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An enemy hidden in the shadows
A crack in the armor of secrecy
One chance to find an answer


Captain David Rice and the crew of Red Falcon have spent two years infiltrating the arms smuggling underworld of the Protectorate of the Mage-King of Mars. When the co-opted rebellion on Ardennes reveals a supply chain of weapons intended to fight Mars, this makes them the perfect team to investigate.

His new mission brings him across old friends and old enemies alike, but as his suspects start turning up dead, David realizes he isn't the only one following the loose ends.

As shadowy enemies move to position themselves for civil war, Red Falcon's crew must chase an ever-shrinking set of clues. If they succeed, they might just buy the Protectorate peace for their lifetime.

But if they fail...

373 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 14, 2018

608 people are currently reading
194 people want to read

About the author

Glynn Stewart

115 books1,749 followers
Glynn Stewart is the author of over 60 books, including Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible–but only because of magic.

Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Southern Ontario with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.

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5 stars
881 (56%)
4 stars
502 (32%)
3 stars
147 (9%)
2 stars
16 (1%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
Profile Image for Suz.
2,293 reviews74 followers
October 9, 2018
3.5 stars

This one was good but it took me a while to get lost in it. Also, I found myself skimming all the weapons porn regarding the various missiles and such. That stuff isn't really my cup of tea, although I know some of you love it.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the universe series, I know it's going to be climactic!
59 reviews34 followers
September 17, 2018
fantastic if you want book with magic and technology this book.
Profile Image for Ridel.
401 reviews18 followers
December 18, 2023
Lost Opportunities of Mars

The finale of a trilogy is often difficult to review without considering the entire series. Red Falcon has been a superb spin-off, expanding the Protectorate of Mars and removing the power creep so that combats between Marines, Augments, and Mages once again feel grounded rather than fantastical. It illuminated the shadow war between Mars and Legatus in a manner that made the series feel valuable without being required reading. For all my plaudits, Agents of Mars is a lost opportunity. As the third act of a series, character arcs, recurring villains and loose ends should come together in an explosive finale.

The author’s characters have always been weak and this is no exception. Captain Rice is the same character from start to finish, with the same skills, principles and moral courage. He’s embraced Martian Intelligence but the trigger for that change occurred in Starship’s Mage. Likewise, Maria Soprano found the qualities that drummed her out of the Navy were perfect for intrigue, but had no personal goals since Interstellar Mage. Both she and Kelly Lamonte had romantic subplots that bore fruit, but those relationships were unearned. There were no challenges or conflicts, just a steady march towards the finish line.

Yet the protagonists were superbly handled compared to the nebulous villains. Early in the series, Rice struck deals with the Legatan devil. Agents of Mars had the opportunity to focus on betrayers being the betrayed; where the cold war turns intensely personal, returning villains bookend the series, and Rice’s decisions come back to haunt him. Instead, the novel ties up loose ends from the mainline series Hand of Mars as our protagonists chase a ghost. It’s a fine story, but more suited for the middle act than the finale. To his credit, the author noticed this. The rushed ending involves a contest of wills with a rival whose name you’ll struggle to recall, and the mass unloading of Chekhov’s guns. Agents of Mars is a fine story, but a poor conclusion. It may be uncharitable, but one must end on a high note.

Recommended, with Reservations.

Series Overall Spoiler-Free Thoughts

★★★★★ Interstellar Mage (Starship’s Mage: Red Falcon, #1)
★★★★☆ Mage-Provocateur (Starship’s Mage: Red Falcon, #2)
★★★☆☆ Agents of Mars (Starship’s Mage: Red Falcon, #3)

Basically everything a spin-off series should be… expanding the Starship’s Mage universe and tying into critical events while carefully balancing relevancy and optionality. This ends up being too much for the author, and instead of a spectacular ending, readers are rewarded with something pedestrian.

★★★★☆ - Recommended for Starship’s Mage fans.
Profile Image for C.T. Phipps.
Author 93 books671 followers
November 5, 2021
AGENTS OF MARS is the third and final of the Red Falcon trilogy. I've very much enjoyed this spin off of the STARSHIP'S MAGE books and feel like I really should have read them before I finished the main series. They're a much more "down to Earth" view of the universe established in the main series and while not quite tramp freighter captains, they are much closer to "normal" people rather than the omnipotent Damien Montgomery. This book has them switch from fighting the Blue Star syndicate, they are now attempting to track down the Legatus intelligence operatives' gun running operation. Unfortunately, Legatus is a lot more competent than the Blue Star and it is a dangerous game of cat and mouse from beginning to end.

A suitable finale for the series.
Profile Image for John Piper.
1,055 reviews18 followers
February 8, 2019
What a great ending to such an awesome series! I really love the Starship's Mage universe, and the Red Falcon series is a great addition to it! The writing, dialog, action, storyline and characters are awesome! I highly recommend checking this series out!
Profile Image for Jed.
Author 3 books7 followers
October 2, 2018
Slow pace

I like the series with Damian, primarily because he can do interesting things. This series feels like a mediocre undercover cop show that moves a bit slowly. I didn’t find the story very interesting and the characters didn’t get enough time to have much depth. I hoping that the new series will be as good as the original. If it’s like this, I’ll be sad.
607 reviews5 followers
September 17, 2018
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

David Rice continues to be a man of honour and action in this series. We start with this book taking us to Ardenne, the setting for Hand of Mars (Starship Mage series), arriving not long after Damien has cleaned house. On realising this I actually stopped and undertook a quick re-read of Hand of Mars as I was vague on the details of that book (and well, any excuse for a re-read). I don't believe this is required, as the crew of the Red Falcon don't stay long on Ardenne, but I didn't think it hurt. It was also interesting to see how the situation was being dealt with post Hand of Mars action. I liked the interlinking of locations and time period.

The plus of this book and this authors writing, continues to be characters that have a solid action plan which reflects in a solid action story. We get a continuing reveal of character depth as we get to know them through the action. Kelly LaMonte for me was the star of the last book in the series and she continues to shine in this one. (And I wonder, given the ending, where she'll end up and if she'll get her own series - we can hope.)

A minor criticism of the book relate to the romance of Maria Soprano. I think because as a reader we were told via a brief remember all of these things happened that spoke of a long standing attraction and very little of it happened on the page. As such it seemed quite the leap that the relationship took in very little time.

Yet the continuing relationship between David and Keiko continues to delight. I loved how they could be at odds with regards to their work and deal with it and their romantic relationship so well. That whole scene delighted.

My only other minor criticism relates to the final summing up of the mission and enemy motivations and this is more my personal want for all the details. Given it is the last book I wouldn't have objected to a wider "this is LMIDs" plan, instead of the "this is what you achieved" debrief that was given. But perhaps that would act as a spoiler for later Starship Mage books.

Overall this is an excellent story that I greatly enjoyed. I am more than curious to see if any of the crew will feature in future series and I'll look forward to reading them if they do.
Profile Image for Sgt Maj.
216 reviews11 followers
April 24, 2020
Well Done, Entertaining Series

I’ve read other books by this author, BUT this series , IMO , is his best work. Well developed characters — to a point, focusing on a few. Short cutting some with character stereotypes and leaving us, me, wanting to know more and engage w some of the other, interesting characters.

Interesting story with intriguing sub-plots, mystery and thrills galore and well done action throughout each book, story. As the saying goes, never a dull moment.

What surprised me a bit, author executed exceptional control of the stories’ pacing ..... the tempo, from start to finish. So many authors,who have skill and great ideas, ‘kill’ their work w bad timing and telling too much or too little at the wrong time. This author knew when to elaborate and when to end a chapter as the Ship embarks on a two week journey and then starts the next chapter with the Ship approaching its destination. Didn’t waste my time during journeys to increase word count unless there was value in it.

And, no super heroes. Just competent people, putting their skills to use, together for exceptional results.

On the flip side, too much PC. At times, I felt the story only had single male in an occupational arena where, historically-physiologically-logically, the ratio should have been reversed. There was also some grammatical errors, too many in fact, that distracted.

I also felt some of the romantics drawn out too much. Didn’t think it added to the story but actually distracted over time. Just a minor heads up, a tad different than today’s norm but it’s on every males bucket list.

Wish author would focus and write more about this storyline .
Profile Image for Maureen.
472 reviews7 followers
August 31, 2024
A glorious finish!


The end of a good series is always bittersweet, saying goodbye to friends you’ve come to know, to cheer on again and again. This parting is a bit different in that I know I’ll meet up with some of them again.

I’ve enjoyed the magic, the science, the battle strategies as well as the people. The thing with having a ship moving about the planets is that it creates both opportunities and problems for a writer. Names to come up with - of planets, moons, ships, cities and people .. the infrastructure is ever-changing, and that has to be a handful.

Yet, Glynn Stewart masters it. He is on my automatic-purchase list, and that’s because of the sheer value of the entertainment.

Here is a list of some of the ships I’ve run across during the reading:

* Red Falcon
* Blue Jay
* Rhapsody in Purple
* Shining Defenders of Liberty
* Virtues of the Guardian
* Huntress of Temptations
* Fierce Tide of Glory
* Luck
* Maze of Glorious Victory
* Bleeding Sapphire
* Peregrine
* Gentle Rains of Summer
* Measures of Safety
* Unrelenting Pursuit of Justice
* Sword of Untremmeled Liberty
Profile Image for Chris Evans.
903 reviews43 followers
September 11, 2019
There's just something endearing about Stewarts world. The good guys are good, and the bad guys are bad. It's so refreshing to read a story that isn't full of corrupt people in power and scheming backstabbers. The Mage King and his people are all honest, likable people who have to struggle against a dangerous outside powers.

Similar to the previous stories, this continues the buildup to the coming war and the crew are working to counter the enemies movies while also gain evidence of their actions. Stewart has improved on his story writing and even his space battles, though they still have the same methodology, are written better and more streamlined to keep it interesting.

All and all a nice addition to the story line.
7 reviews
December 11, 2025
Honor universe with a little magic

Outstanding series... Great character development and just enough technology to be invested. Magic minor story line here compared to Mage of Mars 17 book series. Very much in Dave Weber space opera universe ( hence title) Keep up good work. Lot of potential with the Rhapsody class MISS ships. I also like the social dynamics that take for granted a triple marriage as a " no big deal" Society. I've joined Stewart's newsletter and looking forward to next books in both series.
17 reviews
December 18, 2018
Another series in the bag

Glynn Stewart is one of those authors that pumps out the stories. He has several series on the go. As a completist I have read almost all his work. This book isn’t the greatest and the series never really tickled my tickly bits but he has some good stuff that is worth reading. However the Mars Mage series overall is pretty great. So three stars for this one but a recommend to follow this author.
Profile Image for Vaughn Ohlman.
Author 7 books5 followers
March 23, 2024
Hidden, miss, hot and cold

This author has done some decent worldbuilding, and knows how to keep a story moving. Unfortunately, too many of the times what keeps the story moving is ‘here is this impossible thing that we did anyway.’ It rarely involves the characters doing anything, particularly intelligent and solving their problems that way.
And the PC stuff is incredibly annoying. Everything seems to be about gun running or Libertarians. And the romances are simply hideous.
369 reviews1 follower
March 17, 2021
Wholly satisfying

The Red Falcon books are a side arc in the larger Starship’s Mage series, so the end of the arc doesn’t end all ... or even most ... of the storylines. That said it does have a very satisfying conclusion, while leaving the reader eager to get into the larger series.
36 reviews1 follower
September 15, 2018
Good continuation of the series

Really enjoyed reading this book. A couple of characters appeared from the Starship's Mage series which helped tie the two series together. Ending was conclusive but still left openings for more books.
Profile Image for Ed A.
162 reviews2 followers
September 16, 2018
Very entertaining

The end of the Red Falcon series turned out to be a very entertaining read. The entire Starship Mage universe is a favorite of mine. And, I’m looking forward to the next chapter.
Profile Image for Milan.
595 reviews15 followers
September 20, 2018
Nice ending to an excellent side trilogy in one of my favorite sci-fi universes. Loved the way the characters were developed and hopefully we'll see some of them appear in the new series starring Damien.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
339 reviews4 followers
September 21, 2018
Ok

Was excited when I saw this and downloaded immediately only to be disappointed it wasn't a new Damien Montgomery story. It's still good and I like the series just not nearly as much as the other one.
31 reviews
October 16, 2018
Escape

Hopefully the author keeps adding to the story line. I am looking forward to book 4. Steward mixes space battles, spies, courage, with novel ideas. I enjoyed how well the battles could be in space.
Profile Image for Arthur L Spain.
253 reviews
November 10, 2018
Ok ending to a good series.

This book didn’t grab me as much as others in the series. It was good but I thought the previous books were better. I did think the final battle was great! I’ve enjoyed the series. I look forward to the next installment in this universe.
937 reviews8 followers
December 23, 2018
A spin off that's as good as the original

Great characters with a believable storyline. More fast paced action than you could shake a stick at.
Loved the three books in this mini series and I look forward to more.
82 reviews3 followers
August 23, 2019
Action good guys overcome insurmountable odds

Conclusion of Red Calvin's mission to find the bad guys. Hard to put down. Interesting relationships abound onboard with all crew knowledgeable about who's involved with who.
540 reviews3 followers
November 17, 2019
A fitting end to this spinoff series.

This was a fitting end to this series. This book showed the shadow war that was occurring in the main series and how the Protectorate tried to stop it.
160 reviews
July 31, 2021
Satisfactory conclusion to the arc

Well done! Ties a lot of things together, set the stage for events in new or ongoing arcs, and just good writing!

Looking forward to more adventures.
1,037 reviews4 followers
December 25, 2021
Good read...

I have read all the books in the mage series and really enjoyed every one of them. If you like action these books will keep you turning the pages. The characters are pretty awesome too.
4 reviews
May 14, 2023
I liked the first two books better than the third installment…not enough action and too banal info of the relationships of onboard romances and the everyday machinations of dealing with cargo. I can imagine the following books will mimic the same process. If this becomes a mega series book endeavor, I’m not on board.
Profile Image for Steven Shaw.
81 reviews
July 17, 2023
Another Winner!

Catching up on Captain Rice’s escapades was as exciting as following Damien Montgomery! And learning how Kelly made it through staff, XO and into command of the Rhapsody in Purple, with two spouses helped support her qualifications. Good job to wrap it all up!
Profile Image for Hilton mather.
50 reviews1 follower
September 22, 2018
Very entertaining

This book is like a race around the stars, very entertaining. The cloak and dagger left you wanting to figure out what was going on. The ending was a surprise.
68 reviews1 follower
September 29, 2018
Great book

Really enjoyed this book. Great characters, riveting action and, with the Red Falcon gone, the foundation for a new series. Can't wait!!!
Profile Image for michael hooper.
672 reviews2 followers
October 1, 2018
Loved it

Great series with interesting characters that you can instantly root. I highly recommend it. Definitely looking for to the next book in the series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews

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