been that impactful (to me at least).

The use of Kilgore, Tabitha, Heather, Lowry confused me enough in the end that I didn't really know or care that much who won in the end. I don't know which one is taller or shorter. Maybe they are the same height? A fight between two skilled women agents with a random name thrown in means that one will win. Hopefully its the good one. At one point early in the story there was a lot of emphasis on "the redhead," but even that isn't used to actually help the reader out.

At the end, with the x-lover being still alive, it was anti-climactic since the agent didn't think it was very exciting to see him alive. It seems to me that the writer thought it clever, but it just made it less impactful for me.

For as much as these women were scarred and basing decisions on their emotions, I finished the book feeling like there wasn't anything memorable about the book.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book! I picked it up with my morning coffee, and read it straight through to the end. It's a comfortably entertaining book. The author, Skylar Ramirez, says he wrote the book in a manner that would allow his children to read it, so that might offer some insight about the tone and content. Some things that stood out for me: The main character's name is Heather Kilgore, really? Kilgore? Actually, the blood, gore, and violence is quite minimal in this book about a government assassin, and with a name like Heather Kilgore, a reader should sense the story is tightly embracing fiction for this tale. The story is mostly built on political intrigue, nefarious schemes, and job stress; Kilgore is ridiculously devoted to duty, and when the action slows down, she is introspective about her past, so she cannot relax without being haunted by either her duty or past. She believes that keeping busy at her job keeps her sane; dude, if that ain't some serious fiction, it's seriously messed up. She's a born killer, the reader might assume, and an over-used trope is the catalyst that ignites her killer instincts, and she's like a psycho-ninja-gymnast. Nevertheless, she's a killer with a conscience, and she is still aware that there are good people in the world. Readers will spot tropes throughout the book, but I found it entertaining, and I think many readers will.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

2.75*


First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: Possibly

Would you recommend?: Probably


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Phil · Rating 1 out of 5]

You will love this Author if you like emasculated males

I started reading the author’s first book, the worst ship in the fleet (or something like that) and it was enjoyable, but there were clear undertones he was pushing a political viewpoint agenda. The male characters in his stories are either misogynistic evil protagonists or they are emasculated heroes in need of rescue by the females who seem to be able to overpower any of the male characters. This wasn’t to bad in his first three Brad Mendoza “Worst” books because they were comedy and it can be funny in a vaudeville sort of way, but this book and his latest, Worst Rescue series book are just too much… that is, unless you have ingested the feminist manifesto. 🤔😏

The one thing I will give him credit for is his position on keeping the writing generally clean.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the moment I am caught up on the series Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes, so since Heather Kilgore appeared in several of those books and Skyler Ramirez is a good author, I decided to try this series. Good decision and good story. This one includes a mystery which added to the action. Decent characterizations of people involved and I liked the fishing scenes and quiet times too. I am also glad I could get this book in paper. Mr. Ramirez, please make sure paper copies of all your books are made available. I do so much screen work that paper copies of books for light reading is much appreciated.

[papasteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK as a spy thriller. But I totally forgot, a few pages into it, that this was a sci-fi story happening on another planet. It would have been just as good or better if it was set in Los Angeles or London. I mean, c’mon! Russian mob in outer space. Neo Nazis. A whole hispanic galaxy. Kinda silly. What was needed, if this was truly a sci-fi story is some alien bug warriors who gathered up the dead humans after a war and fed them to their children. Or some techno AI robots who manufactured thousands of themselves at some secret factory. Not a diner that served biscuits and gravy.

[Leather · Rating 4 out of 5]

As it is sometimes the case, this series derived from the adventures of Brad Mendoza is superior to its source. It's not very difficult, Mendoza being more and more annoying.
The adventures of this agent of the King, half spy half assassin, are rhythmic, well written, with a story that holds up and a quality main character.
We are in a sub-sub genre (an action-oriented SF spy novel, like Jane Bond but in space and in the future). And it's very good if you're not looking for anything other than good entertainment.

[Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the positive side the book was a reasonably fun read, however to call it sci fi is rather stretching it.
Throwing some fancy futuristic gadgets into what was basically a thriller does not make it so.
World building was non existent, characters felt pretty generic and plot was too.
If I'd picked it up as a light thriller I would have no problem, I understand that it's part of a universe featured in the authors other series so maybe I'm being a bit unfair and the world building is done in these.

[Jeannie Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

melancholy Murderer

After an appalling incident in her youth, and young girl is transformed into an assassin in a heartless Order that protects the King’s interests. While exciting to read, the tale leaves you with the same smothered/trapped feeling you used to get in the old Film Noire-trapped into doing things a person would never do otherwise, you, and they, know their own end, but can do nothing but try to work the NOW problem, and let the threatening future take care of itself

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Story

Not as enjoyable as reading about Brad Mendoza, though still interesting. Heather is a lot less funny, though that seems to be more character personality than dimming acuity on part of the author. She’s hard ore and the backstory suggests she is still struggling under the thumb of someone evil. The promise of a Haley Uvalde appearance is enough to make me seek the next book though.

[David Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

good but maybe not for me…

Please read the book for yourself. Since this book is set within the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes universe, I do not know how much freedom the author had to do world building. And it is the lack of world building that is my main issue. It felt lazy to directly copy and paste present-day tropes like the Russian mafia into an off world SciFi book. Maybe it is just me.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading!

This book catches you at the very beginning and keeps you hooked to the end. I had some business to attend to and it annoyed me I couldn't finish the book yesterday. I'm grateful for the 'clean' reading. I'm not embarrassed to recommend it to others. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

sorry- i liked the villains more than the heroine

While the villains showed more character depth then the heroine - and the heroine is a stone cold killer which makes sense she works for a corrupt king… I liked the villains better than her and at least they were trying for a better life

The heroine has no life and no interest in getting one

[Gary Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

So when will the next book be released? This author does an incredible job of weaving a good story. He's one of the few authors that can keep me reading without scrolling. And of course the next book is never ready!!! Oh well... I can wait... 🙂

[SOTERO RIVERA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good spin off of the "Dumb luck and dead heroes "series.

This story reads more like a mystery than a sci-fi book. The plot was well put together, and the characters worked great in the story. They were very believable. I didn't want the book to end.
I highly recommend it.

[CHERI · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow. Try to keep up!

You have to love the two main characters, even though they’re both stone cold killers.

The story moves along at a good pace, and as the reader gets closer to the end, the pace picks up and surprising revelations are riveting. Love Mr. Ramirez’s writing.

[Alisha Hossain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Suspense

This book was amazing!!! This sci-fi book has it all! Secret organizations, political intrigue, and betrayals!! I enjoyed how the main character wasn't overly competent, where it seemed unrealistic. The foreshadowing was amazing.

[Christopher Lewis-Ewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced Good read

I really enjoyed following the exploits of the protagonist. I was surprised when I turned the page and saw that I had come to the end.

I highly recommend this author.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Killer politics

A 'tyrannical' king has a special organization of assassins to kill his enemies and/or those close to enemies to stay in power. Midway through this book you read the backstory of the main character and begin to see her questioning what is good or evil.

[DC Zwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and riveting read

The character building was exceptional along with the plot twists that kept me engaged throughout the book. A good blend of suspense and drama with occasional blips of humor. I'm looking forward to the next volume.

[Queen Talk Talk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spies in space!

What an excellent book for a most excellent character. This book has ation, moral introspection, kindness and duty within it.

[James Loan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, worth reading

I like the books starring Brad. This is a sideward diversion, fleshing out another character. I gave it four stars because of those facts.

[stephanie huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and engaging

[Lynn Hopkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too Much

The story relies too much on blood guts and gore for content. Take the blood and guts out you have only a couple of pages of story.