Command Decision

Vatta's War, Book 4

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway

Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

After orchestrating a galaxy-wide failure of the communications network owned and maintained by the powerful ISC corporation, Gammis Turek and his marauders strike swiftly and without mercy. First they shatter Vatta Transport. Then they overrun entire star systems, growing stronger and bolder. No one is safe from the pirate fleet.

But while they continue to move forward with their diabolical plan, they have made two critical mistakes.Their first mistake was killing Kylara Vatta's family.Their second mistake was leaving her alive.

Now Kylara is going to make them pay. But with a "fleet" consisting of only three ships - including her flagship, the Vanguard, a souped-up merchant cruiser - Kylara needs allies, and fast. Because even though she possesses the same coveted communication technology as the enemy, she has nowhere near their numbers or firepower.

Meanwhile, as Kylara's cousin Stella tries to bring together the shattered pieces of the family trading empire, new treachery is unfolding at ISC headquarters, where undercover agent Rafael Dunbarger, estranged son of the corporation's CEO, is trying to learn why the damaged network is not being repaired. What he discovers will send shock waves across the galaxy and crashing into Kylara's newly christened Space Defense Force at the worst possible moment.

©2008 Elizabeth Moon (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Strong female leads, terrific action and complications aplenty: should grab existing fans and win new converts." ( Kirkus)

More on Rafe Here

With book four in the series we get Rafe's story since he has quite a few POVs. While book three had a lot of Stella, here we have Rafe uncovering the corruption in the ISC. As he works to save his family, he soon learns that there is a bigger problem that will affect all worlds. There was nothing new here in terms of storytelling and the villains remain frustratingly stupid and simplistic. But still an enjoyable read/listen.

Story: Rafe rushes back to his homeworld in an attempt to discover why the ancibles have not been fixed. He soon realizes it will take all his wiles to save his family and his world from hidden enemies. Enemies who are willing to bring up his disgraced past and make him pay again for the indiscretions of youth. Kylara, meanwhile, has a 'fleet' of three ships against a pirate navy. As she battles with her cousin over Vatta Shipping issues, she also has to deal with a new lawlessness taking over the worlds that still lack a working ancible. Can she trust Rafe to fix the interstellar communication system?

At this point, the Stella vs Kylara bickering gets a bit old and I think most would prefer Stella written out of the rest of the series. But the heart of the series is family and so we are going to get a lot of Vattas and their POVs - whether they make the story better or not.

Rafe's background and story were interesting, even though they were more cloak and dagger than space battles/sci fi. As always, Kylara is stuck in the middle of politics and constantly making the wrong decisions that somehow end up being the best choice in the end.

In all, fun bubble gum sci fi you don't take too seriously and just enjoy the ride. Of note, I listened to the audio version and the narration is very hard to listen to - the characterizations are simplistic and odd and have an impact on the enjoyment of the story. I suggest listening to a sample first.

Pronunciation Fail

I've read the books in this series and I owned a previous audiobook production on cd's which eventually got scratched. Took a chance on ordering this version because I mostly enjoy Audible content, but had never heard of this narrator. Simple names for places, people, etc are willfully butchered beyond recognition for no apparent reason. The only saving grace is that once mispronounced, always mispronounced, so there is consistency.