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Omega Force #2
Soldiers of Fortune
After the daring rescue of a political dissident, Omega Force is contracted to investigate a rash of violent attacks on civilian shipping lanes within a group of star systems known as the Concordian Cluster. It seems a simple enough job with a huge payday at the end and it's exactly what the ragtag group of mercenaries needs in order to keep their ship flying and to stay one step ahead of those hunting them.
However, the further they delve into the seedy underworld of the Cluster the more they realize they may be in over their heads. With innocent lives hanging in the balance, Captain Burke and his crew begin a desperate race to uncover who is responsible for these attacks, and why, before their ultimate goal can be realized.
However, the further they delve into the seedy underworld of the Cluster the more they realize they may be in over their heads. With innocent lives hanging in the balance, Captain Burke and his crew begin a desperate race to uncover who is responsible for these attacks, and why, before their ultimate goal can be realized.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 21, 2013
930 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
July 11, 2016
I knew this series was going to be great! After forming the Omega Force in book one, they are now about a year later having ironed out some of their purposes and goals. That sounds kind of formal for a bunch of guys who would rather fight than sit around and talk about stuff. But, the knew they couldn’t just go do anything out here in the galaxy, so they decided to start helping those that can’t help themselves. These are the good guys, make no mistake about it. Jason Burke has now been made Captain of the Phoenix and his crew are all for him. They know he’s got their best interest at heart and that he wouldn’t do anything that might get them all killed. Well, maybe he wouldn’t.
In this book, they’re looking for work. Something that will keep the Phoenix running while paying the bills for fuel and supplies. Right at the start, they have been hired to rescue a politician and his family from the planet Corran. They don’t know exactly what kind of rescue this will be, but they are ready for just about anything. Jason has received some intel from those that have hired him, so he knows that the politicians family home is now under guard by the opposing political party security detail. His plan is to pose as one of the security details on relieve those currently on duty and then transport the target family to the Phoenix. Once landing, without crashing, everything looks to be set for this operation. It goes smoothly until he tries to put his plan to work and then everything goes south.
It’s not that the plan was bad, it’s just that he should have done some of his own intel gathering when they got to the planet before assuming his sources had everything right. Lesson learned the hard way. Still, the do rescue the politicians family without any casualties. They land on another planet, Eshquaria Prime, to drop off their passengers and then plan to wait for some other job. It turns out that this politician is well connected to Prime Minister Colleston. One thing leads to another and the crew is welcomed as guest of the Prime Minister and requested to attend a reception for the Senator whom they just rescued. And, since they haven’t been paid yet, they agreed with Mr. Kross, Chief of Staff, to attend.
It turns out that only Doc and Lucky make the reception. Crusher just scares people so he didn’t want to go, Kage is small and doesn’t like crowds, and Twingo, the Chief Engineer of the Phoenix, just doesn’t like social events. Mr. Kross wants Captain Burke to me a Mr. Dalton Crisstof, who does indeed have some work for the Omega Force.
So, now they are employed by Mr. Crisstof who seems to have a very close working relationship with the Corranian military. He introduces Captain Burke and his partial crew to Captain Kellea Colleen, Commander of the frigate Diligent. The Omega Force then enter into an agreement that will keep them busy for quite some time. This job is not directly tied into their preferred jobs of helping the little guy, but in the long run, it will do the same. Corran has been plagued by pirates and raiders, but the Corranian military can’t figure out where they are coming from. It’s up to the Omega Force to infiltrate this murderous bunch and find out where they are operating from and who’s directing their operations. Oh, they are to try and not get killed.
Another very good military science fiction story. The writing is very fluid. On my Kindle. I did notice that there were no Chapter breaks, which is kind of strange. Usually, a chapter ends and then starts on a new page. This was not the case for this book. Also, it’s strange that a lot of single apostrophes are turned into double quotes even in contractions. None of this distracts from the reading, it’s just something that might need to be reviewed in editing. Oh, and on a positive note, the book covers for this one and book three are outstanding!
And once again, I’m already well into the third book, “Savage Homecoming” and enjoying it just as much as I did the first to. Highly recommended series.
In this book, they’re looking for work. Something that will keep the Phoenix running while paying the bills for fuel and supplies. Right at the start, they have been hired to rescue a politician and his family from the planet Corran. They don’t know exactly what kind of rescue this will be, but they are ready for just about anything. Jason has received some intel from those that have hired him, so he knows that the politicians family home is now under guard by the opposing political party security detail. His plan is to pose as one of the security details on relieve those currently on duty and then transport the target family to the Phoenix. Once landing, without crashing, everything looks to be set for this operation. It goes smoothly until he tries to put his plan to work and then everything goes south.
It’s not that the plan was bad, it’s just that he should have done some of his own intel gathering when they got to the planet before assuming his sources had everything right. Lesson learned the hard way. Still, the do rescue the politicians family without any casualties. They land on another planet, Eshquaria Prime, to drop off their passengers and then plan to wait for some other job. It turns out that this politician is well connected to Prime Minister Colleston. One thing leads to another and the crew is welcomed as guest of the Prime Minister and requested to attend a reception for the Senator whom they just rescued. And, since they haven’t been paid yet, they agreed with Mr. Kross, Chief of Staff, to attend.
It turns out that only Doc and Lucky make the reception. Crusher just scares people so he didn’t want to go, Kage is small and doesn’t like crowds, and Twingo, the Chief Engineer of the Phoenix, just doesn’t like social events. Mr. Kross wants Captain Burke to me a Mr. Dalton Crisstof, who does indeed have some work for the Omega Force.
So, now they are employed by Mr. Crisstof who seems to have a very close working relationship with the Corranian military. He introduces Captain Burke and his partial crew to Captain Kellea Colleen, Commander of the frigate Diligent. The Omega Force then enter into an agreement that will keep them busy for quite some time. This job is not directly tied into their preferred jobs of helping the little guy, but in the long run, it will do the same. Corran has been plagued by pirates and raiders, but the Corranian military can’t figure out where they are coming from. It’s up to the Omega Force to infiltrate this murderous bunch and find out where they are operating from and who’s directing their operations. Oh, they are to try and not get killed.
Another very good military science fiction story. The writing is very fluid. On my Kindle. I did notice that there were no Chapter breaks, which is kind of strange. Usually, a chapter ends and then starts on a new page. This was not the case for this book. Also, it’s strange that a lot of single apostrophes are turned into double quotes even in contractions. None of this distracts from the reading, it’s just something that might need to be reviewed in editing. Oh, and on a positive note, the book covers for this one and book three are outstanding!
And once again, I’m already well into the third book, “Savage Homecoming” and enjoying it just as much as I did the first to. Highly recommended series.
July 2, 2015
The first book was a setup for this, book two in the series. The first book introduced us to some very well-conceived protagonists, and here we really get to know them and the action really takes off. I've seen others refer to the series as "Firefly-like," which is only partially true. Although this book does follow a "wandering band of misfit-mercenaries with a heart" theme, that's where the comparison ends. It's really nothing like the witty, taught, layered writing of Firefly because this is just straight-forward fun, and no apologies about it.
Good characters, exciting plot, and so-so editing. What more could you really want in an action-packed romp through the universe?
Good characters, exciting plot, and so-so editing. What more could you really want in an action-packed romp through the universe?
October 21, 2017
It’s OK, very predictable and lacks depth with an overly quick resolution and a plot that hinges too much on a series of lucky breaks.
That said, it’s an enjoyable distraction if you like the sound of the A-Team in space - just don’t expect a lot of original ideas.
That said, it’s an enjoyable distraction if you like the sound of the A-Team in space - just don’t expect a lot of original ideas.
March 25, 2017
I have now read two books in this series. That's probably all for me. The characters are not reaching my heart, and the plot isn't mysterious or complex enough. But it's fine for light entertainment.
March 5, 2022
This was better than book 1 in this series. And you can't help but love every one of Jason's team: from the Veran, Kage, to the sentient synthetic that was built specifically for battle, Lucky. Then there was Crusher that was a huge Galvetic, that you wanted to see only in your nightmares. Twingo, was the ship's engineer extraordinaire. Doc, was the ships doctor. At any point if any of them had gotten killed I would have quit reading. That's how much I liked them all.
They were all undercover trying to find out who was attacking ships in the Concordian Cluster AND, as it turned out, they were going to attack a planet with over one million people and destroy it all and kill all the people. Jason and his team had to stop that.
No romance and the F-bomb was used 22 times.
As for the narration: Wonderful!! Paul Heitsch had a different voice for every character and his emotions were off the wall. Perfect narrator for this series.
They were all undercover trying to find out who was attacking ships in the Concordian Cluster AND, as it turned out, they were going to attack a planet with over one million people and destroy it all and kill all the people. Jason and his team had to stop that.
No romance and the F-bomb was used 22 times.
As for the narration: Wonderful!! Paul Heitsch had a different voice for every character and his emotions were off the wall. Perfect narrator for this series.
March 30, 2015
A more competent space adventure yarn than the first in the series, Soldier of Fortune has a more interesting story and improved characterization, but still fails miserably with childish characters who hold the fates of millions or billions in their hands, a dull and positively churlish protagonist, and multiple instances of people left holding the idiot ball to advance the plot along with absurd coincidences.
Example: The evil overlord who should be doing rather important things running his evil overlord conspiracy instead appears to spend his time doing useless crap. You know how Darth Vader, commander of the combined Imperial fleet, personally jumped into a ship to shoot down some attacking X-wings for no apparent reason? It's like that, except if the Emperor was actually Han Solo.
Example: The evil overlord who should be doing rather important things running his evil overlord conspiracy instead appears to spend his time doing useless crap. You know how Darth Vader, commander of the combined Imperial fleet, personally jumped into a ship to shoot down some attacking X-wings for no apparent reason? It's like that, except if the Emperor was actually Han Solo.
August 28, 2018
Book two
I have some real problems with this book, besides a few errors late in the book, what gets this book only two stars is the one year jump between book one and two.
This is just a lazy way of doing things. Any upgrade your characters or ships need can be said to have happened in this time period. Also this makes building a crew out of five strangers a given, but doesn't allow the reader to be a part of the journey.
I found the spacing of single to double to even triple throughout the paragraphs to be an unbelievable way to boost the page count.
All the action felt rushed with no real detail and over with before you could really get into it.
I will be dropping this series. While I found the first book to be a fun read I don't feel like rewarding an author for what I see as lazy work. This book could have been really good with a bit more effort.
I have some real problems with this book, besides a few errors late in the book, what gets this book only two stars is the one year jump between book one and two.
This is just a lazy way of doing things. Any upgrade your characters or ships need can be said to have happened in this time period. Also this makes building a crew out of five strangers a given, but doesn't allow the reader to be a part of the journey.
I found the spacing of single to double to even triple throughout the paragraphs to be an unbelievable way to boost the page count.
All the action felt rushed with no real detail and over with before you could really get into it.
I will be dropping this series. While I found the first book to be a fun read I don't feel like rewarding an author for what I see as lazy work. This book could have been really good with a bit more effort.
June 7, 2020
As I started this, some parts in the beginning seemed familiar. Now I know why. I'd attempted it before and couldn't finish. This time I got through the whole thing. Unfortunately, completely forgettable. I think the problem is that there was no driving force behind the characters, they had no goals or motivations. They just went where the work took them. I just could not bring myself to care about them or what they were doing.
Warship by the same author is very good.
Warship by the same author is very good.
August 3, 2015
Guilty Pleasure Reading
Book 2 continues much the same as the book 1. Has a kind of "Firefly" vibe. It's simple, straight forward sci-fi. A little lacking in creativity but if you want an easy read this series should suffice.
Book 2 continues much the same as the book 1. Has a kind of "Firefly" vibe. It's simple, straight forward sci-fi. A little lacking in creativity but if you want an easy read this series should suffice.
September 13, 2017
Scifi sorta Farscape or Firefly setup. Ragtag group of heroes on a ship having adventures. However, the world and characters are pretty flat, and the humor I was hoping for is completely missing.
September 23, 2021
Wish I could give it like a 3.8 out of 5
Pros:
- Fun action scenes, endearing characters and friendly banter scenes.
- Easy, yet still interesting enough plot that's great for relaxing to in the background with audiobook while doing other stuff or just reading.
Cons:
- Needs to provide better descriptions for many of the characters. I have barely any imagery of most of the cast besides the few main characters, and even they aren't clear besides Crushed and Lucky.
- The pacing in this one isn't as smooth and succinct as its predecessor. It did a good job not to over extend the story, but it still felt a little drawn out in a few spots.
- More world building lore would be nice. We barely know anything about this universe these characters live in.
Bottom line: Another easy to digest and fun sci-fi action/adventure book in the series. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Looking forward to starting the next one!
Pros:
- Fun action scenes, endearing characters and friendly banter scenes.
- Easy, yet still interesting enough plot that's great for relaxing to in the background with audiobook while doing other stuff or just reading.
Cons:
- Needs to provide better descriptions for many of the characters. I have barely any imagery of most of the cast besides the few main characters, and even they aren't clear besides Crushed and Lucky.
- The pacing in this one isn't as smooth and succinct as its predecessor. It did a good job not to over extend the story, but it still felt a little drawn out in a few spots.
- More world building lore would be nice. We barely know anything about this universe these characters live in.
Bottom line: Another easy to digest and fun sci-fi action/adventure book in the series. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Looking forward to starting the next one!
February 26, 2018
Lightweight, Fun Crew of Bickering “Band of Brothers”
“Omega Force: Soldiers of Fortune (OF2),” continues the lightweight, fun tale of a bickering crew of a human and five (5) aliens from different races, as they snipe at each other and combat varied enemies.
Authored by Mr. Joshua Dalzelle, the eclectic group of mercenaries, are a tight crew, a “Band of Brothers,” who fight amongst themselves in an entertaining manner. There’s no overwhelming story or plot, all is driven by the character of the characters. The author does have multiple writing shortcomings, including his incessant need to use “of course,” “snorted,” and “rolled his eyes,” are just a few to illustrate.
Overall, the book and the series is harmless, inane fun, with no heavy lifted involved.
“Omega Force: Soldiers of Fortune (OF2),” is recommended and was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
“Omega Force: Soldiers of Fortune (OF2),” continues the lightweight, fun tale of a bickering crew of a human and five (5) aliens from different races, as they snipe at each other and combat varied enemies.
Authored by Mr. Joshua Dalzelle, the eclectic group of mercenaries, are a tight crew, a “Band of Brothers,” who fight amongst themselves in an entertaining manner. There’s no overwhelming story or plot, all is driven by the character of the characters. The author does have multiple writing shortcomings, including his incessant need to use “of course,” “snorted,” and “rolled his eyes,” are just a few to illustrate.
Overall, the book and the series is harmless, inane fun, with no heavy lifted involved.
“Omega Force: Soldiers of Fortune (OF2),” is recommended and was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.
August 26, 2018
Before you start this book, please realize it is the second title in the series: you will need to read the first book in the series in order to understand the back story and the characters.
The author picks up right where he left off with book one of the series. While this isn’t a hard science fiction tale or over complex from my usual science fiction reading stack it was enjoyable, has a lot of smart-alecky characters, and I am looking forward to the next one of the series. I picked this up for 99 cents during a Kindle promotion vs. the normal price of $2.99, and I believe I received more than $2.99 worth of entertainment value out of it: if you enjoyed the first book of this series I am confident you will like this one, also.
The author picks up right where he left off with book one of the series. While this isn’t a hard science fiction tale or over complex from my usual science fiction reading stack it was enjoyable, has a lot of smart-alecky characters, and I am looking forward to the next one of the series. I picked this up for 99 cents during a Kindle promotion vs. the normal price of $2.99, and I believe I received more than $2.99 worth of entertainment value out of it: if you enjoyed the first book of this series I am confident you will like this one, also.
November 24, 2019
Much better than 1st in series
Past the Christmas give away setup and easily outwitted opponent victories. Pretty solid internal plot development with true challenges and character development. Only when you standback and look at the big picture nature final challenge do you see any serious flaws. But the better tactics of just nuking the tether from space would of course have robbed the novel of the big heroic climatic man on man batttle at the end and possibly earning the free hardware upgrades and support connections.
Past the Christmas give away setup and easily outwitted opponent victories. Pretty solid internal plot development with true challenges and character development. Only when you standback and look at the big picture nature final challenge do you see any serious flaws. But the better tactics of just nuking the tether from space would of course have robbed the novel of the big heroic climatic man on man batttle at the end and possibly earning the free hardware upgrades and support connections.
February 7, 2023
A bit predictable but done well
We see the various members of the Omega Force shifted in time so that they have already had some adventures together and are jelling as a well knit group. They are then sent out with the frequent trope of the difficult mission that suddenly becomes both critical to the survival of many innocent people & so dangerous that they may not survive it themselves. I actually don’t mind the 2nd part since anyone who’s served in the military knows that sometimes the mission doesn’t require you to survive it if you meet the goals before you buy the farm…
We see the various members of the Omega Force shifted in time so that they have already had some adventures together and are jelling as a well knit group. They are then sent out with the frequent trope of the difficult mission that suddenly becomes both critical to the survival of many innocent people & so dangerous that they may not survive it themselves. I actually don’t mind the 2nd part since anyone who’s served in the military knows that sometimes the mission doesn’t require you to survive it if you meet the goals before you buy the farm…
August 7, 2018
I recently discovered Joshua Dalzelle as an author and I really like his books. I'm currently reading his Omega Force series with Soldiers of Fortune (Omega Force, #2). As with the first book I enjoyed it to the point that I found it difficult to put aside for other normal activities. If you like a rollicking good Space Opera then this series is for you. Great character development and a feel good series of actions makes for a great series. Do yourself a favor and check out this Author.
September 21, 2022
I use ratings to decide which books I am going to buy, and I recently decided I am partially
responsible for inflating the ratings on books. Either they were 5 star or 1 star. I decided to use
the star rating more objectively as follows:
★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish
responsible for inflating the ratings on books. Either they were 5 star or 1 star. I decided to use
the star rating more objectively as follows:
★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish
February 26, 2023
Bad asses against galactic threat
A political creative, talented, and monied criminal group created a fantastic plan to change galactic alignments. The unique combo of the Omega force team struggles through a gauntlet of challenges to infiltrate the criminal group to determine their end game and how to beat them.
My second read and again, I couldn't put down.
Thanks for the wild creative ride Joshua!!!!!
A political creative, talented, and monied criminal group created a fantastic plan to change galactic alignments. The unique combo of the Omega force team struggles through a gauntlet of challenges to infiltrate the criminal group to determine their end game and how to beat them.
My second read and again, I couldn't put down.
Thanks for the wild creative ride Joshua!!!!!
May 16, 2017
Another excellent book on the series. I am really involved with this series and characters.
In my view this book was fast paced compared to last book and also very interesting and I especially love their small hints left to many future events and possible story lines.
Will definitely pickup the next one asap.
In my view this book was fast paced compared to last book and also very interesting and I especially love their small hints left to many future events and possible story lines.
Will definitely pickup the next one asap.
June 22, 2019
Burke and his crew continue to deliver
Once again, good storytelling combined with engaging characters made a great read. I’m a bit sad about some of the language in the book. I don’t find it necessary nor welcome. I’ll read the next book and if that single flaw increases, I’m done, but that’s a personal preference.
It is a good action/adventure book.
Once again, good storytelling combined with engaging characters made a great read. I’m a bit sad about some of the language in the book. I don’t find it necessary nor welcome. I’ll read the next book and if that single flaw increases, I’m done, but that’s a personal preference.
It is a good action/adventure book.
December 8, 2022
Love the Omega Force series, I've read them all at least twice over. The story is immersive and exhilarating. The second book starts off shortly after were the first book ended. The crew have become more of a dysfunctional family and the balance of comedy, action, and exploration of the plot keeps you glued to the page until the last word.
November 11, 2023
Really good read.
This is the second book in the series and I really enjoyed reading it . It was action packed and really fun to read . there are some funny parts in it and so far has lined up with the first book . like the first I couldn't put it down. Give it a try and I think you will love it.
This is the second book in the series and I really enjoyed reading it . It was action packed and really fun to read . there are some funny parts in it and so far has lined up with the first book . like the first I couldn't put it down. Give it a try and I think you will love it.
July 14, 2025
Reading this I was thinking “yeah this is better than the first one” but actually once we started planet hopping, coming in and out of hyperspace and several hours passing in just a few words I grew tired of the mystery. All of which wasn’t very well fleshed out at all. An intergalactic coup on a neutral planet should be more interesting
March 24, 2018
Really enjoyed this book. It is light reading, not intelligently challenging and a good story. Kind of reminds me of a tv series program. I think the book is well written and it holds the reader's attention.I will read the series of books. Hopefully they will continue to be this good.
August 10, 2018
The story continues
Once again the A Team of Space have come through a hard fight. With the new backing of having a good support team behind them, can they help others in trouble.
Once again the A Team of Space have come through a hard fight. With the new backing of having a good support team behind them, can they help others in trouble.
January 18, 2019
Great reading.
Awesome storyline. Characters are very interesting and varied. I love the exchanges between characters. I highly recommend this series and others works by the author.
Awesome storyline. Characters are very interesting and varied. I love the exchanges between characters. I highly recommend this series and others works by the author.
January 23, 2019
So sorry for the 3!
Too many misspellings, incomplete sentences and incomprehensible sentences for a 4. The story line and plot were easy to find and enjoy. The Phoenix has a great crew and a kick butt attitude.
Too many misspellings, incomplete sentences and incomprehensible sentences for a 4. The story line and plot were easy to find and enjoy. The Phoenix has a great crew and a kick butt attitude.
February 2, 2019
Fast paced space action and adventure
I recommend this book to someone looking for fun and fast paced adventure in a future space setting. Character development is good and plot and theme are well done.
I recommend this book to someone looking for fun and fast paced adventure in a future space setting. Character development is good and plot and theme are well done.
April 17, 2019
Rise up
From start to finish this was an amazing tale of action and adventure.
A cast of amazing characters with realistic situations and lots of excitement.
I look forward to more from this series 😁
From start to finish this was an amazing tale of action and adventure.
A cast of amazing characters with realistic situations and lots of excitement.
I look forward to more from this series 😁
April 20, 2019
Ok, I like this book better than the first. It feels like each book might be an "episode", and as a fan of episodic scifi shows, it appeals to me. The second book was a quick read, which added to the "episode" feel. I can't imagine NOT reading the whole series. :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews