Trading in Danger

Vatta's War, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway

Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The first of the acclaimed Vatta's War books, the exciting military science fiction series that features a swashbuckling spaceship-captain heroine who mixes commerce with combat.

©2004 Elizabeth Moon (P)2008 Tantor

enjoyable

I read this book when it first came out and really enjoyed it I have not read it since. So it was like reading a new story. I'm glad that I did and now will continue to read the rest of the series again.

Too much fluff!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not really.

Would you be willing to try another book from Elizabeth Moon? Why or why not?

Yes because I have read other books by EM and she can write a good story. This story just had too much fluff about every little detail that didn't add to the story.

Would you be willing to try another one of Cynthia Holloway’s performances?

Only because I want to find out what this character does next. Don't ask me why!

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably because they would cut the non-essential details.

Better Than Some (Some spoilers might appear.)

Why is it that so many narrators seem to believe it is their job to translate, for me, the meaning and emotion of the writing that I would have to depend on the author to provide if I were reading the book? Please, somebody, just read the book to me. If I wanted 'a movie in my mind' or 'pictures in my head' there are other companies that not only provide that with multiple narrators as characters, they are reading works designed to be read that way. If the author can’t create those elements in the story I don’t believe the story would be worth reading; or listening to. But that’s just me. Having said that I believe Ms. Holloway does a credible job of reading the book. She is not my favorite but she is a long way from being so bad I won't listen.

I really like the story line in this series. A young daughter of privilege, in a respected trading family, is kicked out of military school with just one month to go, having already proven to be an excellent student, and is 'gotten out of town' by being sent out with her own ship on a trading mission. By means of a series of mishaps and happenstance the author creates the conflict that allows the protagonist to develop her character and move forward into more conflict that allows her to...I mean that is how it is done, right?

In books I like the most the author takes the story in the direction that makes sense and stems from conflict that was created in believable scenarios based on the fictional universe they have created. When I say 'in the direction that makes sense' I really mean in the direction I think it should go. If the author surprises me and goes in a different direction that ends up, (in my opinion), in an even better direction I fall in love with that author and become a fan. Even though I like Ms. Moon's story's I am not a fan. I often disagree with how she creates conflict and how the character makes their forward-moving decisions, though I usually agree with the decisions they make.

In "Trading In Danger" the author uses exposition in such a way that it kills the momentum of the plot and bogs down the story. There are too many decisions based on the inner thoughts of so many of the characters that I dread those long, critical inner dialogs they have with themselves. The silliest example is that the protagonist 'discovers' that she likes killing even though she is a very nice, moral person. She then goes on to bemoan the issue, in her mind mostly but also with a few others 'like' her throughout the rest of the story.

But then again; I still want to know what happens next.

Just the beginning

Just the beginning it establishes the primary characters
I expect the next will be more involved

Good story, awful narration

Would you try another book from Elizabeth Moon and/or Cynthia Holloway?

I love Elizabeth Moon but this narrator sounds mechanical most of the time. It takes a lot of the pleasure out of listening to the book.

Do you like space sims?

listening to this I felt like I was vicariously experiencing a space simulator. maybe a business slash trade in space simulator. this is not a bad thing I actually found the business talk interesting, but know there is a lot of it. I'd have to say the main character feels a little bit stilted. she is in general a little stiff and the rest of the characters aren't any better. that said she does develop throughout the book. if you're curious what a well-developed take on Interstellar business looks like I'd recommend this book.

Excellent and Engaging

It's not your standard military S/F book. Kylara is an excellent heroine that is engaging. I've bought into the character and now want to find out what else happens in her saga. The reviews for books 2-5 look promising, so I'm sure I'll pickup the next book when I'm caught up on other books or when it is on sale.

This books seemed to be setting up the universe of Vatta and I'm hoping that she gets into other adventures that keep me interested. I'm not sure where her self exploration is going as it seems aimed at making her become cynical and not trust anyone.Hopefully she will run into some nice people who are exactly what they seem or some puppies needing help that don't end up biting her.

Narrator continously mispronouncing words

The story is very good. It's well written, the characters are well developed, the concept is good. The narrator, however, almost ruined the experience for me. She constantly mispronounced common words.

Listening is different than reading and is directly enhanced by the performance

I enjoyed the book. I did notice the lack of a polo game but not enough to lose any enjoyment. I stop reading books that are boring or simplistic by the first few chapters. This was not the case with this novel, I look forward to book 2.

Great book

this is the first book in the series and it's a wonderful series I recommend it highly