Retribution is the fourth book in the Col Sec series by Jan Domagala and is a continuation from the last book, Discovery. It begins with Zara Hardy, who wakes up as a captive of the terrorist group, OMEGA. She remembers being held captive by an Alliance operative, Pavel Norsky who shot her dead. She also remembered being bled on by Kurt Stryder and with her knowledge of the damages that he can endure, it causes Zara to want to know more about her own abilities. Pavel Norsky is also back from the dead and wants revenge. She escapes her captives and finds her way back to Kurt Stryder.
All the members of Col Sec Recon Delta team are on leave after the Tartaran rescue mission and each is confronted with bodily harm by strangers that are similar in appearance. They are being assessed on their abilities of their genetic enhancements.
Later in the book, we are given more information about the terrorist group, OMEGA. OMEGA is always one step ahead of the team, you know the saying, “The good guys always win.” The problem with that scenario is OMEGA is playing by their own rules and haven’t told the Col Sec team how to play. Another problem for Col Sec is the seemingly unlimited resources at OMEGA’s disposal. The main force are made up of clones with major resources for the best weapons.
The Wildfire Team and Kurt Stryder are able to counter each attack by OMEGA and find an outpost on the Moon, but not the secret headquarters on the planet RH426. The climax of the book is suspenseful with a last minute escape of our heros, Kurt Stryder and Zara Hardy, even though we all know that very few authors kill off their main characters. There's a surprise at the end for the head of OMEGA, Jonas Wilde that will cause more trouble for Col Sec in the future.
It’s a very action packed book and an easy read. I like that Domagala put thought into character development with this being a series we will probably see them again in future books. The dialogue between characters is believable. And with each book, the characters personalities are recognizable, there is a familiar quality to them. You want the Col Sec team to win over adversity and want the bad guys to be obliterated. But you know that having the villain get away makes for a known adversary in the next book. The issues that I had in the previous book weren’t apparent in this one. The transition between scenarios was more fluid and smooth. I like that Domagala has a few female characters in the series that aren’t one dimensional. All though, they aren’t average looking women but buffed and beautiful.
I will read his next book in the series since I’m invested in the characters. I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading action science fiction.
