Cold Welcome

Vatta's Peace #1

by Elizabeth Moon

Nebula Award winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with a thrilling series featuring Kylara Vatta, the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta s War sequence.
After nearly a decade away, Nebula Award winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with this installment in a thrilling new series featuring the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta s War sequence.
Summoned to the home planet of her family s business empire, space-fleet commander Kylara Vatta is told to expect a hero s welcome. But instead she is thrown into danger unlike any other she has faced and finds herself isolated, unable to communicate with the outside world, commanding a motley group of unfamiliar troops, and struggling day by day to survive in a deadly environment with sabotaged gear. Only her undeniable talent for command can give her ragtag band a fighting chance.
Yet even as Ky leads her team from one crisis to another, her family and friends refuse to give up hope, endeavoring to mount a rescue from halfway around the planet a task that is complicated as Ky and her supporters find secrets others will kill to a conspiracy infecting both government and military that threatens not only her own group s survival but her entire home planet.
Praise for Elizabeth Moon
Trading in Danger

A mix of space opera, military science fiction and human drama, this is an exciting and often touching novel. RT Book Reviews
Marque and Reprisal

Excellent plotting and characters support the utterly realistic action swift, jolting, confusing, and merciless. It s a corker! Kirkus Reviews
Engaging the Enemy

Moon has created a richly imagined universe of different cultures, replete with intriguing characters and the sense of unlimited possibility that characterizes the most appealing science fiction. School Library Journal
Command Decision

One of scifi s best military space series . . . confirms Moon s place with Lois McMaster Bujold and David Weber in the top tier of turn-of-the-millennium military SF writers. Syfy
Victory Conditions

Rip-roaring action and intriguing science and tactics distinguish Nebula winner Moon s fifth and final Vatta s War installment. . . . A fine and fitting conclusion to Moon s grand space opera tour de force. Publishers Weekly"

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Military Science Fiction, Space

379 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2017

About the author

Elizabeth Moon was born March 7, 1945, and grew up in McAllen, Texas, graduating from McAllen High School in 1963. She has a B.A. in History from Rice University (1968) and another in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin (1975) with graduate work in Biology at the University of Texas, San Antonio.

She served in the USMC from 1968 to 1971, first at MCB Quantico and then at HQMC. She married Richard Moon, a Rice classmate and Army officer, in 1969; they moved to the small central Texas town where they still live in 1979. They have one son, born in 1983.

She started writing stories and poems as a small child; attempted first book (an illustrated biography of the family dog) at age six. Started writing science fiction in high school, but considered writing merely a sideline. First got serious about writing (as in, submitting things and actually getting money...) in the 1980s. Made first fiction sale at age forty--"Bargains" to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword & Sorceress III and "ABCs in Zero G" to Analog. Her first novel, Sheepfarmer's Daughter, sold in 1987 and came out in 1988; it won the Compton Crook Award in 1989. Remnant Population was a Hugo nominee in 1997, and The Speed of Dark was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and won the Nebula in 2004.

Reviews

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/05/11/...

Cold Welcome was my first Elizabeth Moon, and what an excellent surprise it was! Knowing little about the book, I dove right in thinking it would be your run-of-the-mill military science fiction, so imagine my delight when I found out it was more of a survival adventure.

The star of the novel is Admiral Kylara Vatta, a space-fleet commander returning to her home world of Slotter Key where a hero’s welcome awaits her. But when sabotage brings her shuttle down over the most inhospitable part of the planet, what greets her instead is death and rough icy seas. With most of the shuttle’s passengers dead from the crash, Ky and all those who are left on the life rafts must do what they can to survive until the rescue crews can reach them.

However, as time goes on, the hope that someone will find them before the winter sets in begins to fade. So far Ky’s leadership has kept them going far beyond what they expected, but soon the survivors will need better shelter and a new source of food. And yet when they make landfall on a rocky beach, they find their conditions are only marginally improved. This continent, apparently abandoned because of failed terraforming efforts, has little in terms of resources, but what the survivors do find is a secret military base that certain shadowy groups have gone to great lengths to conceal. Now there is a new fear that those coming for the survivors might not be their rescuers at all, but in fact the saboteurs looking to finish the job. Meanwhile, there are those in Ky’s circle of loved ones who still believe her to be alive, and thus begins a race against time to unravel the conspiracy before more lives are lost.

Like I said, Cold Welcome was my first novel by Elizabeth Moon, so I had no background knowledge of the story or any of the characters prior to starting. But even though it is actually the first book of a new sequel series to Vatta’s War, I still found it perfectly accessible as a newcomer to the world. The protagonist Ky hails from a powerful family that runs a large interstellar shipping corporation. Seeking a life outside Vatta Enterprises, however, she had enrolled in the Spaceforce Academy, only to be forced to resign and driven back to captaining an old trade ship for the family business. As luck would have it though, the military training she received came in handy during the war that followed, and she was able to bring victory to her side. All this was revealed organically in the brief introduction with no need for any awkward info-dumping, and soon the story was drawing me deeper into the drama and action.

Personally, I love sci-fi survival stories. They pit characters against the harsh environment—not an enemy you can just shoot. Ky’s shuttle ends up crashing into a vast ocean in subzero temperatures, and from there it’s just one disaster after another as Moon throws all kinds of dangers at our characters, from failing equipment to shark attacks. Often, survival stories also go hand in hand with space disasters, so as a bonus you get a good mix of thrills and suspense. But above all, I enjoy reading about the courage and resourcefulness of those who find themselves in a tight spot, and tales of group survival are even more interesting because of the different personalities and social interactions. And in the case of Ky’s group, tensions climb even higher when she starts suspecting a traitor in their midst.

What follows is a tale of adventure, but also a mystery as Ky struggles to keep everyone alive while attempting to root out their saboteur. I thought she was an amazing character who was intelligent, capable, but also wise enough to know she does not have all the answers. One of her first acts, which raised my esteem of her even more, was to learn more about her fellow survivors and take in account all of their skills and knowledge. They say that a good leader knows how to lead, but also knows when to follow, which is a principle Ky subscribes to as she defers to those who know more than her in certain areas. I love the sections where she attempts to keep the group running like well-oiled machine, relying on the routine of duty to distract themselves from their predicament. This is, after all, a military science fiction story as much as it is a tale of survival.

Why do I love Mil Sci-fi? Well, action and political intrigue are very good incentives, but I was also pleased to find that Cold Welcome encompassed all that and a whole lot more. It’s always nice to get something unexpected, even better when the surprise turns out to be so much fun, and after this book I can’t wait to try even more by Elizabeth Moon.

Audiobook Comments: I was lucky enough to receive the audiobook of Cold Welcome for review, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narration by Brittany Pressley, if not phenomenal, was well done and completely satisfactory. Overall I have no real issues with the production and I would recommend it!

[Karen’s Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read the Vatta's War series and even longer for the prequels, but I slipped right back into Elizabeth Moon's universe like a pair of favorite slippers.

In Cold Welcome we find Ky heading back to her home planet when her shuttle is sabotaged and Ky and the other passengers find themselves stranded in the polar regions of the planet.

I've always loved Moon's military in space, but military trying to survive the elements was my favorite yet! All the twists and turns of each reveal had me reading far into the night.

Interspersed with Ky's adventures were the Vatta family's perspective of trying to find Ky and not knowing if she had even survived. Enter Rafe, and new plots on the Vatta family and you have a very entertaining story.

I am looking forward to book 2 of Vatta's Peace to see how Ky and Rafe fare in their next adventure. The premise of what's coming sounds very promising.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an ARC of this book!

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read all of Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta’s War series. Moon is an award-winning author of sci-fi and military speculative fiction. The Vatta’s War series is set way into the future far from this solar system.

When we first meet “Ky” Vatta, in Trading in Danger, she has lost her place at the prestigious Space Academy on the planet of Slotter Key and disgraced herself and her family, a rich and successful group of space traders. (Leave now if you are unfamiliar with her backstory.) In the course of the Vatta’s War series she becomes a military hero who saves many systems from being overwhelmed by a tyrant. That saga started slowly and this one may have the same arc of action.

Until the opening of Cold Welcome (a title that has several meanings), she had never returned to Slotter Key. Now, family business and the planet’s desire to honor “Admiral Vatta” has pressured her to return. Once she deigns to do so, Admiral Vatta finds herself a victim of an assassination attempt that has her and those who were accompanying her planetside crashing into the sea and then being adrift with little hope for a swift rescue. While this is going on, we learn a lot about her current and past relationships and the skills she brings to the survival effort. (In a strange way it brought back scenes from Hitchcock’s movie, Lifeboat.)

All the Vatta women are strong and smart and able to handle a crisis. Here is a description, post-crisis, that will illustrate this: “Stella dressed, including her everyday body armor, picked up the always-packed duffel, and added lounge clothes for the trip itself, her makeup case, the gas mask, the gun, and IDs. She notified the office that her assistant would need to come, assess the damage, and arrange repairs. She learned that the crew was already aboard the courier, readying for the flight, and would contact her in the next few minutes. She checked what she had against the list in her implant, then stepped carefully back into the bathroom to pick up the box of quick-masks and the rest of the ammunition, including the half-spent magazine. As she walked toward the bedroom door, she checked herself in the mirror. Her face showed nothing of what had happened; nothing marred her appearance, her clothes, her small luggage. Aunt Grace would approve.”

There are nested plots affecting Ky, the Vattas, Slotter Key, ISC and the Vatta “empire.” Moon has constructed a situation where people who could help resolve these issues are not able to communicate easily (or at all) with each other. One of Moon’s “gifts” has been to be able to create human situations (by which I mean she uses standard human issues of loyalty, inquisitiveness, jealousy, ingenuity, discouragement) with future tech and military strategy. By doing so, the reader finds it very easy to get immersed in the speculative future because the characters are acting in very familiar ways.

This is not the book you should start with if you are interested in the series. Moon gives us a good summary of what has happened but it isn’t enough to fully appreciate this volume. For those who are conversant with the Vatta’s War characters and plots, this book doesn’t have that feel until a good 150 or so pages are turned. Very few of the plot lines are completely resolved in this novel, so it is less than satisfying--- Unless, you take the longer view that Moon is back creating more Ky Vatta novels for us to enjoy.

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 3 out of 5]

After all these years, I had really high hopes for this story. All our favorite characters are back (if they're alive), and the setting is quite intriguing. Ky Vatta continues to be a magician up against insane challenges.

But this ends up being a shaggy dog story, with one challenge after another, mysteries unresolved, and the abrupt ending pushing us toward a sequel. Yes it's implied by the #1 in the title, but still, this ending is almost a cliff-hanger.

I have enjoyed all of E Moon's scifi books, and I will read the next in this series, but I am feeling a bit let down by this one.

[The Captain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys! This is the first book of a military sci-fi duology called Vatta's Peace. The duology follows the 5 book Vatta's War series. If ye are not already familiar with the Vatta's War series, I would not begin here. I have read this story before but was extremely excited when I found out there was an audiobook version. I absolutely loved listening to it.

In this novel, the systems should be at peace as the interplanetary conflict has ended. Ky is headed to her home planet to deal with family business affairs. A straightforward trip ends up sabotaged when the shuttle crashes. Ky uses her intelligence and grit to survive.

Kylara Vatta is a great character to root for. One of the best things about both series is watching Ky's progression and character development. I also enjoy other characters like cousin Stella and Aunt Grace. Additionally, the author has twists to the story that seem so realistic. People die. Artic weather sucks. Rescue takes a long, long time. Even in times of crisis, personalities clash. I really do enjoy survival stories.

There are several small issues with the novel. There are a couple of plot points that are solved easily. The novel ends on a cliff hanger. And the people behind the island's secrets are not really explained in this book. To get full story, ye need to read the next book.

I don't remember everything that happens in book 2 but I hope Tantor Audio has the conclusion to the duology. I need to refresh my memory of what happens next. Arrrrr!

I received a copy of the audiobook from Tantor Audio in exchange for me honest musings.

*************************

Ahoy there me mateys! This here be a combined review of the Vatta’s Peace duology. While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the Vatta’s War series and ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

Ye think I would have enough of Ky Vatta after readin’ the 5 books in the Vatta’s War series. Well no, I wanted more! Luckily for me this companion series exists. Ever wonder what happens to the Admiral when war is over? Then this be for ye!

I loved book 1 so much plus there was a crazy cliffhanger so I just leapt straight into the remainder of the story. And was very satisfied by what I got.

This story follows Ky as she goes back to her home planet to quickly take care of some business and return to the fleet. Only she never gets to her destination. Sabotage finds her stranded in arctic conditions with a very small band of survivors. I adore survival stories especially when it involves treacherous seas, islands, and people! This aspect was me favourite part. I thought how the author chose to portray the timeline of the survival story was particularly lovely. The only minor quibble was the “rescue” was a little anti-climatic.

But of course after the survivors are saved, the pace gears back up. I certainly did not expect what happened to Ky and the others after that. Politics and chaos become the order of the day. It was super fun. Ky, Stella, and Grace all play their parts. And what was fascinating is that they continue to grow and change more in these two books. Like real people do. So that was fun.

While the Vatta story can end here, I will certainly take another companion series that looks into the unsolved mystery of this duology. Arrr!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the all the books in the Vatta's War series as they were released and thought the series started well but got worse as it went on. I'm pretty much convinced that Moon was losing interest in the characters and the setting as the final book was really dull, workmanlike and felt like she was just writing it to close off some story threads.

I feel this explains the seven year wait for this series, as her interest slowly swung back to this series. but in all honesty she should have left it. This is not a good book, while the premise of Ky being stranded and having to survive until she can be rescued is decent one, this is handled really badly. The setup is really weak, contrived and largely incoherent.

I'll be skipping the next book, and I'd advise anyone else to do the same for this one as well.

***SPOILERS OF FIRST CHAPTER***

As an example of what is wrong with this book, the shuttle cannot land because of a weather front. Given that is has to be fairly severe weather to stop modern aircraft, weather that interferes with craft several hundred years more advanced would have to be extreme and you'd expect people to have developed methods with their advanced technology to mitigate it, but apparently not.

Next they decide to orbit the planet a few times to wait for this weather to clear and then enter the atmosphere hundreds/thousands of miles away from their destination and slowly follow the weather front to their destination. I mean seriously WTF? These people, with their advanced technology couldn't see this weather coming and just stay on their space station until it passed, given they couldn't land anyway?

So as they slowly coast through the atmosphere they happen to pass along the coast of a continent that is described as a 'terraforming failure' that is apparently totally barren with strange electromagnetic effects etc. Clearly Moon has no concept of how climate, weather etc works. Also if this area is so dangerous which incompetent flight controller would route a flight over it and which dumb pilot would follow that flight plan?

This shuttle is then brought down by some unspecified electronic or electromagnetic effect. No weapon is mentioned at any point. (At later points in the book this effect is never mentioned or considered as a possible danger to other craft). Maybe Moon forgot that this book isn't supposed to be about wizards.

Several individuals die in the crash as a result of sabotage, the type of sabotage that would require deep and involved access to the manufacture and maintenance of personal emergency survival equipment, followed by access to the specific equipment of the shuttle in use for this transport.

After the crash the search and rescue teams (in the full knowledge that this shuttle went down due to sabotage) call off the search after 2-3 sorties and finding 1 of 4 rafts and 5 of 28 bodies. The excuse given being is essentially 'it's dangerous and they are probably dead'.

*** End spoilers ***

The lazy plotting, and incoherent actions continue like this pretty much throughout the book. The 'conspiracy' they are up against is presented as being so powerful and everyone is so scared to move against it openly that you really wonder how Moon plans her characters, as she has other characters talk about how formidable they are, even as their actions are cowardly, weak and ineffective.

I struggled through to the end of this book, though on finishing it I was just left with the question, why did I bother?

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A return to Vatta's series, but this time, not as a hero, but to a place... with a cold welcome. :)

All said, she's crashed and presumed dead with some she can call friends, and others, not so much. It's a fine line for a mil-SF and much more character-driven than most. All said, it's good competence porn and a pleasing re-entry into the series. She was the hero in the previous, and that hasn't changed so much here, but she's definitely in enemy territory again.

Worth the read.



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

Arctunn.com

[Deborah Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Moon writes extraordinary military fiction. It’s not normally one of my favorite subgenres, except when she writes it. I love how intelligent she is about the strengths of the military culture and how characters fit and don’t fit into it. When combined with real (as opposed to cartoonish, cardboard) threats from within and without the organization, fascinating cultures and even more intriguing characters, the result is a story that grabs me and doesn’t let go until the final page. I also love that her characters have to make real choices, and not just once and for all, but have to re-examine those decisions in light of consequences. I don’t mean second-guessing, for Moon infuses her military characters with a healthy respect for the necessity of commitment and the paralyzing effects of self doubt. Her skill at phrasing a story means that her novels, even those marked as sequels, can be read as independent entry-points (“gateway drugs” to her series). Dive in anywhere; you’ll soon get your bearings and devour the rest.

Cold Welcome is the most recent installment of Moon’s “Vatta” series (which is itself a spin-off of other, previous series). Moon weaves in the backstory with nary a bump or blip: the short version is that our intrepid heroine, having weathered a series of attacks on her wealthy family, put together a space peacekeeping fleet and become admiral of same, returns home. That’s when the fun starts, for when the shuttle on which she, her aide, and various members of the planetary forces are traveling is sabotaged, they land near the arctic zone, in the ocean, just off the coast of a barren island, with winter setting in. Ky Vatta doesn’t have arctic survival training, but she has something even more valuable: the ability to quickly assess a situation, determine relative risk, prioritize needs, recruit manpower and expertise, and generally keep folks alive one decision at a time. She does this without threats, wheedling, lying, or other forms of manipulation so common among politicians. Command is what she knows, and others follow her because the only way they’re going to survive is through coordinated, cooperative effort. Their situation is so dire, and the threats from bomb, poisoning, drowning, hypothermia, starvation and so forth are so extreme, there is no room for discussion and compromise, or divided leadership. In this sense, the story isn’t so much military science fiction as a fascinating exploration of hierarchical decision-making in an immediately life-threatening situation. Sometimes we need to sit down together, listen to each person’s opinion, and collectively strive for unity. Sometimes our physical survival depends on delegating authority to a reasonably savvy person capable of making fast decisions.

While all the fast and furious action is taking place, not to mention the mystery of who sabotaged the shuttle and why, Ky Vatta stands out as a terrifyingly intelligent, capable, and compassionate person. I can hardly wait to see what adventures she tackles next!

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story wasn’t quite what I had expected. To begin with it was quite interesting, but after a while I just kept wondering when the author was going to end the ‘disaster at sea’ scenario and move on to something more interesting.

As the story progressed it just became more and more unbelievable. This is a world with faster than light space travel, how are they unable to conduct a simple rescue?
Even after just a few days they have decided they are all dead and they can’t be bothered to search for them. This is the Grand Admiral, the most important person in their universe, but no, she’s dead lets forget about her!!!!! Why haven’t they got every military shuttle and plane searching the area?
Even worse, when she is found they decide the weather is too bad to rescue them, yet the survivors were able to survive and move around in the same weather. A civilisation that has FTL travel can’t land a VTOL shuttle on a snow covered airstrip ?
My problem with this, is I get annoyed that the author couldn’t be bothered to think of a more believable way of constructing the story, which then means I’m already ill disposed towards the rest of the book.

Having given up on Ky and cancelled the search, the story then splits into two. Ky tries to survive and explore the wasteland where they have been marooned, meanwhile her lover Rafe comes looking for her. Unfortunately this part of the book becomes quite tedious very quickly, it’s full of too much inconsequential detail and it takes hundreds of pages to get nowhere.

The end of the book does improve as the action and pace of the story picks up, until we get to a rather pathetic and contrived ending that is obviously meant to get you to buy the next book..

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good Military SiFi book. Good characters and plot made this a fun and interesting read, Recommended

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read the Vatta’s War series and enjoyed it. I just discovered Elizabeth Moon has come out with an addition called Vatta’s Peace. "Cold Welcome" is the first book in the new series.

Kylara Vatta is a Grand Admiral now and is returning to visit her home planet of Slatter’s Key. Instead, her shuttle is sabotaged. Vatta and crew are stranded in the icy waters of the South Polar Sea. The story then changes to one of survival. This is a much different situation than I was expecting from a science fiction story.

The book is well written. The characters are intriguing. The plotting is great and the story is realistic. I remember Aunt Gracie and her fruit cakes from the first series. She is back in this story. The story has lots of intrigue and suspense. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is fourteen hours long. Brittany Pressley does a good job narrating the story. Pressley is a singer, songwriter and voice- over artist. She has won several earphone awards for audiobook narration.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book six of the Vatta series, even though it says it is book one. Or, more accurately, this is the start of a new series, Vatta’s Peace, which continues the 5 book series Vatta’s War. Unlike some series that switch names/start anew, this specific series continues with the same main characters. I can think of, basically, two reasons why the series went from ‘Vatta’s War’ to ‘Vatta’s Peace’, and those two reasons are: the first series had little time in between books – Vatta’s Peace starts ‘years’ (unspecified) later; plus, the second reason, the first book in the Vatta’s Peace series was published slightly less than 10 years after the last book in Vatta’s War. Peace and War? Is that a reason? Well . . . it is somewhat misleading – the Vatta family still faces external conflict and something of a war is continuing. It has been years since ‘major conflict’, but those years occur between the series, not overlap this series here.

As with the prior books in the Vatta multi-series, there are multiple main characters, and multiple points of view in this book here. Just like in the prior series, none of the ‘other side’ are prominent characters, though, just like in the prior series, they occasionally have their thoughts expressed from their point of view. Briefly. The main characters in this go around: Grand Admiral Ky Vatta; CEO (elect) Stella Vatta (smaller role); Rector Grace Vatta (Rector being what someone in the USA would recognize as ‘Defense Minister' ETA: bah. Ever have those days where you think one thing and type another? I meant 'Secretary of Defense' not 'Defense Minister'. pfft. Though many other countries around the world use Defense Minister); Sergeant Major MacRoberts; CEO Rafe something-or-other; and, as mentioned, a few others get turns at the POV wheel.

The story? The story opens with a big giant plot hole, but let’s move beyond that: Ky Vatta has returned to Slotter Key for the first time in many years – because the family business needs her on hand for the changing of the CEO – from Stella’s Mother (Helen I believe), to Stella. Which is vaguely confusing since the prior series seemed to be heading towards Stella taking over the entire enterprise with a very last minute conversation between Grace and Helen wherein Grace basically told Helen to stop being a cry-baby and help with the company (though that did not necessarily mean be CEO or acting CEO). Since I’ve already side-tracked myself, the giant plot hole is the part where Ky did not need to be on hand, physically, for the CEO title to pass from her father to . . . well, the people in between her father and Stella (during the conflict in the prior series, there were basically two CEO’s, one local to Slotter Key, one for the rest of the Universe, because Slotter Key had been cut off, at least communication, from the rest of the universe The prior series ended with a certain fight between the CEO’s for sole CEO title). And then, in-between the two Vatta series, Stella’s mother, Helen, was (and still is) the CEO. Ky was, again, not required to be on hand when Helen took over – and, unlike the prior situation involving Stella and other guy, communication with Slotter Key had been reestablished by the time Helen took over. *shrugs* Eh, whatever. Didn’t need to be on hand before now, has to be on hand now (and yes, I do recall that some company shares were changing hands).

To restart the ‘story’ segment: For the first time in many years, Ky Vatta has returned home. She’s there for the Vatta Enterprise’s changing of the CEO. While in the shuttle-craft from orbit to planet – the shuttle-craft crashes. The book then proceeds to record Ky’s attempts to keep herself and the other shuttle passengers (about 20, 26 people) alive. While also hopping around to other locations and other characters.

The book, unfortunately, was something of a struggle to get through. Though I did – and was relatively happy with everything . . . all the way up to the conclusion. Which kind of pissed me off and made me feel vaguely rage-y. For many reasons. Rage-y enough to desire taking on a goose. And as many, I’m sure, know, Geese are savage stubborn, aggressive, assholes.

Rating: 3.45

January 18 2018

[Frank Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good if not better than any of the original 5 books. Vatta's Peace as you might guess, is not particularly peaceful. I quite like how Moon doesn't waste any time dragging out scenarios - foul play suspected, foul play detected, foul play confronted, foul play resolved.

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

a provisional pretty good but not excellent opinion as this is the first book of a new Vatta series which seems to change tack (at least based on the direction it seems to send the series - the ending being a big tbc) from a mil sf (fleets, space battles) space opera to something like an adventure/universe mysteries (long vanished civilizations, personal/smaller group adventures not in a definite military organization context) type of space opera - though the novel takes place mostly on Ky's home planet (and around it) but both its main twists and the ending hints go toward the above

while a page turner, the separation between the main characters (without giving more than the blurb, the novel is about Ky and company desperate survival story in quite inhospitable reaches of Slotter Key and the search/rescue operation conducted by Stella and eventually Rafe) and the new orientation of the novel (if you like reading about the polar adventures of Amundsen, Scott and such or about Captain Bligh's Bounty mutiny survival at sea you will devour this) left me a little disengaged from the story as there was little doubt how the main story line of the novel (the survival) will end though as noted there are some cool twists which will most likely form the content of further volumes

overall, good but needs strong follow up to get to the original series heights so will re-read when volume 2 is out

[MadProfessah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Elizabeth Moon and I was quite impressed.

I am aware that COLD WELCOME is the first book in a new series called Vatta’s Peace featuring Moon’s popular character Kylara Vatta, who is the star of the five books which make up the Vatta’s War series. That series is also on my TBR list but I didn’t feel like making a 5-book commitment so this book seemed like a good place to start instead. One problem with this idea is that the series is not finished yet. BOOK 2 in Vatta’s Peace was only released last week (February 2018).

These books are definitely space opera, with familiar elements: space ships, interesting technological developments (cranial implants which allow direct wireless communication with others and interfaces with computers, genotype and phenotype treatments which allow radical body changes and FTL travel), humanity existing on multiple planets and a military milieu.

In some cases the military elements are a little bit too prominent, but not as overwhelmingly familiar as I experienced in David Weber’s Honorverse series (my bigger complaint about that series is that it seemed to me that it’s basically just 18th century naval stories moved into space, with the addition of potentially sentient cats). It is very clear that Moon has a lot of military experience and one of the high points is seeing the internal monologue of someone who is responsible for leading a military unit and the issues and concerns that arise.

It’s very cool to have a female protagonist in this role and I very much enjoyed spending time with Ky Vatta in COLD WELCOME. Although I did find it odd that for what is ostensibly a military space opera novel we spend most of our time on a cold barren part of the planet (Milksland) instead of in space. However, the other characters in the book, her great-aunt (who is the head of the military on Slotter Key, the Vatta home planet), her sister Stella (who runs the huge Vatta interstellar shipping conglomerate) and even her erstwhile boyfriend Rafe Dunbarger are ALL far less interesting. Another curious aspect of the book is the decided lack of curiosity that Ky displays at the discovery of materials, machines and other artifacts clearly left behind by intelligent aliens. She is always much more focused on her mission of saving her troops. Anyway I do look forward to seeing how Moon develops this new series.

Overall, I would recommend this book to other space opera fans who like the work of David Weber, Peter F. Hamilton and Richard K. Morgan.

RATING: 4+ stars.

[Judy Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Elizabeth Moon's writing absolutely latched onto my reader's soul when I started reading the Paksenarrion series. I've read all of those books and some of them more than once. I was aware of the Vatta's War series but have not read any of those five books. My interest perked up about ten levels when I saw that NetGalley was offering a digital galley of "Into the Fire", book two in the Vatta's Peace series. It was time for me to get off my duff and read "Cold Welcome", first book in the "Vatta's Peace series. I was definitely not disappointed.

I am totally amazed with the way Elizabeth Moon can change her author's "voice" from the epic fantasy series around Paksenarrion and her world as compared to Ky Vatta, founder and commander of Space Defense Force, originally from the planet Slotter Key. This is a world very much like our own but with tempting tidbits of technology that allow for the kinds of human enhancements we would all like to be able to take advantage of. Skullphone anyone? Ky is going back to her home planet to make some speeches and shake some hands because she evidently saved the world in the Vatta's War series (just gotta read those books now!) when the space shuttle she is traveling in has an emergency. The crash is going to happen in the ocean near a segment of land which has been abandoned and is known as a "terraforming failure" where the cold temperatures and foul weather makes it uninhabitable for humans or animals. Simply surviving the splash-down will take all their knowledge and resources.

This was a very exciting, action packed story that moved quickly through all the survival phases for the people who made it through the shuttle crash. It was obvious at times that this story had a lot of history behind it because of the references to people and events which had already taken place. All of those things were from the Vatta's War novels and were easily assimilated when combined with what was happening in this novel. There were some issues left unresolved but all in all this was a superb 4.5 star rating book for me. I'm definitely ready for the next one in the series.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got pretty obsessed reading this book, which is always the sign of a book I'm really enjoying. I am mostly familiar with Elizabeth Moon from her Deeds of Paksenarrion series, which I loved - and I had never read the original series featuring Kylara Vatta (although I just bought the first one). This book stood on it's own fine - I can tell there is a lot of history that I don't know about yet, but I never felt lost because I hadn't read the previous books.

One of the things I've liked most about Elizabeth Moon's books is her ability to write women that are believable strong military leaders, and Ky Vatta is no exception. Although this book is science fiction, I'd say it is mostly a survival story - a shuttle is brought down via sabotage and Ky needs to help herself and the passengers survive under extremely harsh circumstances, and with the thread of further betrayal.

Anyway, I enjoyed it immensely and I am definitely starting the previous series soon.

[eyes.2c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Moon is one of my fav authors. Great to see more of Ky Vatta and associates in a new series.
Love that Aunt Gracie and her fruit cakes. Political plots, intrigue and surprises. Loved this return to Vatta's world.

[Cheryl]

I (unexpectedly) enjoyed the Vatta's War series. But not the politics and the scheming. So when I saw that there was a lot of that here, and that this begins another series, I decided to do something radical. I read about 1/2 of this book - the 1/2 that concerned Ky and the other survivors. I skipped all the chapters with Rafe, Grace, Stella, etc.

Good read, considering. Still, the best read on survival in arctic conditions is a true story: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.

And, no, I'm afraid I'm not going to make time for the rest of the Vatta's Peace series.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that ended with a cliffhanger, which I'm not enjoying at this time. This is the second book I've read recently that does so. The story does drag a bit while they are in the cave/station, but otherwise I enjoyed it. My one complaint is it took them forever to reach the outside when they went through the tunnels and it seemed it took the baddies only a day even with self-locking/closing doors and the last door being extremely thick. How can the baddies be able to easily explode through doors that thick in mere minutes? For as long as the journey took Ky and the survivors (way too long in my opinion), the ease with which the villains went through them like tissue paper was unrealistic.

[keikii Eats Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

To read more reviews like this, check out my blog keikii eats books!

Quote:

"How did you know—?”
“I didn’t,” Ky said. “But I knew we had to move. If we had to pile rocks with our bare hands up here to make a shelter, we had to move—there was no more food—”
“I know. I know, but—you must be a very lucky person.”

Review:
Cold Welcome was illogical on just about every front. I wondered what could possibly justify starting a new series in a world she finished nine years prior. Turns out not a whole lot.

The whole book was Kylara Vatta getting lost. On a planet. And no one could get to her. For 200 something days. On a planet. When they have spaceships. Because of weather. On a planet. When they fight battles in space. With no communications. On a planet. When they can send a message across interplanetary distances. On a planet. With weather, during winter, in a polar region. Which no one there has any training for.

...

None of this made a lick of sense. I cannot fathom why weather would stop people from rescuing someone on a planet, weather or no weather, when they have spaceship technology. The amount of setup Elizabeth Moon had to make to justify this entire plot was unreal. And it just didn't work, because I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to make myself believe it would work.

And the thing is, Cold Welcome could have taken this series in an entirely different direction than Vatta's War went, and made it work. In fact, Elizabeth Moon started to do that. Yet this interesting possible new direction only showed up about 75-80% of the way through the book. Which meant most of this book was seriously setup for this ridiculous scenario, survival in adverse conditions, and a lot of hand wringing from the sidelines.

Cold Welcome just tried to repeat the formula that worked in Vatta's War. Sabotage, enemies that are close to you working against your interest, shadow groups no one knows about working against the interests of Vatta and Slotter Key. Lots of side characters that show up to do not a whole lot except provide a different perspective. Grace Vatta being a badass (okay I liked that part). Everything that can go wrong does go wrong but everyone important comes out the other side mostly intact.

And honestly I could have forgiven everything I've said until now. Sure, Cold Welcome was boring and not a lot happen and didn't make sense. The ending is what I can't forgive. Elizabeth Moon gave so many hints about what the series could be like in the next book it might as well have been a sledgehammer. But it's like at the last moment she changed her mind and instead of going the interesting route, she chose the boring route. Where we're back to Ky Vatta worried about finances, worried about who is out to get her, and worried about where we are going in the future.

[Kris Sellgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold Welcome is an entertaining introduction to Elizabeth Moon's new series, Vatta's Peace. Moon chronicled Ky Vatta's rise from disgraced ensign to admiral of an interstellar fleet in her previous science fiction series Vatta's War. Here, Ky returns to her home planet for a family meeting, but her shuttle is is sabotaged and crashes in the ocean off an uninhabited icy continent. This exciting adventure story alternates between the struggles of Ky and her fellow passengers to survive, and her family's desperate search for her despite the shuttle being officially declared as lost. The plot twists and turns, through massive polar storms, interplanetary intrigues, local politics, fascinating mysteries, betrayal, and treason. I give this four instead of five stars only because Ky never seems to show any weaknesses or flaws. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to the next in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley.com for providing an advance review copy in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Harald Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall the writing was better than the previous series, but:

- I never once thought any of the main characters were in any danger
- there's been a major conspiracy for hundreds of years and yet they're completely incompetent
- Deus ex machina (possibly literally)
- an abrupt ending with no suspense and that leaves all the interesting questions for the sequel. All of them.

I guess I expected more?

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing premise and entertaining read. 3.5 stars.

[Clyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ky Vatta is back! And she is just as tough a protagonist as ever.

[Ayse · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Spoilers ahead!)
Wonderful sci-fi. I have been reading Elizabeth Moon since I was a teenager and I love all the Vatta related stories. Especially the ones about Ky. One of the first books I read by Moon was trading in danger and I loved the perspective of quasi military yet commercial shipping. it felt like the merchant marines in space. this latest installment was also excellent and I look forward to the next one in the series. three points of contention for me with this one. 1. Ky really is the Mary sue of this world -- she is the most accomplished, most grounded, most unflappable person, its almost impossible to believe that she was kicked out of the academy for a mistake. She never makes mistakes! There is nothing she can't figure out or solve, she never missteps. I am not a fan of the anti-hero or grimdark type work, but a little more reality in her limitless abilities might be nice. She almost completely saved everyone at the end -- the characters even joke about how she could have captured the ship after killing all the bad guys and left the planet and saved them having to rescue her. She was literally 5 mins from doing that when the cavalry arrived. 2. the magic technology both by her boyfriend and the alien tech were so conveniently helpful that it was ridiculous. I liked the descriptions of the struggles they endured before making it to the secret army base -- those seemed real if a little over the top. but the level of conveniently helpful tech that can do everything, including warn them when the bad guys are following even though they can't understand the language was all a little too much. 3. the ending pissed me off -- the universe wide conspiracy, being ousted from her own fleet, being sued for not managing to save everyone, being "impoverished" even though they are literally the wealthiest people in the universe -- it was all ridiculous. Yes there were loose ends at the end of the book about the conspiracy, but I feel like I would have been just as happy with her and rafe setting off as independent agents to figure out the alien tech without the drama of being too poor to be able to buy a ship.

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the Vatta's War series in years, but I slipped into Moon's setting with utter ease. The tension kicks in right away. I raced through this book in a little over a day; I was impatient to find out what would happen to Ky. This is space opera, but foremost, it's a survival story--Ky's shuttle to her homeworld is sabotaged and forced into the frigid sea near an unpopulated continent deemed a terra forming failure. Of course, all is not what it seems. Ky must contend with the ocean, starvation, cold, and betrayal, even as Rafe and the Vatta family cling to the hope that Ky somehow survived, even as winter sets in.

My one gripe is that the ending felt abrupt... but then, I could probably gripe that the book ended at all. I'm ready and eager to read more!

[Elizabeth Dragina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a little bit for me to actually start caring about the characters (it probably would have helped if I read the companion series first), but once the action picked up I struggled to put it down.

The world building could use some help or maybe I could read the companion series. 😅

The plot was well formed and I got the impression that this isn’t YA (I totally thought it was at first), while nothing happened sexually mature topics were discussed and the overall tone of the story screamed ADULT FICTION.

Anyho it was an adventurous, mysterious ride.

(I had a difficult time picking out the theme or meaning behind certain things tho). #disappointment #adultfic haha

[Paraphrodite · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

Ky goes home to settle her share of Vatta business with her cousin and was also to participate in homecoming victory celebrations. The shuttle that was to take her down to her home planet was sabotaged and everyone on board was presumed dead. However, with her usual luck, Ky not only survived but discovered an unoccupied but fully functional military base in a region of the planet that was declared unliveable hundreds of years ago. It would appeared that someone has some long-term secretive plans and will do everything to make sure Ky and her fellow survivors don't make it out...

I found this quite a reverting tale of survival. But be advised that the mystery about the secret military base is not anywhere near resolved at the end of this book.

[Nino · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interstelarni Glembajevi ali ne toliko uzbudljivi. Meh.