Engaging the Enemy

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway

Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

The brilliantly unorthodox Kylara Vatta - black-sheep scion of Vatta Transport Ltd., one of the galaxy's wealthiest merchant houses - is a heroine like no other, blessed with a killer instinct both for business and for battle. Now, in the aftermath of cold-blooded assassinations that have left her parents dead and the Vatta shipping empire shattered, Kylara faces her greatest challenge yet.

There is a time for grief and a time for revenge. This is decidedly the latter. Placing her cousin Stella in command of the trading vessel Gary Tobai, Ky embarks aboard the captured pirate ship Fair Kaleen on a twofold mission: to salvage the family business and to punish those responsible for the killings...before they strike again. Since the network providing instantaneous communication between star systems has been sabotaged, news is hard to come by and available information impossible to trust. But as she travels from system to system, with Stella a step behind, Ky pieces together the clues and discovers a conspiracy of terrifying scope, breathtaking audacity, and utter ruthlessness.

The only hope the independent systems and merchants have against this powerful enemy is to band together. Unfortunately, because she commands a ship known to belong to a notorious pirate - her own relative Osman Vatta, whom she killed for his part in her parents' deaths - Ky is met with suspicion, if not outright hostility. Rumors swirl about her intent and even her very identity. Soon, even Stella begins to question her cousin's decisions and her authority to make them.

Meanwhile, the conspiracy Ky hunts is hunting her in turn, with agents insinuated into every space station, every planetary government, every arm of the military, and every merchant house - including her own. Before she can take the fight to the enemy, Kylara must survive a deadly minefield of deception and betrayal.

©2008 Elizabeth Moon (P)2008 Tantor

More Grace, Less Stella

The Vatta's War quintet continues with volume three in the series. The reader, Cynthia Holloway is never a pleasure to listen to, and the reading is less than inspired. But the real problem is that this space opera just hasn't stood the test of time as well as one might have hoped. It's not _bad_, just not as good as it could be. WAY too much angst and anguish and just plain stupidity, and too little decisiveness from the main characters. The one good story arc, that of Grace and Mac Roberts, is too peripheral to carry the weakness of Stella and even Ky. Overall, I'll finish the books, since I bought them. But I can't imagine re-reading them, ever.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Unfortunate narrator

I really enjoy Elizabeth Moon's books but the narrator makes it very difficult to appreciate this one. The narration is flat, poorly paced, and the little variation in tone that exists makes every character (as well as the rest of the text) sound arrogant, angry, or snide. I hope that I can get past the narration to finish the book. This is one of the few audiobooks that I regret having bought.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

forming a fleet

I enjoyed the first two books in this series and I thought this book would be the battles but that only happened at the end of the book. The book goes back and forth between Kylara, Sara and Grace. Lots of suspense, legal trial, Ky had to prove she is Ky and the communication to her home planet is still out. Some one is trying to Kill Grace. This book sets up for the next book that looks like it will have the battles. The narrator is poor.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Ouch My Ears

I have downloaded approx 130 audible books, I have seldom felt compelled to write a review. However, this narrator is so hard to listen to, this is the first book I cannot get past 1/2 hour. Just the way every word is given the same inflection, the 'he said', 'she said' becomes irritating. If audible gave refunds this would be my first request. Sorry if this is overly harsh, but it is.. that bad.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

good book, not a good reader

I enjoy Elizabeth Moon's books, but this reader's rendition is stilted with poor phrasing and emphasis.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

First Series I just can't finish

I hate to say it, but this is the first series of books I've just had to give up on without finishing them... Book 1 was bad enough, but book two was supposed to be a little better... it was, but it was just more of the same lame rambling around while pursuing "Trade and Profit", and basically rolling belly up for every ill tempered "Inspector" and "Pirate" in the multiple universes, giving up their basic human rights, and acting like any privacy is a luxury to be given up without much more than a token "internal" fuss...

The narrator just drones on and on, until I can't stand to hear ANY more words like "EE-nteral", "EE-mergency", "EE-motional", "EE-rased" etc, etc...

Just not going to bother with book 4, and wish I hadn't even started book 3, but there seems to be a "Book Slump" right now and it's hard to find anything worth listening to at the moment... so I think I'll just let credits build up a while and hope that some decent authors and narrators put out some some new decent books worth listening to.

I hate to bash a Book, Narrator, or Series, but this just got ridiculous... Mostly just Over-Pompous language, giving up all basic human rights with a smile, and more worry about "Things being Fair", and repetitious hammering on "Her secret Love of Killing", and only the most slight glossing over of her loss of her entire family, with no realistic reactions to anything at all, and so little action you look forward to more talk about their food preparation and clothing choices... her "War" seems to mostly be repeating things other people say, as questions... "We're going out of the lock", "Out of the Lock?" "Yes, out of the lock"...

Highly disappointed in this series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Bad Narrator

Of all the many books I have listened too over the years (I started listening when they were just on tape), Cynthia, for this book, has the worst voice I have ever endured. She sounds like she is trying to portray a hard military female (very cliped, flat and emotionless). She has no noticeable voice change between characters. I agree with the one reviewer who said the series is now ruined for her. I need to start checking the reviews before I buy. I would try to return the book it it was allowed. Wonder if she was approved by the author?

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great book terrible narrater

I would give this audible book a 5 star if not for the narrator. I've read up to book 4 of this series on paperback and now after listening to this narrator I can't bring myself to read the rest of the series due to me hearing the narrator voice in my head whenever I read the series. Be worn if you have read this book and want an audible copy, don't buy it or ruins your enjoyment of the series too.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

good story, cheap tricks...

While I enjoyed part one and two in the series, in this book I was extremely annoyed with the repeating description of Stella's stubborness and her hurt feelings. Instead of creating a more intense listening experience, the author got me more and more annoyed and I fast forwarded the rest of the book.
I am not sure if I will read the other books, for now I am a bit tired of this. Pity. It felt to me as if the author was pushed to do this, it doesn't fit the book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Swinging for the Moo, and succeeding.

This is another successful saga from Ms. Moon and Holloway. It continues the story of Ky Vatta as she attempts to rebuild her family, it's business, and strike back at those who nearly eliminated them.
Dealing with the reality of politics and business of conducting a war against a coalition of pirates, Ky Vatta must gather forces and resources to fight a growing threat to her family, her world and the planets and people who would suffer if she fails.
This, you could say, is where it gets interesting.

Narration was terrible

I read these books several years ago and enjoyed them a lot. The reading is bad that i cant tell you . it changes all the carachater into sniving idiots