Product Description

Ky Vatta was a military cadet destined for great things, until an act of kindness incurred her Academy's wrath and ended her career. Instead of the expected disgrace, her rich trader family gave her captaincy of a small ship, to sell for scrap. In flagrant disregard of orders, she saw the opportunity to make a profit and save the ship. Several upgrades later, Ky is determined to retain the ship and her independence in the cut-throat world of interplanetary trading. But a threat emerges that challenges even her sharp wits and, if she survives, could leave the military forever in her debt ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154853 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
Praise for Elizabeth Moon's work: 'One of the best-known and most acclaimed writers of SF adventure' Publishers Weekly 'A fine novel ... Absolutely compelling' Greg Bear 'A must read!' Anne McCaffrey 'A powerful and compelling story' DREAMWATCH 'A truly magnificent work' THE ALIEN ONLINE

About the Author
Elizabeth Moon joined the US Marine Corps in 1968, reaching the rank of 1st Lieutenant during active duty. She has also earned degrees in history and biology, run for public office and been a columnist on her local newspaper. She lives near Austin, Texas, with her husband and their son.

Customer Reviews

VERY good beginning to a new series/trilogy.
Kylara "Ky" Vatta was thrown out of the Academy for trusting the wrong person. She returned home, avoiding media, to regroup herself. Her father, Gerard Vatta of Vatta Transport, decided Ky needed to go away until the media circus calmed down a bit. So she was sent as captain to take an old space craft on its last journey, to Belinta first and then to the scrap yard. She had a very small crew, but they were all veterans of space.

At Belinta, Ky learned that the planet had ordered agriculture "ag" equipment over a year ago from Sabine Prime which was picked up by another transport company and never delivered. Belinta was desperate for the equipment. No one named Vatta had ever turned down a chance to profit and Ky was no different. Ky hoped to earn enough money so that her ship could be repaired instead of scrapped. Once the personal contract was signed, she was off to Sabine Prime.

Sabine Prime gave Captain Vatta a bit of trouble, but not much, at first. Ky needed a new FTL drive before she could go anywhere. It was a vital part of the ship. Then she needed to purchase the ag equipment. The problem was figuring out how to get the money. FTL drives were very expensive. It all became worse when chaos erupted. Someone blew up the ISC's ansible platforms, so communications was all but gone. Then war ships came in. Ky's ship had no weapons and, with no FTL drive, no way to leave. She and her crew were defenseless and in the middle of a war between Sabine Prime and mercs!

**** Very good beginning to what appears to be a series or trilogy. The plots are all tied up by the end, but many sub-plots are left dangling. I would very much like to find out how one or two of them end up, especially the one from the academy.

The beginning of the book reminded me a bit of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. Young woman, military back ground, done horribly wrong, underestimated, and very cunning. Yet by the half way mark, Ky had definitely separated herself from Honor in my mind. Ky has her own way of dealing with things and any emotional trash is put on hold until the crisis is over. All-in-all, VERY GOOD novel. I hope the sequel comes out quickly. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

space operatics
Elizabeth Moon's books are typically light, fast-paced and extremely easy to read. Space Opera that takes it cues from 60's and 70's classics as well as the hornblower-esque character development. Great if you like action, female leads and pretty tight writing. But PK Dick it aint - if you like your SF intellectual, look elsewhere. But if you can get into the pulp mood and enjoy a goodlooking battle, check this out.

Second book in Vatta's War
'Trading in Danger' has been released in the US in hardback as 'Marque and Reprisal' (available on amazon for £12.10).
The following is a larger synopsis than that above from the randomhouse website:

'Kylara Vatta, risk-taking, rule-breaking, can-do heroine of Trading in Danger, is back in business - the kind that's anything but usual - in the new military science fiction adventure by ace action storyteller Elizabeth Moon.

The exciting military career she hoped for never got off the ground - but Ky Vatta ended up seeing plenty of combat when she took the helm of one of the commercial transport vessels in her family's fleet... and steered it into a full-blown war. Now the lessons she learned in that trial by fire are about to pay off: because this time, the war has come to her. To be exact, someone unknown has launched a full-throttle offensive against Vatta Transport Ltd., Ky's father's interstellar shipping empire. In short order, most of Ky's family is killed, and subsequent attacks sever vital lines of communication, leaving Ky fighting, in every sense, to survive.

Determined to identify the ruthless mystery enemy and avenge her family's name, Ky needs not only firepower but information. And she gets both in spades - from the band of stranded mercenaries she hooks up with; from her black-sheep cousin, Stella, who's been leading a secret life, and from Stella's roguish ex-lover, Rafe. Together they struggle to penetrate the tangled web of political intrigue that's wreaking havoc within InterStellar Communications, whose effective operation their own livelihoods - and perhaps lives - depend on.

But the infighting proves to be infectious, and it isn't long before Ky's hired military muscle are turning their suspicions on the enigmatic Rafe, whose wealth of knowledge about ISC's clashing factions and startling new technologies has begun to make him smell like a rat... or a mole. With swift, violent destruction a very real possibility, the last thing Ky needs is a crew divided against itself - and she's prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that Vatta stays in business, as well as in one piece.

What she's not prepared for is the shocking truth behind the terror - and a confrontation with murderous treachery from a source as unexpected as it is unrelenting.'