Two books. One complete series.
2026 BookLife Prize Quarterfinalist · 9.75 out of 10
“Illarmo is a natural storyteller, developing polished, smooth prose that builds a creeping dread along with nail-biting suspense.”
“Mars feels like a tangible place here, built on rigid systems and orders enforced by guards, prison labor... Forced labor on Mars is a chilling premise, and the experiences Illarmo’s characters undergo are vividly real.”
Perfect scores for Plot, Prose and Character. Reviewed by The BookLife Prize, a Publishers Weekly property.
Hi, I'm Kristen
Even as the world burns, my characters remind us: you don't have to be perfect, you just have to keep fighting for what's right.
Mission X
Enzo is Terra Primera's youngest operative, sent to infiltrate the Mars Ascendance Academy, sabotage the shuttle, and disappear. Maddie is one of thirty elite students chasing her dream of reaching Mars, and her mother. When their paths collide, so does everything they thought they knew.
Colony Exposed
Enzo and his friends are sent to Mars to die building domes they'll never live in. Maddie has to break out of her uncle's facility and reach Mars before it's too late, only to find a colony built on a secret darker than either of them imagined.