Victory Conditions

This is the fifth and final book in the Vatta's War series.

It's difficult to summarize this book without delving into too many spoilers, but here we go: the war against space pirates escalates as other worlds begin to take the threat seriously. Ky Vatta, under tremendous strain, works with an ever-expanding fleet and an ominous deadline. Meanwhile, the other cast members deal with terror plots and espionage, along with business and legal dealings.

This was a fitting ending to a fantastic series. Each of the plot threads was enjoyable, with distinct characters and constant suspense, whether it's a space battle or a personal assassination attempt. As with any war, there is tremendous loss; I was stunned at how sad I was about the fates of show more some very minor side characters whom I had come to love. Moon did a masterful job in creating a five-book series where each volume is strong and thoroughly enjoyable. show less

The conclusion to the Vatta's War 5-book series sees Ky Admiral of the combined fleet assembled to end the threat of the pirate Gammis Turok who has assembled a fleet of over 300 ships. Turok has also embedded spies in the major planetary systems who are helping him overthrow the existing governments.

As Ky deals with the loss of her first ship and most of its crew, Stella is dealing with rebuilding Vatta Enterprises and overseeing the manufacture of shipboard ansibles which will bring parity to Ky's fleet since the pirates already have them. Stella is also dealing with an adolescent tech genius ward who has fallen in love for the first time. Unfortunately, Toby's girlfriend's father is one of Turok's plants and a traitor to his planet. show more

Rafe is dealing with ISC on his homeworld of Nexus II which is squarely in the sights of Turok's fleet. Rafe has a brain-damaged father who is still influential on the board of ISC and who is unreasonably prejudiced against any and all Vattas. His venom finds fertile ground since most of the board resents that Stella Vatta is manufacturing ansibles which leaves ISC's monopoly on communications in jeopardy.

Ky has to pull together forces from various jurisdictions and convince much older ship commanders that she is the best one to lead the fight against Gammis Turok.

This was a great space opera series and this volume a satisfying conclusion. show less

With this fifth volume Elizabeth Moon’s series Vatta’s War reaches its conclusion, and a very satisfying one at that. Until now we have been following Ky Vatta, heir to a family of interstellar traders, who was expelled from the Space Academy because of a mistake in judgment and who tried to re-build her life inside the family business. Faced with increasing challenges, including a vast network of pirates trying to take over space routes with the complicity of moles planted in various governments, Ky manages to gather around herself a fleet of former merchanters and privateers to fight the pirates, while gaining precious experience and skills that force her to grow well beyond her young age. As Victory Conditions starts, Ky is ready show more for the next step in her difficult mission, that of taking on board various planetary governments and their fleets to repel the coming assault from Turek, the leader of the pirates and the man responsible for the massacre of most of her family on their home planet of Slotter Key.

This series is not, however, a one-woman show, and the action is equally divided between other characters we have met along the way: Ky’s cousin Stella has taken over the running of a company’s branch on the planet of Cascadia and is successfully juggling the family’s shipping business with the thriving new activity of manufacture and selling of a new communication device. Once Vatta’s black sheep because of a few youthful indiscretions, Stella is growing into her role of businesswoman and shrewd manager, earning the respect of surviving family members and associates alike. On a different part of the galaxy, Rafe Dunbarger – estranged son of the CEO of ISC, the leading communications firm – went back into the fold once he discovered the takeover attempt from his father’s closest associate, attempt that included the kidnapping and possible extermination of Rafe’s own family. Taking control of the company, and trying to eradicate the complex web of traitors (some of whom are in collusion with the pirates) and “simply” greedy executives, forces Rafe to discard his disreputable persona and to morph into a more stable, more dependable individual, even though he somewhat pines for the old days of freedom.

All the while, the constant threat from the pirates, whose infiltration of governments and manufacturing facilities speaks of a long, careful planning, escalates to open conflict, one that the “good guys” are not so sure of winning… The constant change of point of view between characters and situations makes indeed for a fast-paced story, one that fulfills all the promises of the build-up carried on by previous books. And if the narrative is sometime slowed down by reiteration of well-known plot points (which for some instances happens more than once in the course of the story), it’s easy to forgive this misstep because the events succeed each other at such speed that glossing over these writing ‘hiccups’ requires no effort at all. Vatta’s War is above all a space opera whose main goal is that to entertain the reader, and in this it reaches its goal quite successfully.

Where this novel works very well is in character exploration and development: Ky, for example, is not at all the kind of Mary Sue heroine who’s able to troubleshoot every problem just by batting her eyelashes. She has to work for what she obtains, and work very hard, more often than not leading an uphill battle against prejudice, not so much because she’s a woman (there are plenty of capable women in positions of responsibility in Moon’s world), but rather because of her young age and (wrongly) perceived lack of experience. Ky Vatta is not afraid of shouldering heavy burdens, knowing that she will learn from them, and being aware that nothing comes without a price: there is a segment of the story here where we see her dealing with the aftermath of all that happened to her until that moment, a combination of the experiences that matured her and the painful losses that shaped her psyche even as they hurt her. It’s an important part of the narrative, from my point of view, because it stresses Ky’s basic humanity and fallibility, while showing the potential for inner strength and emotional stability, the qualities that make her a convincing leader.

My opinion of Rafe changed considerably with this volume: where he earlier looked like the proverbial rakish adventurer, here (and partly in the previous book) he shows great determination to bring ISC up to speed, removing all the elements that leeched funds and credibility from the company and taking very seriously his duties to it and to his family, especially where his traumatized sister Penny is concerned. In a sort of parallel with Ky, he needs to overcome the wrong image the world wants to paint on him, one that is only in part the result of his swashbuckling life and instead owes much to the deceptive bad publicity artfully circulated to keep him away from his home world and the company. The only segment where his characterization falters a little is in relation with Ky: while their mutual but unspoken attraction has been a subtle thread throughout the last three books, and it comes to the fore here promising future developments, it’s also at the root of a scene that demeans his maturity placing him on the same level as a hormone-crazed youth. Still, like I said, it’s one of those elements readers can take in their stride when considering the entertainment value of the story, without being too troubled by it.

I’m glad that when I started reading Elizabeth Moon’s Cold Welcome, the first installment in the new series Vatta’s Peace, I decided instead to explore this first foray into Ky Vatta’s adventures, so that now I can move forward to the next books “armed” with the knowledge necessary to enjoy the story as it deserves. The journey continues, and it promises to be equally enjoyable…


Originally posted on SPACE and SORCERY BLOG show less

Rating: A very satisfying ending to a great series.

Ky Vatta, failed student and one of the few Vatta survivors after her family is attacked at home and in space, has morphed into a cool and calm not to mention deadly enemy to the pirates attempting to take control of her world. They should run while they still can.

Really interesting characterization, a fully imagined world, and complex plotting has made this a great series.

Vatta's War series
1 Trading in Danger
2 Marque and Reprisal
3 Engaging the Enemy
4 Command Decision
5 Victory Conditions

These 5 books are not so much a series as one long novel - there's one story arc, and you really need to read all five to get to the (satisfying) conclusion. (I somehow had the misapprehension that there were only 4 in the series - luckily the public library came through and got me #5 expediently!)
Due to a misjudgement, Kylara Vatta, scion of an interstellar shipping business, gets kicked out of military academy shortly before graduation. She's pretty crushed by the end of her hopes for a military career, but there's always the family business to fall back on... or is there? Someone's apparently got it out for her show more family, and before Ky knows it, she's catapulted into the midst of a space war, seeking justice and vengeance against an unsavory alliance of pirates.
These are first and foremost action-adventure books, with plenty of shoot-em-up scenes and an uncomplicated moral compass - you know who the 'bad guys' are, and although Ky is normally affected by the trauma of war (even seeking therapy at one point), she's always clearly on the side of right. The one thing I wished the story had was more exploration of the bad guys' motivations - OK, we know they're racist, and bigoted against 'modified' humans (people who've had either genetic or physical/technological augmentation), and of course they want power - but what's the story behind it all?
However, the characters of the 'good guys' are well-drawn, and the story's definitely recommended for those who like strong female characters: there's Ky, with her military and strategic brilliance, her cousin Stella, who has the financial and business acumen to bring Vatta Enterprises back from the brink - and there's their grandmother, Grace, who is far from being the harmless old lady people might assume. (Grace might be my favorite character - it's wonderful to see an older woman portrayed with such verve.)
As many have mentioned, there are some definite parallells here with Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga. I'm not sure these are *quite* as good, but if you like one, I'd guess you'll like the other. show less

For once, an author that actually closes out a series when it should end, rather than dragging it out. No surprises in this book, the previous four were leading up to a big huge space battle between Admiral Vatta's fleet and the pirates, and that's what we get. Its a little more complicated than that, and there's the usual problems before that happens, but this book delivers exactly what I expected. The last battle is a little anti-climactic though, unlike most of the previous battles. Overall, very enjoyable.

A satisfying close to the Vatta's War series in which all the expected - and some unexpected - events take place as Ky takes on the pirates as Admiral of her own Space Defence Force. I did feel that this book was edited fairly ferociously in order to keep it around the same length as the previous books and that some potentially interesting sub-plots in the latter half were left out. And - not complaining too much - but the ending was just slightly too saccharine to me and didn't quite fit with the characterisations set up in the previous books. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable Elizabeth Moon read and well worth it.