Renegade, the fourth installment in the Records of the Argos series, drops you straight into a tense, post-Arkon War universe, where Earth’s fragile new order is under threat. The story follows Captain Nick Hall as he returns home to find his father, the Commander of Guardian Force, nearly assassinated. With his crew scattered and orders to stand down, Nick goes rogue to track down the attacker and uncover a conspiracy that stretches from Geneva to São Paulo. It’s a space opera packed with political tension, cool tech, a snarky AI, and a relentless sense of urgency that had me flipping pages like a maniac.

As a diehard fan of The Expanse, I felt right at home with Farlow’s blend of grounded world-building and layered political drama. The Earth Federation, strained by internal divisions and past trauma, felt eerily familiar—like the uneasy alliances in The Expanse’s Earth-Mars-Belter triangle. One moment that really stuck with me was when Nick returns to Earth and sees how society has grown soft post-conflict. Wizzy, the ship’s AI, quips about Earth’s complacency, saying people had “no challenge” left. It’s the kind of subtle world commentary that sneaks in under the radar.

Then there’s the writing style. It’s clean and direct, like Farlow’s trying to get out of the way and just let the story flow through you. The sniper scene early on with Paul Aubert was chilling. Quiet tension. Perfect pacing. I was holding my breath as Paul assembled his Dragunov in Geneva. That kind of scene-building takes skill. Later, when Nick’s alone on the Argos, grappling with the betrayal and powerlessness, it doesn’t drag—it simmers. The emotional weight is there, but it never bogs down the momentum. And Wizzy steals the show. Picture a sarcastic cousin of Mass Effect‘s EDI with zero filter and perfect timing. Every conversation between him and Nick crackles.

What surprised me most was how personal the book felt. Sure, it’s got galaxy-spanning stakes, secret missions, and sleek shuttles, but the heart of Renegade is one guy trying to protect his family and figure out who he really is when the rules break down. Nick’s torn between doing what’s “right” and doing what’s necessary. When he breaks protocol and sneaks back to Earth as “Walter Scott,” it’s risky and maybe dumb, but it’s so human. That’s what makes these kinds of stories sing.

If you love sci-fi with teeth—gritty, smart, character-driven with a pulse—you’ll enjoy Renegade. Especially if you’re into series like The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, or anything where politics, tech, and loyalty are tangled up in a mess of consequences. Farlow doesn’t reinvent the space opera wheel, but he sure as hell tunes it up and makes it roar.

Pages: 338 | ASIN : B0DY6VMFF5