Snake

by Fred Hughes, Alex Rath

Before he was Hazard King’s intelligence advisor, and before he foiled the coup against Empress Elizabeth, Darell Atwater was Imperial Security’s top field agent.

There’s trouble in the Aswan Star System, and Darell is sent in to find out what’s going on. The system president wants to return to the old ways, where men ruled and women obeyed, and he is chafing under the empire’s rules. Especially an empire run by a woman.

Piracy is on the rise, and the system government is cracking down on dissidents. Most of the planet lives in poverty. Darrell must figure out what’s going on before the planet and system explodes into chaos.

Will Darrel be able to foil the president’s plots? One thing is for certain—it’s going to take a Snake in order to get the job done!

334 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2025

Reviews

[Adena Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Snake in the Prince of Britannia series and I admit that I did not expect this professional paranoiac to have so much idealism to go with his steel spine. I wonder if he and Firebrand (from the Honorverse) would get along; I suspect he and Anton Zilwicki and Victor Cachat would get along like a house on fire.

[Antoine Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

You love the Prince of Britannia universe,
You love Alex Rath's writing,

Then this book is for you.
Lots of action, interesting secondary characters,
Good expansion of the standard imperial politics for star systems belonging to the Empire... Recommanded.

[Ken DeVilbiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

background Established

This was a very interesting look at Snake’s character and experience forming his future work. Quick read when you can’t put it down.