Engaging the Enemy

In the third book of the Vatta's War series, Ky Vatta is up to her neck in intrigue. Now in possession of a pirate's warship, docking in space ports has become even more complicated. Communications are still down throughout many systems; while Ky is keenly aware that much of her family has been massacred, she'd not sure who is left, or when she'll be able to return to her homeworld. Meanwhile, her cousin takes charge of Ky's slower, older ship and deals with the aftermath of Ky's turbulent port visits--making Stella more and more resentful. On a planet where impoliteness means the death penalty, Ky's very identity is brought into question--just as the enemy moves in all too close.

Wow. This series only gets better. The suspense was so show more intense that I kept saying, "One more chapter, one more chapter..." and over a hundred pages flew by. I enjoyed Moon's Paksenarrion fantasy series, but the Vatta's War books truly show her evolution as a writer. The plot twists and technological details are impressive, and I'm amazed at how she mapped out everything from book to book.

I've already started the next in the series, Command Decision. It's just as addictive. show less

This is good, solid low-tech science fiction. More like Star Wars in terms of technological sophistication, but good action and excellent characters.
In the third part of this series, the Vatta family is starting to recover from the near death blow dealt to it by the pirates and their allies. Ky is slowly building a 'fleet' and Stella is rebuilding the business. There is some good action with the pirates, and some activity on the business side. As usual the characters are interesting and well rounded, though they lack relationships.
My biggest objection to this book is that with just one exception, the men in this book are generally useless or villains, or useless villains. There's no equality here at all, which doesn't make a lot of show more sense for a future society. I still enjoyed it, but that aspect certainly detracted from the book. show less

Honestly, I'm confused by how much I like this series. Let me reiterate - I don't like intrigue, adventure, stories that are so long you need a whole series to tell them, military situations... but Moon just has a knack for charming me by explaining the intrigue and the battles instead of being elliptical, and of including so much more than just adventure.

I love all the new worlds and their different cultures. I love getting to know Rafe, Grace Lane and Stella a bit better and meeting the other characters. There's just enough humor to leaven the intensity of what is, after all, Vatta's War and to make it all feel authentic, plausible.

I love Ky's mix of vulnerability and arrogance:
You know how I feel about trusting him, Captain."
"Only show more half as far as I can throw him," Ky said. "But that's a tidy distance."

I also really want to go to the restaurant Melandra on Cascadia." show less

A great continuation of the series Ky has just about got herself settled as captain of her commandeered ship. She's quite confident she's the rightful owner having captured it from the disgraced Osman she out-fought. However as she repeatedly learns at every station she docks at, with the ansibles still down, there's no records and she has to prove it every time, including on some stations with very odd local customs .

Her acquisition of another ship has given her an idea. The pirates appear to be working together, maybe the defenders should do the same, at a galactic scale, a Space Defense force, although she knows the system governments are against the idea - but she now has a privateers marque and she begins the process of sounding show more out fellow captains. Meanwhile (and there's always a meanwhile) she still has to support Vatta's interests, and her cousin Stella, seems to have very different ideas about how that can be achieved.

There's s a little bit too much of both Ky and Stella being unsure of themselves in private and just moaning, rather than interacting with characters to show us alternatives they haven't thought of. I'm also less keen on the very short jumps back to the base at Slotter Key where the formidable Grace is organizing a house defense. I enjoy her as a character, but the author needs to do more with her, or cut her out completely because one or two pages now and then is just irritating. Given that the focus is otherwise entirely on Ky and Stella, who can't know what is going on there, it would be better not to have her feature at all until they can come home. As a bonus the cut scenes from the enemy no longer feature so we're spared those poor foreshadows.

Fun adventures in space, I'm not completely convinced the author has a complete plan of where this series is going, but it seems to be worth going along for the ride. show less

With Vatta no back on the map with two ships, even if one had an ill-earned reputation as a pirate, Ky and Stella find themselves at odds over the future direction of the company. Ky is all hot to go after the pirates they had determined had caused the damage to their family and most of the book has the cousins chasing each other throughout the galaxy. This is pretty much a standard middle series type of book with lots of running about not really getting any where, though Ky does begin to put together an interstellar navy. A bit of light relief was provided when Ky's other cousin Toby find the dog he'd taken care of was a potential goldmine in a system where dogs had almost died out

Originally posted at FanLit. http://www.fantasyliterature.com/


�??I do not intend survival. I intend victory.ƒ?

Engaging the Enemy is the third book in Elizabeth Moonƒ??s VATTAƒ??S WAR saga. Young captain Kylara Vatta, her beautiful cousin Stella Vatta, and their elderly Aunt Grace continue their quest for revenge on the people who destroyed the Vatta shipping empire and most of the Vatta family. They are just beginning to realize the extent of the vast conspiracy which brought the Vattas down ƒ?? it involves space pirates, a disgruntled renegade cousin, a traitorous ship captain, and the government of their home planet, Slotter Key.

While Ky and Stella are out in space dodging assassination attempts and looking for allies, show more they have to deal with mercenaries, ship captains from different cultures, and more than one planetƒ??s ridiculous system of government. Finally Moon begins to show us the cultural distinctions between the different planets we visit. Some of this is pretty amusing and reminds me a little of Jack Vanceƒ??s ability to highlight silly human behaviors by emphasizing a particular inane behavior in one of his created cultures. Elizabeth Moon does something similar here. Mostly sheƒ??s making fun of bureaucracy and it adds a nice bit of levity to her story.

Ky is getting stronger and growing into her role as the commander of an interplanetary military force. Sheƒ??s still worried about her discovery that she enjoys killing bad guys and we, along with her cousin Stella, are starting to worry a little, too. There are some moral dilemmas for Ky ƒ?? on more than one occasion she has to decide whether itƒ??s ethical to kill or torture one person for the greater good. Ky doesnƒ??t think about this for very long before making her decisions ƒ?? does that make her morally inferior or superior?

Aunt Gracie is probably Elizabeth Moonƒ??s best character in this series. Because the enemies have brought down the ansibles that allow for interplanetary communications, sheƒ??s out of touch with Ky and Stella. Here we see her scheming in the background, targeting the president of Slotter Key. Her story takes less space than Kyƒ??s but itƒ??s always exciting. Elderly Aunt Grace may not be involved in space battles, but she kicks butt nonetheless.

Stella, on the other hand, is weak in this installment. She has so much potential to be a great strong character, but so far Moon doesnƒ??t seem to be sure what Stellaƒ??s purpose is. In the previous books she seemed to be a hero in her own right, but this time Moon seems to be using her to make Ky look better in contrast. Too bad. Why canƒ??t Stella be awesome, too? I hope sheƒ??ll be back on track in the next book.

Most of the plot of Engaging the Enemy focuses on Ky meeting and strategizing with potential allies, equipping her ships, hiring crew, worrying about her relationship to her home planet, and trying to decide what her role is in the struggle for revenge. Too much of this is tedious and repetitive. Iƒ??ve mentioned in a review of an earlier book in this series that I enjoy the focus on trading and transportation logistics, so I feel a little forgiving about this, but many readers will think itƒ??s just plain boring. Thereƒ??s not much action from Kyƒ??s storyline until the very end of the book when thereƒ??s a trial, a surprising revelation about the Vatta family, and a major military engagement.

Despite the deceptive title of the book, there isnƒ??t a lot of action in Engaging the Enemy. However, the story advances and there are welcome revelations and some good character development. Iƒ??m rating Engaging the Enemy a little lower than the previous installments just because thereƒ??s less action, some of the plot elements feel like theyƒ??re there just to add drama, and thereƒ??s too much boring red tape. Still, somehow Elizabeth Moon keeps me reading and thereƒ??s no way Iƒ??m giving up on the Vatta family now. Go Vatta! show less

The third book in this series is the best so far, imho. It's hit its groove, the action and talk feel more balanced. We get POV from three very different, very kick-ass women: Ky, Stella and Grace. Moon's world-building is getting better, too; things seem to fit together more smoothly, somehow. (Could just be me, I suppose.) I've already started the next one!