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Rogue Clone #2
Rogue Clone
Earth, 2512 A.D. Humans have spread across the six arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Unified Authority controls Earth's colonies with an iron fist and a powerful military----a military made up almost entirely of clones. But four centuries of relative peace are about to be shattered...
Lt. Wayson Harris is one of thousands of clones born and bred to be the ultimate soldiers. But unlike the others, Harris is an outlawed model -- one with independent thoughts and an addiction to violence.
Presumed dead after his troops were massacred, Harris -- who blames the U.A. for the slaughter -- has gone AWOL as a bounty hunter. Still, it's hard for a clone to overcome his conditioning, and Harris finds himself drawn back into the U.A.'s service by his mentor and creator, Fleet Admiral Bryce Klyber.
Now, with separatists rebelling throughout the galaxy, the fate of the U.A. depends on Admiral Klyber's plans for the Doctrinaire -- the largest, most powerful battleship ever constructed. But there are those who would do anything to stop Klyber, and Harris must decide whether he should fight against them...or work for them.
Lt. Wayson Harris is one of thousands of clones born and bred to be the ultimate soldiers. But unlike the others, Harris is an outlawed model -- one with independent thoughts and an addiction to violence.
Presumed dead after his troops were massacred, Harris -- who blames the U.A. for the slaughter -- has gone AWOL as a bounty hunter. Still, it's hard for a clone to overcome his conditioning, and Harris finds himself drawn back into the U.A.'s service by his mentor and creator, Fleet Admiral Bryce Klyber.
Now, with separatists rebelling throughout the galaxy, the fate of the U.A. depends on Admiral Klyber's plans for the Doctrinaire -- the largest, most powerful battleship ever constructed. But there are those who would do anything to stop Klyber, and Harris must decide whether he should fight against them...or work for them.
6 pages, Audio CD
First published September 26, 2006
13 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
Steven L. Kent
36 books242 followersSteven L. Kent is the author of the Rogue Clone series of Military Science Fiction novels as well as The Ultimate History of Video Games.
Born in California and raised in Hawaii, Kent served as a missionary for the LDS Church between the years of 1979 and 1981. During that time, he worked as a Spanish-speaking missionary serving migrant farm workers in southern Idaho.
While Kent has a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and a Master’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University, he claims that his most important education came from life.
He learned important lessons from working with farm laborers in Idaho. Later, from 1986 through 1988, Kent worked as a telemarketer selling TV Guide and Inc. Magazine. His years on the phone helped him develop an ear for dialog.
In 1987, Kent reviewed the Stephen King novels Misery and The Eyes of the Dragon for the Seattle Times. A diehard Stephen King fan, Kent later admitted that he pitched the reviews to the Times so that he could afford to buy the books.
In 1993, upon returning to Seattle after a five-year absence, Kent pitched a review of “virtual haunted houses” for the Halloween issue of the Seattle Times. He reviewed the games The Seventh Guest, Alone in the Dark, and Legacy. Not only did this review land Kent three free PC games, it started him on a new career path.
By the middle of 1994, when Kent found himself laid off from his job at a PR agency, he became a full-time freelance journalist. He wrote monthly pieces for the Seattle Times along with regular features and reviews for Electronic Games, CDRom Today, ComputerLife, and NautilusCD. In later years, he would write for American Heritage, Parade, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune and many other publications. He wrote regular columns for MSNBC, Next Generation, the Japan Times, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.
In 2000, Kent self-published The First Quarter: A 25-year History of Video Games. That book was later purchased and re-published as The Ultimate History of Video Games by the Prima, Three River Press, and Crown divisions of Random House.
During his career as a games journalist, Kent wrote the entries on video games for Encarta and the Encyclopedia Americana. At the invitation of Senator Joseph Lieberman, Kent has spoken at the annual Report Card on Video Game Violence in Washington D.C.
Born in California and raised in Hawaii, Kent served as a missionary for the LDS Church between the years of 1979 and 1981. During that time, he worked as a Spanish-speaking missionary serving migrant farm workers in southern Idaho.
While Kent has a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and a Master’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University, he claims that his most important education came from life.
He learned important lessons from working with farm laborers in Idaho. Later, from 1986 through 1988, Kent worked as a telemarketer selling TV Guide and Inc. Magazine. His years on the phone helped him develop an ear for dialog.
In 1987, Kent reviewed the Stephen King novels Misery and The Eyes of the Dragon for the Seattle Times. A diehard Stephen King fan, Kent later admitted that he pitched the reviews to the Times so that he could afford to buy the books.
In 1993, upon returning to Seattle after a five-year absence, Kent pitched a review of “virtual haunted houses” for the Halloween issue of the Seattle Times. He reviewed the games The Seventh Guest, Alone in the Dark, and Legacy. Not only did this review land Kent three free PC games, it started him on a new career path.
By the middle of 1994, when Kent found himself laid off from his job at a PR agency, he became a full-time freelance journalist. He wrote monthly pieces for the Seattle Times along with regular features and reviews for Electronic Games, CDRom Today, ComputerLife, and NautilusCD. In later years, he would write for American Heritage, Parade, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune and many other publications. He wrote regular columns for MSNBC, Next Generation, the Japan Times, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.
In 2000, Kent self-published The First Quarter: A 25-year History of Video Games. That book was later purchased and re-published as The Ultimate History of Video Games by the Prima, Three River Press, and Crown divisions of Random House.
During his career as a games journalist, Kent wrote the entries on video games for Encarta and the Encyclopedia Americana. At the invitation of Senator Joseph Lieberman, Kent has spoken at the annual Report Card on Video Game Violence in Washington D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
October 19, 2017
Still somewhat enjoyable. Still a lot of room for improvement. Certain developments in this book are very welcome transitions, and overall I am still happy to read one more book. This was on the same level as the first book, but for some reason it lost a little bit of the spark.
I will admit I did very much enjoy the main historical parallel for one of the characters, although I made the comparison while reading the first book, long before hints were being dropped en masse.
I will admit I did very much enjoy the main historical parallel for one of the characters, although I made the comparison while reading the first book, long before hints were being dropped en masse.
December 24, 2009
Gave up halfway. Poor grammar, appalling writing, painfully obvious plot twists, no grasp of physics. Life's too short to read this kind of rubbish.
June 20, 2011
Great book! I enjoyed the first one, and Rogue Clone is even better. Looking forward to reading the next.
May 5, 2013
Very much enjoying the series.
August 14, 2008
I grabbed this book because I realized I was about to leave the library with a stack of books written entirely by female authors, and I wanted a little manliness in the mix. This book was well chosen, in that case, because my god, this is a dudely book. No named female characters appear or speak until forty-five chapters in, and the book is only fifty-three chapters long. The military of the future is all male, although this isn't even commented on, it's simply that no woman ever makes an appearance.
Rather incredibly, despite the near complete lack of women, it's also rather hetero-normative. Given the near-complete lack of women, one might expect a little opportunistic homosexuality, but no. (Although I wonder if certain ambiguities about one character, Callaghan, were meant to suggest he was gay?)
That aside, which oddly, was not that difficult while reading, this is a solidly constructed book. It was a bit like reading Louis Lamour in space, although not quite so addictively nutrient-free. That there ought to tell you if the book's for you.
Although: What's up with white people writing about futures where, they assure us, everyone is an even tint of post-racial beige?
Rather incredibly, despite the near complete lack of women, it's also rather hetero-normative. Given the near-complete lack of women, one might expect a little opportunistic homosexuality, but no. (Although I wonder if certain ambiguities about one character, Callaghan, were meant to suggest he was gay?)
That aside, which oddly, was not that difficult while reading, this is a solidly constructed book. It was a bit like reading Louis Lamour in space, although not quite so addictively nutrient-free. That there ought to tell you if the book's for you.
Although: What's up with white people writing about futures where, they assure us, everyone is an even tint of post-racial beige?
July 5, 2010
I really like these clone books. They have a good story line and usually make for easy reading. I go through the pretty quickly. I like military science fiction and these stories fit that category to a "T". It's also nice that this is a series of middle to long books. As the second in this series, it kept my attention focused on the main character, Wayson Harris, who is a "Liberator" clone that can be very mean when necessary. Strangely, tho, he's not super smart and doesn't always figure thing out before he should or before the reader does.
In this one his partner, Ray Freeman, helps him rin around the galaxy until they get stranded on farming planet which they can't stand. Unfortunately, Harris tells an old man exactly how to strand himself and Freeman on this planet. Not one of his brighter moments.
Harris seems to be indestructible. He sure does seem to get out of some serious situations just in the Nick of time. I like the action, both with the military and otherwise. It sure would be nice if we could actually zip around the universe with self-broadcasting ships.
Again, great reading if you're into military science fiction.
Oh, yeah, this is the first book I bought and read using my IPad. Fantastic way to read books!
In this one his partner, Ray Freeman, helps him rin around the galaxy until they get stranded on farming planet which they can't stand. Unfortunately, Harris tells an old man exactly how to strand himself and Freeman on this planet. Not one of his brighter moments.
Harris seems to be indestructible. He sure does seem to get out of some serious situations just in the Nick of time. I like the action, both with the military and otherwise. It sure would be nice if we could actually zip around the universe with self-broadcasting ships.
Again, great reading if you're into military science fiction.
Oh, yeah, this is the first book I bought and read using my IPad. Fantastic way to read books!
May 22, 2012
I really enjoyed this entire series. This is the first of a seven book series which I really enjoyed reading. If you like some action and some interesting social speculation on what would happen if the government of the future had created an army of clones to do it's fighting for it.
Some interesting mechanics for getting around FTL are introduced and play a key part of the story as it progresses. I'm not sure if the seventh book is the last in the series but it was a great set of books if you're looking for something new to read.
Some interesting mechanics for getting around FTL are introduced and play a key part of the story as it progresses. I'm not sure if the seventh book is the last in the series but it was a great set of books if you're looking for something new to read.
May 6, 2015
Pretty terrible....I assume that it's aimed at young adults but that's no excuse for the nonsensical plot. Hundred-year-old battleships and civilian transports with hyperdrive but modern battleships don't have them? Apparently also in 500 years, society has fallen backwards somewhat in gender equality; there's only one female in the entire book and she is there only as a sex object. This book fails as science fiction and space opera, and whoever edited it should be ashamed of the basic typographical and grammatical errors.
November 8, 2011
Really liked this book. The character Wayson Harris is very well developed in this sequel. I enjoyed his journey as bounty hunter, marine, mercenary, etc. I especially liked the debate over clones having a soul or not, and the various character opinions and reasonings. Great book with a killer ending!
February 2, 2011
Steven Kent’s clone novels are always fun to read. The slick science fiction settings, fast-paced narrative, engaging characters and plenty of awesome action scenes make Rogue Clone as good, perhaps even better, than its predecessors. I’m definitely going to look forward to the next book.
May 14, 2012
Good read! Not awesome, but entertaining.
January 27, 2018
Rogue Clone continues on from the previous book as we catch up with Wade and Freeman from the previous book as they get themselves caught up in a handy civil war that sees them trekking all over the galaxy! :D Along the way they have run in with Klyber and the the group of backstabbers seeking his downfall led by Huang, the traitorous Halverson! :D We also get to see the main characters fleshed out and gain an insight into their families as well which can come as a shock! :D
The whole book proceeds at an epic level with one scene blending seamlessly and full of action into another! :D This is interspersed with great character development! :D The battle scenes feel as if you are there and the moral developments will have you raising eyebrows! D Lol Dramatic ans heroics abound throughout making Rogue Clone an incredible roller-coaster ride throughout! :D
This daring do and and moral ambiguity takes the book through on high notes with the plot from the previous book expanding all the time setting things up brilliantly for the next! :D The battle scenes feel as if you are there and the moral developments will have you raising eyebrows! D Lol
Rogue clone is epic, Grim chinned, full of heroics, brilliant and action packed! :D Brilliant and highly recommended! :D
The whole book proceeds at an epic level with one scene blending seamlessly and full of action into another! :D This is interspersed with great character development! :D The battle scenes feel as if you are there and the moral developments will have you raising eyebrows! D Lol Dramatic ans heroics abound throughout making Rogue Clone an incredible roller-coaster ride throughout! :D
This daring do and and moral ambiguity takes the book through on high notes with the plot from the previous book expanding all the time setting things up brilliantly for the next! :D The battle scenes feel as if you are there and the moral developments will have you raising eyebrows! D Lol
Rogue clone is epic, Grim chinned, full of heroics, brilliant and action packed! :D Brilliant and highly recommended! :D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2025
I stopped reading this before chapter six. I’d suggest this needed to cut the voluminous explanatory prologue and drop the long preamble of cinemas, coffee shops and space malls. Start it nearer to the crisis point (and certainly have one). Then add to the world incrementally in the course of that crisis unfolding.
A first person narrator has one job. But this one is a cipher. There is very little going on between this clone’s ears and he appears to be perfect. (I think I’d prefer Murderbot). Are perfect characters interesting?
I’m always glad to give money to secondhand bookshop owners, bless them, and to read a few outliers to get a sense of other genres. I won’t knock this super-soldier idea, it illuminates the fact that even today, service personnel are considered to be disposable. But Fire-Break aced that idea for me... it’s narrator was the girl who tried to save her world’s last supersoldier. She told the story. What he did really well was break apart large mechs. Gender stereotypes, eh?
A first person narrator has one job. But this one is a cipher. There is very little going on between this clone’s ears and he appears to be perfect. (I think I’d prefer Murderbot). Are perfect characters interesting?
I’m always glad to give money to secondhand bookshop owners, bless them, and to read a few outliers to get a sense of other genres. I won’t knock this super-soldier idea, it illuminates the fact that even today, service personnel are considered to be disposable. But Fire-Break aced that idea for me... it’s narrator was the girl who tried to save her world’s last supersoldier. She told the story. What he did really well was break apart large mechs. Gender stereotypes, eh?
September 30, 2024
Segue from first book fairly smooth. Overall story begins to drift a bit erratically. Quite a number of inconsistences aside from broadcasting crop up. Supposedly 500 years in the future and yet the technology has barely advanced in some areas. Such as no way to adequately clean a helmet visor. In fact all ground combat seems to have advanced very little from what existed in the 21st century. Seems to be degenerating toward 19th century stereotyping and perhaps even wokeism. Doesn't seem to understand the nature of lasers or particle beams as weaponry. A lack of an understanding of military culture and operations begins to emerge.
March 26, 2018
Addicting ...
June 15, 2020
I liked this book but feel it could have ended quite a few chapters before it actually did. May be a series worth pursuing.
April 27, 2023
Well written and Well performed. Good story and will want you reading the there books in the series
October 24, 2008
Wayson Harris is one of the few remaining clones of his kind. He is a liberator clone, bred for fast reflexes and a clear head in a combat situation he is conditioned toward violence and taking out the enemy as fast as possible. His class of clone also does not have the built in death reflex that kills all other clones when they find out what they are, he also is not as conditioned to be blindly loyal to the UA and patriotic as other clones. This has earned Harris a fair share of enemies both in the military and the other feuding factions of the six galactic arms. This book picks up a few months after he was "killed" defending a remote outpost from a admirals secret genetically engineered soldiers. Harris is summoned by his mentor and creator fleet admiral Barclay and is charged with finding out who is spying on his secret project ( a enormous state of the art battle ship) and leaking information to others in the military. Meanwhile the galactic civil war rages on with the separatists getting bolder and deadlier with each attack. Soon the pivotal battle will be reached and the UA will find out why they should have paid attention in history class...
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This is the second book in the series and it is not really necessary to start with the first one if you happened to pick this up first. The author does a pretty good job of summing up what happened before so the reader is not completely lost when starting from page one. This is definitely a fast paced scifi book that starts off with a bang and doesn't really slow down until near the end when the main characters starts to have some issues with his programming. I haven't read the first book yet but I'm hoping that it and the next book in the series is just as good. Would recommend this to anyone who likes fast paced scifi with a little different premise on what happens to clones when they no longer serve their creators.
m.a.c
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This is the second book in the series and it is not really necessary to start with the first one if you happened to pick this up first. The author does a pretty good job of summing up what happened before so the reader is not completely lost when starting from page one. This is definitely a fast paced scifi book that starts off with a bang and doesn't really slow down until near the end when the main characters starts to have some issues with his programming. I haven't read the first book yet but I'm hoping that it and the next book in the series is just as good. Would recommend this to anyone who likes fast paced scifi with a little different premise on what happens to clones when they no longer serve their creators.
m.a.c
October 11, 2025
An unknown x-factor. ✖️
The Rogue Clone books are generic science fiction at its most straightforward. The tropes are all here: military politics that make no sense, endless setup that mostly leads to more setup, and a universe that feels more recycled than original. On paper, there’s nothing remarkable or unique about it. And yet… I can’t stop enjoying myself.
Here’s the best way I can explain it:
Now, to be clear, I am not comparing Rogue Clone to John Wick (one is a genre-defining masterpiece, the other is popcorn sci-fi). But I bring it up because Rogue Clone has that same mysterious x-factor. It takes familiar, even cliché, elements and somehow makes them work. I can’t quite pin down why, it just does. 🤷♂️
Maybe as I keep going deeper into the series, I’ll figure out what that x-factor is. For now, though, it may be generic, it may be flawed, but Rogue Clone is ridiculously entertaining, and that’s more than enough. 💥
The Rogue Clone books are generic science fiction at its most straightforward. The tropes are all here: military politics that make no sense, endless setup that mostly leads to more setup, and a universe that feels more recycled than original. On paper, there’s nothing remarkable or unique about it. And yet… I can’t stop enjoying myself.
Here’s the best way I can explain it:
Take the movie John Wick. 🤩 At face value, it’s “just another action movie”: an ex-hitman gets pulled back into the underworld for revenge. We’ve all seen that before. But John Wick elevated itself through style, choreography, and execution. It found an x-factor that set it apart and turned it into one of the most iconic action films of its era.
Now, to be clear, I am not comparing Rogue Clone to John Wick (one is a genre-defining masterpiece, the other is popcorn sci-fi). But I bring it up because Rogue Clone has that same mysterious x-factor. It takes familiar, even cliché, elements and somehow makes them work. I can’t quite pin down why, it just does. 🤷♂️
Maybe as I keep going deeper into the series, I’ll figure out what that x-factor is. For now, though, it may be generic, it may be flawed, but Rogue Clone is ridiculously entertaining, and that’s more than enough. 💥
August 27, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, The Clone Republic. It was fast, action-packed, with intriguing politics at the heart of the plot. I was happy to overlook the unexplained absurdities of the "Broadcast" method of travel and communications.
Rogue Clone was going much the same way until my willing suspension of disbelief was blown out the water when the entire galactic transport network was taken out of commission by the destruction of one key node. As an incidental sub-plot maybe I'd be more forgiving, but this was a pivotal event that shaped the course of the series and it felt too darned lazy. The engineers who built this network, upon which the entire galactic civilization depends, happened to design in a single point of catastrophic failure? I'm supposed to believe they'd be so dumbfuck stupid? Without a murmur of foreshadowing or explanation? Sorry, you lost me there :(
So this only gets a 3-star rating rather than more because of blatant authorial laziness.
Rogue Clone was going much the same way until my willing suspension of disbelief was blown out the water when the entire galactic transport network was taken out of commission by the destruction of one key node. As an incidental sub-plot maybe I'd be more forgiving, but this was a pivotal event that shaped the course of the series and it felt too darned lazy. The engineers who built this network, upon which the entire galactic civilization depends, happened to design in a single point of catastrophic failure? I'm supposed to believe they'd be so dumbfuck stupid? Without a murmur of foreshadowing or explanation? Sorry, you lost me there :(
So this only gets a 3-star rating rather than more because of blatant authorial laziness.
August 11, 2012
This is the second of a series and another book I had picked up at the Borders going-out-of-business sale.
I finished this pretty quickly. It was easy to read and paced in away that I wanted to keep reading at the end of each chapter.
My only issue with the story is that the main character, while supposed to be a super soldier, is often only a witness to the critical events of the plot. Even when he is involved, his actions have no real effect on the outcome. This is a trend that was present in the first book of the series as well.
I also have the third and book and plan on continuing the story sometime soon, but I hope the main character will have more of a purpose and more of an impact on the overall story in the next book.
I finished this pretty quickly. It was easy to read and paced in away that I wanted to keep reading at the end of each chapter.
My only issue with the story is that the main character, while supposed to be a super soldier, is often only a witness to the critical events of the plot. Even when he is involved, his actions have no real effect on the outcome. This is a trend that was present in the first book of the series as well.
I also have the third and book and plan on continuing the story sometime soon, but I hope the main character will have more of a purpose and more of an impact on the overall story in the next book.
March 6, 2016
The beginning of this book was fairly torturous. Much gnashing of teeth attempting to get through all of the political mumbo-jumbo, but I understand that the author was attempting to lay the ground work for a reader that had not read the first novel or was just generally clueless.
Once Wayson is back being a bad ass clone, as he was designed to be, the story get ripping right along again with Wayson back in the middle of mayhem and chaos where he belongs.
A good story but not one that I will keep or reread. Certainly worth the time to read, if you like military SciFi with a small sprinkling of romance and political intrigue.
Once Wayson is back being a bad ass clone, as he was designed to be, the story get ripping right along again with Wayson back in the middle of mayhem and chaos where he belongs.
A good story but not one that I will keep or reread. Certainly worth the time to read, if you like military SciFi with a small sprinkling of romance and political intrigue.
July 13, 2013
After reading the superb first book in this series, I had some massive hopes for this one. Especially after some of the shocking events in the first book.
I'll admit that this one didn't quite live up to that promise but it is still a brilliantly paced and exciting story by Kent here.
I had to round up the score on here to 4 whereas if you follow the link to the full review it has a score of 3.5 but you can't do half scores here.
http://curiosityofasocialmisfit.blogs...
I'll admit that this one didn't quite live up to that promise but it is still a brilliantly paced and exciting story by Kent here.
I had to round up the score on here to 4 whereas if you follow the link to the full review it has a score of 3.5 but you can't do half scores here.
http://curiosityofasocialmisfit.blogs...
February 21, 2016
Lt. Wayson Harris ist einer von Tausenden von Klonen, die geboren und großgezogen wurden, um zu einem ultimativen Soldaten zu werden. im Gegensatz zu den anderen, ist Harris jedoch ein geächtetes Modell - eines mit eigenständigen Gedanken und einem Hang zur Gewalt. Während er gegen seine Konditionierung ankämpft, wird Harris von der Vereinigten Obrigkeit zum Dienst einberufen. Mit Separatisten unterwegs durch die Galaxie, muss Harris nun eine Entscheidung treffen: Soll er gegen sie kämpfen oder mit ihnen zusammenarbeiten?
April 23, 2016
An okay book. Not as good as the first part but not bad either. I was a bit sad that Klyber got killed early in the book. One thing that annoyed me: Everytime Harris meets up with is bounty hunter partner Freemann it's pointed out what a tall, big and black man that is. Thank you. I've realised that already after the first three times you mentioned that - in the first book. *grumbles*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2017
Enjoyable, however needed a bit more proof reading. A bit of self contradiction in there.
For example, chapter 19 there is a description of Huang as a political creature. and yet the chapter before we have the assertion that he would not lie. Incompatible descriptions in the light of todays politicians
For example, chapter 19 there is a description of Huang as a political creature. and yet the chapter before we have the assertion that he would not lie. Incompatible descriptions in the light of todays politicians
April 20, 2009
The second book in the series, rogue clone continues the epicness. I liked how the action slowed down a LITTLE at least. The story lined gained more depth though, and I did really appreciate that. Great series.
January 17, 2016
Another great entry in th is series by Steven Kent. While it didn't contain quite as much action as the previous book, it more then made up for it in political drama and a murder mystery! The universe of the Clone series changes in major ways in this book and it's just fun to along for the ride!
started_finish_later
March 22, 2013standard sf and moved away from such
Read
July 28, 2011still pretty bad but much better than #1
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews