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An Anti-Hero
UNITARIUM: Chronicles Volume One follows outlaw Captain Dakota Maverick and her crew as they navigate corrupt authorities, dangerous rescues, and second chances in a lively space-western universe. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The basic concept for the story came to me after seeing the art for the Star Wars Outlaws game and my fondness for the Firefly television show. I liked the idea of creating a genre mashup with sci-fi, western, and pirates within a bigger established universe, and I liked the idea of using a Robin Hood-style approach to the Dakota. It’s funny, because I saw the name Dakota Maverick on the trailer of a semi-truck driving to work one morning.
Dakota Maverick has a strong personal moral code despite being an outlaw. How did you develop her sense of justice?
I liked the idea of an anti-hero doing sometimes bad things for the right reason. A character like that allows for a lot of backstory and personal development. She’s an underdog fighting a system so much bigger than herself with some success, and that gives the story a sense of hope. I think the fact that she was done so wrong by that government really puts skin in the game for her, but she’s not really out for revenge.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I wanted to tackle a lot of things with this book, like corruption in the government, the advancements of AI, and the unknowns of that future. Some of the real events happening today feel like the way Skynet could have started in the Terminator movies, but I wanted to show both possibilities and that the sway to good or evil is made by the person at the wheel, not the technology.
Raven and Axel bring a lot of humor and personality to the story. Which supporting character was the most fun to write?
I had the most fun with Axel. The idea of a sarcastic sentient android that wants to be human sounded like a lot of fun, and it played into the plot point of Dakota not wanting a human crew. She programmed him, but left him with the means to grow and become his own person. I wanted to incorporate the idea of Axel having a heart, and sometimes one bigger than his human counterparts.
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Angel of the Waste: Unitarium Chronicles Volume One
UNITARIUM Chronicles Volume One by Rodney W. McWilliams is a space-western adventure built around Captain Dakota Maverick, a wanted outlaw whose piracy is really a kind of rough-edged mercy. The book opens with a great hook, then settles into a dusty frontier town, a hidden ship, a sarcastic android first mate, and a galaxy where the people with the least power need someone willing to break rules for them.
Dakota is the heart of the book. She’s tough, funny, stubborn, wounded, and deeply protective, which makes her easy to root for even when she’s doing illegal things. Her moral code is direct and personal, especially when she tells a drunken cadet, “The fact I don’t like it is reason enough; show some respect.” That line captures a lot of what makes her work as a lead character: she doesn’t give speeches about justice; she acts on it.
The world blends saloons, hovercycles, sentient ships, C-Gates, corrupt authorities, androids, brothels, frontier churches, and medical scarcity into something that feels lively and lived-in. Raven and Axel add a lot of personality, with their bickering giving the story a lighter rhythm between raids, grief, rescues, and bigger revelations. The book also has a strong found-family current, especially as Dakota’s circle grows to include people like Matilda, Simon, Paige, Preacher, and Aes.
What stands out most is the book’s sense of momentum. It starts as outlaw-with-a-heart-of-gold sci-fi, then widens into a story about corruption, trauma, time travel, loyalty, and second chances. The plot has plenty of moving pieces, but its emotional center stays clear: Dakota is trying to help people the system has abandoned, and each new complication tests how much she’s willing to carry.
UNITARIUM Chronicles Volume One is a fun, earnest, character-driven space western with a big heart and a sharp sense of adventure. It’s at its best when Dakota and her crew are bouncing off each other, sneaking through dangerous jobs, or choosing compassion in a universe that keeps making compassion expensive. The book gives readers a captain worth following and a crew that feels like it’s just getting started.
