Command Decision

Book after book this series is taking shape and substance and this installment went a long way toward helping me forget the slight disappointment of volume 2, that I’m now regarding more as a case of “growing pains” than anything else. Despite a few residual niggles, truly too small to spoil my enjoyment of the story, Command Decision turned out to be a solid, entertaining read.

In previous books, Kylara Vatta, whose family made a fortune with their interstellar transport business, was expelled from the SpaceForce Academy in the aftermath of an unfortunate mishap and went back into the family’s fold trying to re-invent herself as a merchant captain. An unprecedented attack on her home world resulted in the death of a huge portion show more of Ky’s family so she resorted to try and resurrect the family business while fighting the encroaching expansion of a pirate consortium. In Command Decision, we saw Ky working to consolidate her small but growing coalition of merchant captains who choose to stand up to the pirates, but we are also afforded a wider view of the overall situation, discovering alongside the characters that the pirates are only a part of the problem, one that involves hostile corporate takeovers, political maneuvers and a generalized regression in the galaxy’s civilized dealings.

The shifting focus between the various situations keeps the pace lively and the story interesting, and in some cases it changed my opinion of previously encountered characters: a case in point is represented by Rafe, whose earlier appearance seemed to point toward a Gary Stu kind of figure, while here he takes on some much-needed depth and morphs into a very intriguing person. It’s through Rafe’s segment of the story that we start perceiving the scope of what looks like a huge conspiracy to change the political and economical face of the galaxy: having lost contact with his family, he travels in incognito to his homeworld only to discover that his parents and siblings have disappeared and any inquiry on their whereabouts raises the interest of some unsavory characters. There is a subtle irony in the fact that Rafe was sent away from home because of a dramatic incident that changed him profoundly, and now he’s his family’s only hope for freedom and safety: as I saw him struggle to resolve the situation without endangering their chances for survival, and while I learned what it meant to him to be perceived as a monster, I slowly warmed up to him and started to see the real person under the rakish façade, someone who can forget any bitterness at the unfair treatment received and risk everything for those he holds dear. In a way, I believe that Rafe’s back story runs on a similar course to Kylara, since both of them needed to re-invent themselves after a traumatic experience, and that this element, rather than any form of mutual attraction, could be the basis for the future relationship that is at times hinted at as a possibility in the course of the story.

Stella, Ky’s cousin, is also slowly emerging from a trauma of her own, one that disrupted her sense of identity and belonging to the Vatta clan: while some residue from that shock might understandably linger, in this book Stella goes back to her earlier appearance, that of a well-grounded, no-nonsense person with a good head for business and the courage to try untraveled roads. Having been invested with the position of CEO for Vatta Enterprises, she throws herself into the work leaving little or no space for doubts and self-recriminations, and the need to care for the underage Toby – another survivor of the merciless attacks on the family – seems to be what she needs for her newfound balance. The most interesting comment on Stella’s transformation comes from Aunt Grace, the clan’s matriarch and a character I never see enough of, when she considers how those changes went even beyond Grace’s expectations, or anyone else’s for that matter.

But of course the main focus remains on Ky, even though she equally shares it with the others here, offsetting any danger of looking like the cliché do-it-all-by-herself heroine: she is still on a learning curve, but she’s gaining in assuredness with every challenge faced and overcome, and she’s also acquiring some of the toughness that’s required by her position, as demonstrated by the swift, uncompromising way in which she deals with the situation at Gretna station, whose inhabitants – already infamous for their racist viewpoints – have turned to fraud and slavery to increment their resources; or when she accepts Captain Ransome’s ships as part of the convoy, knowing that their inexperienced enthusiasm might prove fatal, but accepting the necessity of some “cannon fodder” on the front lines. More importantly, Ky’s storyline serves to showcase the foolishness of corporate mentality and the blindness that can impair the smooth workings of a galaxy-wide service (like ISC, the owners of the communication network), making it the far-too-easy target of anyone armed with the will to take advantage of it: this is what makes this series different from other space opera settings, the mixing of the required adventure with some economic considerations and a few social commentaries that spice up the narrative and at the same time set it firmly into a very believable background.

Command Decision does still suffer from some slight problems, like a few repetitions of known facts and the tendency to slide into undue exposition; or again the instances (thankfully less marked here) in which Ky is accused – because of her youth and perceived inexperience – of being susceptible to girlish infatuations: the latter is what makes me grind my teeth in frustration every time I encounter it, making me wonder why the author keeps undermining her character this way. That said, Vatta’s War is still shaping up nicely for what I hope will be a satisfactory ending, and a good introduction to the next series, whose first book I sampled before retracing my steps to the beginning.


Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG show less

I thought this one was a little better than the previous three. The characters are still good, and there really aren't any new ones. However, they seem to be settling down into their roles, and the action is good and varied. It's an interesting mix of business, corporate espionage, and space warfare. It's a little unbelievable that a young person with no experience can lead larger and larger groups of ships and do so successfully, but its still entertaining.

This fourth book in the Vatta's War series takes place on four fronts. Ky Vatta is trying to fight a war against the pirates with only a few ships and ship's captains who have agreed to work with her.

Stella Vatta is trying to rebuild Vatta Transport from a base on Cascadia. She is guardian to young Toby who is a tech genius who has managed to improve the ship based ansibles which allow parity with the pirates who already have them.

Rafe has gone back to Nexus II to try to figure out what is going on with his family and with the ISC global communications network. He discovers his parents and sister have been kidnapped and he needs to mount a rescue mission. The villain of the piece her is his father's second in command and heir show more apparent. He also learns that ISC never got patents for the ship based ansibles which leaves Stella the freedom to patent and sell them herself.

And Aunt Grace is on Slotters Key trying to find out why the government turned against the Vatta family. She takes a place in the government after the corrupt president is taken into custody. She connects with Ky's mentor from the Spaceforce Academy and learns that he has been helping Ky since she left the academy. She manages to convince Slotters Key to call in all the privateers employed by Slotters Key and send them to Ky to be her military force.

This was an engaging space opera filled with interesting characters. show less

Elizabeth Moon's SF books are good old fashioned space opera. Ok - so they always have a non-traditionally female lead. But mostly they have young heroes who overcome all the odds stacked against them to be come the saviors of their families, they planets, and their way of life.

Command Decision falls perfectly in line with the rest of the genre, continuing the exploits of Kylara Vatta as intrepid young merchant captain turned privateer. At the end of Engaging the Enemy she was leading a very small group of semi-military ships while her cousin rebuilt the family fortunes, and funded the tiny navy. By then end of Command Decision Ky has saved the day a couple more times, cousin Stella has re-established the commercial empire, Toby, the show more boy-genius, has made fantastic leaps in McGuffin technology, and Ky has acquired enough ships and followers to be called Commodore, and probably working on Admiral.

Don't get me wrong - I love the series. It is wonderfully well written over-the-top space opera. It is Saturday afternoon at the movies with popcorn and jujubees. Moon's story telling has only improved over time & I'd say the Vatta series is better balanced and paced than the Esmay Suiza/Familias series. All of the series books make up a greater whole with a well defined arc, and I'd say there is one more book to go to finish out the Vatta series. show less

Moon, Elizabeth. Command Decision. Vatta’s War No. 4. Del Rey, 2007.
Ky Vatta continues to build her reputation as a tactician with a small fleet of retreaded merchant ships. Meanwhile, her sister has to take control of the Vatta commercial enterprise. The series is consistently entertaining. Moon continues to build the series world and characters. The ISC ansible network that ties the galactic civilization together has the worst features of the old AT&T monopoly, the Apple genius bar, and an insecure Internet. Moon also does a good job of developing the sibling-like rivalry between heroine Ky and her cousin Stella. 4 stars.

Feels very much like a setting up book, not that much happens, and there's a wider focus on characters away from Ky who spends a lot of time 'training' her little fleet, and not actually doing.

The other main characters this time around are Stella, who's found her feet running what's left of the Vatta business, and Rafe who discovers his family - the head of the IFS ansible monopoly - to have been abducted without the rest of the corporation knowing. This alongside Ky provides various opportunities to look at different circumstances of command, between the military obvious ones, through to more personal choices of family and finance.

It all moves along quite well, but it's hardly deep writing. But if you've enjoyed the previous ones this show more is no worse. We get to meet more humods in another shape/size/colour but this hardly adds to the cultural contexts. show less

I do like Vatta. This one has Ky on her own and pushing (what she thinks are) her limits; Stella ditto; and Rafe being pushed well beyond his limits and hanging in there. It's very much a story-in-progress - a lot of events depend heavily for understanding on knowing the previous books, and while it ends with things temporarily calm it's more a turning point than any kind of conclusion. Basically, this book gets all the pieces in place for some fast and furious work in the last book (I read it but don't recall the details of the action, but it's obvious the sort of thing that's coming). Good stuff. As usual, Moon presents very realistic characters with solid motivations (however odd) and vivid descriptions of situations and events. Very show more rich. show less