Pros
- More of the fun adventure and trouble Omega Force gets into
- Filled with action and hijinks
- Enjoyable plot
Cons
- Bickering among the group members feels a little tired at times
Unleashed Review
Joshua Dalzelle’s Unleashed continues the exciting adventures of Omega Force and its ragtag group of adventurers readers have come to love. Despite their portrayal as hardened mercenaries, Captain Burke and his mercenaries live by a set of morals that get them involved in all sorts of conspiracies that threaten to consume their part of the galaxy.
Unleashed finds the members of Omega Force back together for one of their first major missions soon after the reunification of the team. As Burke laments later in the story, members of the team aren’t as young, nor as willing to put themselves in danger, as they were when they first banded together. Years of relatively luxurious comfort have softened the team, and their too-late realization of this fact results in a fairly devastating consequence.
The plot of this story shouldn’t surprise readers who have followed Omega Force through a series of seemingly overwhelming villains. This time, Jason and his mercenary friends face some dark cabal whose motivations for the enslavement of tens of thousands of refugees remain unclear. While the question of who is funding the criminal gangs remains unanswered, it’s sure to be revealed in the next book.
The gangs terrorizing and enslaving refugees are part of a larger plot set in motion by some unknown force in the aftermath of Omega Force’s takedown of the super intelligent computer. Burke and his crew’s mercenary style all but guarantees explosions, dismemberment, and destruction, qualities that have been entertaining for readers.
While the story and the interaction among the crew remain engaging, the bickering among the members can feel a little too tired and overdone at times. Fourteen books in, the bickering seems forced rather than part of the normal camaraderie.
Surprisingly, there’s still some character development going on. While Jason’s anti-aging and strength remain relatively stable, that’s not the case for the rest of the crew. Not much is said about the mortality of other characters or their lifespans, but this book finds Crusher put in a difficult position, and the consequences of Crusher’s decision remain to be seen in this book.
Additionally, Lucky and another crew member find themselves in a difficult situation that puts the rest of the team in danger–to what extent will Lucky go in order to save his friend? Lucky faces a moral dilemma whose conclusion is sure to add a level of depth to the character as well as some destruction in the wake of that conclusion.
Unleashed by Joshua Dalzelle delivers yet another enjoyable and engaging story about the mercenary Omega Force team that readers have come to love from the series.
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