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Vatta's Peace #2
Into the Fire
In this new military sci-fi thriller from the author of Cold Welcome, space fleet commander Kylara Vatta uncovers deadly secrets on her latest mission--shedding light on her own family's past.
As Admiral Kylara Vatta learned after she and a shipfull of strangers were marooned on an inhospitable arctic island, the secrets she and her makeshift crew uncovered were ones someone was ready to kill to keep hidden. Now, the existence of the mysterious arctic base has been uncovered, but much of the organization behind it still lurks in the shadows. And it is up to the intrepid Ky to force the perpetrators into the light, and finally uncover decades worth of secrets--some of which lie at the very heart of her biggest family tragedy.
As Admiral Kylara Vatta learned after she and a shipfull of strangers were marooned on an inhospitable arctic island, the secrets she and her makeshift crew uncovered were ones someone was ready to kill to keep hidden. Now, the existence of the mysterious arctic base has been uncovered, but much of the organization behind it still lurks in the shadows. And it is up to the intrepid Ky to force the perpetrators into the light, and finally uncover decades worth of secrets--some of which lie at the very heart of her biggest family tragedy.
462 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2018
246 people are currently reading
1781 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Moon
138 books2,633 followersElizabeth 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.
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.
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February 22, 2018
2.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/02/22/...
Believe me, no one is more surprised and disappointed than I am in my rating. I loved the first book in the series, Cold Welcome. When I found out that Into the Fire was supposed to be a direct sequel, exploring the aftermath of Ky Vatta’s extraordinary tale of survival on an icy inhospitable island and her subsequent discovery of secret arctic facility, I was excited. However, it turned out to be very different; rather than carrying on with the adventure narrative, the story turned towards politics, history, and more family drama instead.
Following the events of Cold Welcome, Ky has returned to her home planet of Slotter Key, hoping to bring all her findings to light, including the truth of the assassination attempt on her life and the secret base she found on that remote island. But those who want to keep her quiet also have a long reach, and before long, Ky finds herself embroiled in a vast conspiracy against her family. All her carefully gathered evidence disappears, and the survivors she fought alongside with are captured, drugged, or silenced. Someone with immense power in her own government is hell bent on stopping her, even if it means going after those she cares about. Though the odds are not on her side, Ky must use all her remaining resources to outwit the plotters and expose the shadowy forces aligned against her.
While I doubt not having read Vatta’s War (Moon’s other series set in the same universe) impacted my enjoyment of Cold Welcome, something tells me the same cannot be said for Into the Fire. This sequel delves deeply into the Vatta family history, especially when it comes to the checkered past of Grace Vatta, Slotter Key’s Rector of Defense. There is clearly a bigger story here behind her relationship with Ky, which is only lightly covered here because the narrative seems to assume the reader is aware of all the details already. That said, I’m not holding this against the book for something I should have been prepared for, but for me it was still a disappointing change of pace following the action-oriented and suspenseful survival adventure that was the first book.
I was also left feeling a bit dissatisfied with the smaller role Ky had in this book. Not only do we shift the focus from a survival adventure to a more political and bureaucratic drama, our protagonist also relinquishes much of her page time so that the story could explore a few other characters like Grace and Stella instead. Though I enjoyed Moon’s characterizations for the most part, especially her strong and independent women, the plot’s themes of domestic matters and government conspiracies were still a far cry from the heart-stopping excitement I felt from reading Cold Welcome. In truth, I spent of most of the book trying to stay focused, an effort made harder by the fact I found some of the plot threads confusing and difficult to follow.
That said, Into the Fire is not a bad book; it was simply not at all what I expected, though this is through no fault of the novel or the author. There’s still plenty of suspense to be had, but rather than your hectic space battles and harrowing tales of survival, we’re dealing with action and drama set in a completely different arena. Those who have read Vatta’s War will probably appreciate this deeper look into the family history and relationships between Ky and those close to her, but if enjoyed Cold Welcome and were expecting this sequel to be similar, then you’ll be disappointed.
At the end of the day, I still want to read more by Elizabeth Moon because I think she’s a great writer with exceptional talent in characterization and story craft, but I confess that I was perhaps a bit too hasty in jumping into this book. For the next one I’ll probably wait to find out more about the story’s themes and topics before picking it up, or wait until I’ve gone back to read the first five books in Vatta’s War before continuing.
Audiobook Comments: Brittany Pressley reprises her role as narrator for the audio edition of this second installment of Vatta’s Peace, once again delivering a solid performance. While I did not enjoy the story of Into the Fire as much as I did Cold Welcome, Pressley’s narration itself was exemplary. In fact, this dialogue-heavy novel probably presented an even greater challenge than the first book, but she pulled it off flawlessly.
Believe me, no one is more surprised and disappointed than I am in my rating. I loved the first book in the series, Cold Welcome. When I found out that Into the Fire was supposed to be a direct sequel, exploring the aftermath of Ky Vatta’s extraordinary tale of survival on an icy inhospitable island and her subsequent discovery of secret arctic facility, I was excited. However, it turned out to be very different; rather than carrying on with the adventure narrative, the story turned towards politics, history, and more family drama instead.
Following the events of Cold Welcome, Ky has returned to her home planet of Slotter Key, hoping to bring all her findings to light, including the truth of the assassination attempt on her life and the secret base she found on that remote island. But those who want to keep her quiet also have a long reach, and before long, Ky finds herself embroiled in a vast conspiracy against her family. All her carefully gathered evidence disappears, and the survivors she fought alongside with are captured, drugged, or silenced. Someone with immense power in her own government is hell bent on stopping her, even if it means going after those she cares about. Though the odds are not on her side, Ky must use all her remaining resources to outwit the plotters and expose the shadowy forces aligned against her.
While I doubt not having read Vatta’s War (Moon’s other series set in the same universe) impacted my enjoyment of Cold Welcome, something tells me the same cannot be said for Into the Fire. This sequel delves deeply into the Vatta family history, especially when it comes to the checkered past of Grace Vatta, Slotter Key’s Rector of Defense. There is clearly a bigger story here behind her relationship with Ky, which is only lightly covered here because the narrative seems to assume the reader is aware of all the details already. That said, I’m not holding this against the book for something I should have been prepared for, but for me it was still a disappointing change of pace following the action-oriented and suspenseful survival adventure that was the first book.
I was also left feeling a bit dissatisfied with the smaller role Ky had in this book. Not only do we shift the focus from a survival adventure to a more political and bureaucratic drama, our protagonist also relinquishes much of her page time so that the story could explore a few other characters like Grace and Stella instead. Though I enjoyed Moon’s characterizations for the most part, especially her strong and independent women, the plot’s themes of domestic matters and government conspiracies were still a far cry from the heart-stopping excitement I felt from reading Cold Welcome. In truth, I spent of most of the book trying to stay focused, an effort made harder by the fact I found some of the plot threads confusing and difficult to follow.
That said, Into the Fire is not a bad book; it was simply not at all what I expected, though this is through no fault of the novel or the author. There’s still plenty of suspense to be had, but rather than your hectic space battles and harrowing tales of survival, we’re dealing with action and drama set in a completely different arena. Those who have read Vatta’s War will probably appreciate this deeper look into the family history and relationships between Ky and those close to her, but if enjoyed Cold Welcome and were expecting this sequel to be similar, then you’ll be disappointed.
At the end of the day, I still want to read more by Elizabeth Moon because I think she’s a great writer with exceptional talent in characterization and story craft, but I confess that I was perhaps a bit too hasty in jumping into this book. For the next one I’ll probably wait to find out more about the story’s themes and topics before picking it up, or wait until I’ve gone back to read the first five books in Vatta’s War before continuing.
Audiobook Comments: Brittany Pressley reprises her role as narrator for the audio edition of this second installment of Vatta’s Peace, once again delivering a solid performance. While I did not enjoy the story of Into the Fire as much as I did Cold Welcome, Pressley’s narration itself was exemplary. In fact, this dialogue-heavy novel probably presented an even greater challenge than the first book, but she pulled it off flawlessly.
February 7, 2018
Elizabeth Moon did it again in her 2nd book in the Vatta’s Peace series. She once again delivered the goods and created another book that kept me glued to the pages far past my bedtime! In Line of Fire, Ky Vatta once again proves why she’s such a kick ass heroine in this sci-fi military space opera!
I’ve been reading Elizabeth Moon’s books since the 90’s when I discovered the Serrano series. I apparently have a love for military sci-fi set in space and/or other planets.
In Line of Fire, Ky discovers that the rest of the survivors of the shipwreck from Cold Welcome (1st book of Vatta’s Peace) are being held prisoner. With the aid of her fiancé Rafe, her cousin Stella, and her Great Aunt Grace, Ky does anything and everything to plan to rescue her fellow survivors. And who was responsible and why?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book (and series) and I hope there’s another waiting in the wings! Everything seems to be tied up pretty neatly by the end so I’m crossing my fingers that Ky and her family are needed again to save the day.
*Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy!*
I’ve been reading Elizabeth Moon’s books since the 90’s when I discovered the Serrano series. I apparently have a love for military sci-fi set in space and/or other planets.
In Line of Fire, Ky discovers that the rest of the survivors of the shipwreck from Cold Welcome (1st book of Vatta’s Peace) are being held prisoner. With the aid of her fiancé Rafe, her cousin Stella, and her Great Aunt Grace, Ky does anything and everything to plan to rescue her fellow survivors. And who was responsible and why?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book (and series) and I hope there’s another waiting in the wings! Everything seems to be tied up pretty neatly by the end so I’m crossing my fingers that Ky and her family are needed again to save the day.
*Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy!*
January 15, 2019
This is a continuation of the last book “Cold Welcome”. I wish Moon would keep Vatta in space where she was in the first series “Vatta’s War”. In this book we have espionage and intrigue. Vatta finds out her troops have been seized, drugged and held incommunicado as the evidence of the conspiracy against her family and Slotter Key has disappeared.
The book is well written and the plot twists and turns. Moon always creates great characters and strong women characters. The book has lots of action as well as suspense. Moon built on the Vatta family and their business as well as their roll in Slotter Key’s government. This was a hard to put down book. Looking forward to the next installment.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is fourteen hours and twenty-seven minutes. Brittany Pressley does a good job narrating the book. Pressley is an actress and an Earphone Award winning audiobook narrator.
The book is well written and the plot twists and turns. Moon always creates great characters and strong women characters. The book has lots of action as well as suspense. Moon built on the Vatta family and their business as well as their roll in Slotter Key’s government. This was a hard to put down book. Looking forward to the next installment.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is fourteen hours and twenty-seven minutes. Brittany Pressley does a good job narrating the book. Pressley is an actress and an Earphone Award winning audiobook narrator.
January 1, 2018
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Del Rey for the digital galley of this novel.
Woo-hoo! Five stars because this book was just so much fun to read. If you like space opera, this will probably be the book for you. Second in the Vatta's Peace series - after Cold Welcome - this one takes up right where that one left off except now Ky and Rafe have had a little bit of downtime from the startling events around Ky being stranded on a supposedly uninhabited continent for six months. She and Rafe are having to make alternate plans for their future because their bank accounts have been frozen. That's pretty bad, but now the bad guys have managed to bring their citizen status to the attention of the Immigration officials and they can't even leave Stella Vatta's house without risking arrest. On top of those problems Ky discovers that the military personnel stranded with her were not sent home on leave; the others are being held in appalling conditions with their survival hanging by a thread. Those are Ky's people, naturally she has to rescue them.
It is entirely possible to consider this a standalone novel, but I think you would enjoy it even more if you read Cold Comfort first. I also think I may have some sad/bad news for readers who like this series. Judging by the fact that every single loose end was tied up with a bow on it at the close of this book, plus the main characters making statements about "Vatta's Peace" as if it is an accomplished thing, this might be the last of this series. The door is always open for more, but this sure does feel *done*. I hope not. For me, this series isn't Elizabeth Moon's best work, but that's just my personal notion and it sure is enjoyable and fun to read. Here's a thought: the character of Stella Vatta made great strides in her personal growth during this book so how about a series featuring Stella? Or Grace? Or the twins?
Woo-hoo! Five stars because this book was just so much fun to read. If you like space opera, this will probably be the book for you. Second in the Vatta's Peace series - after Cold Welcome - this one takes up right where that one left off except now Ky and Rafe have had a little bit of downtime from the startling events around Ky being stranded on a supposedly uninhabited continent for six months. She and Rafe are having to make alternate plans for their future because their bank accounts have been frozen. That's pretty bad, but now the bad guys have managed to bring their citizen status to the attention of the Immigration officials and they can't even leave Stella Vatta's house without risking arrest. On top of those problems Ky discovers that the military personnel stranded with her were not sent home on leave; the others are being held in appalling conditions with their survival hanging by a thread. Those are Ky's people, naturally she has to rescue them.
It is entirely possible to consider this a standalone novel, but I think you would enjoy it even more if you read Cold Comfort first. I also think I may have some sad/bad news for readers who like this series. Judging by the fact that every single loose end was tied up with a bow on it at the close of this book, plus the main characters making statements about "Vatta's Peace" as if it is an accomplished thing, this might be the last of this series. The door is always open for more, but this sure does feel *done*. I hope not. For me, this series isn't Elizabeth Moon's best work, but that's just my personal notion and it sure is enjoyable and fun to read. Here's a thought: the character of Stella Vatta made great strides in her personal growth during this book so how about a series featuring Stella? Or Grace? Or the twins?
March 20, 2018
I think I have to give up on Elizabeth Moon. Yet again a book of Ky being blatantly a bitch to Stella and other people and always being made out to be in the right even though she never, ever gives anyone not in her command the consideration she is so insistent they give to her.
The plot was just as awkwardly paced, boring, and riddled with holes as the first book in the renewed Vatta series.
Honestly one of the biggest disappointments of 2018. I genuinely expected more of Moon, and something actually readable, but this is not that. Kylara Vatta is honestly one of the least likeable protagonists I've ever had the displeasure of reading. I'm tapping out because it can only get worse from here.
The plot was just as awkwardly paced, boring, and riddled with holes as the first book in the renewed Vatta series.
Honestly one of the biggest disappointments of 2018. I genuinely expected more of Moon, and something actually readable, but this is not that. Kylara Vatta is honestly one of the least likeable protagonists I've ever had the displeasure of reading. I'm tapping out because it can only get worse from here.
January 31, 2018
I received this book through the publisher via Netgalley.
This second book in the Vatta's Peace duology builds on the original Vatta space opera series, much in the way that Moon recently expanded her Paks books. While Into the Fire is ultimately satisfying, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the original books or the preceding one in the new set. That said, it's still a strong, enjoyable sci-fi read.
In Cold Welcome, Ky Vatta experiences a brutal return to her homeworld. Her shuttle is sabotaged, the officers poisoned, and Ky must keep the remaining crew alive at sea and on a barren continent at the edge of winter. They soon find the continent isn't so barren, but hosts a hidden military base. Clues point toward a growing rebellion within the military and broader government. At the end of the book, everyone is rescued after months of struggle. All's well, right?
Wrong. Ky finds herself embroiled in more intrigues. Her legal status is challenged and she becomes a captive in a family home. Even worse, she discovers the people who survived the ordeal with her haven't been returned to their families, but are locked up and drugged, as a faction proclaims they have a deadly contagion. Meanwhile, Ky's family is under repeated attack both physically and bureaucratically.
The first half of the book was more of a struggle for me, as Ky and many other characters were couldn't leave the house. Mind you, there was still tension, but it was more along the lines of a legal thriller with heavy sci-fi elements than the space opera/derring-do I love about the Vatta books. Once the immigration debacle is worked through, the real action of the book began and it became a faster read. The end has quite a few big surprises--which I won't reveal--but I will say that the book circles around to the very beginning of Ky Vatta's adventures in a wonderful way. She ends up where she belongs.
This second book in the Vatta's Peace duology builds on the original Vatta space opera series, much in the way that Moon recently expanded her Paks books. While Into the Fire is ultimately satisfying, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the original books or the preceding one in the new set. That said, it's still a strong, enjoyable sci-fi read.
In Cold Welcome, Ky Vatta experiences a brutal return to her homeworld. Her shuttle is sabotaged, the officers poisoned, and Ky must keep the remaining crew alive at sea and on a barren continent at the edge of winter. They soon find the continent isn't so barren, but hosts a hidden military base. Clues point toward a growing rebellion within the military and broader government. At the end of the book, everyone is rescued after months of struggle. All's well, right?
Wrong. Ky finds herself embroiled in more intrigues. Her legal status is challenged and she becomes a captive in a family home. Even worse, she discovers the people who survived the ordeal with her haven't been returned to their families, but are locked up and drugged, as a faction proclaims they have a deadly contagion. Meanwhile, Ky's family is under repeated attack both physically and bureaucratically.
The first half of the book was more of a struggle for me, as Ky and many other characters were couldn't leave the house. Mind you, there was still tension, but it was more along the lines of a legal thriller with heavy sci-fi elements than the space opera/derring-do I love about the Vatta books. Once the immigration debacle is worked through, the real action of the book began and it became a faster read. The end has quite a few big surprises--which I won't reveal--but I will say that the book circles around to the very beginning of Ky Vatta's adventures in a wonderful way. She ends up where she belongs.
February 12, 2021
On the one hand I like the ideas Elizabeth Moon comes up with, the worlds she builds, and the skillful, apparently effortless, way she tugs me along the plotline and makes me want to keep reading.
On the other I continue to be frustrated by how she rarely explores those worlds she builds in any meaningful way, when she does everything feels weirdly old-fashioned and dated with no explanation for a civilisation hundreds, maybe thousands, of years more advanced than we are, and that it's taken 2 (1.5?) series to finally get ANY proper answers about the events that forced Ky out of Spaceforce Academy in the very first chapter of Vatta's War, and even then it's only partially, with loose threads left dangling.
I think that's what really limits this to 3 stars for me. The fact that things started out in one place with one threat to be dealt with, but the story progressed and things changed, grew, more questions were raised, but at the end when that original threat was dealt with all these new issues were just left piled up and unaddressed. It makes for a very unsatisfying conclusion. I can only hope there will be at least one more book that attempts to tie everything up.
On the other I continue to be frustrated by how she rarely explores those worlds she builds in any meaningful way, when she does everything feels weirdly old-fashioned and dated with no explanation for a civilisation hundreds, maybe thousands, of years more advanced than we are, and that it's taken 2 (1.5?) series to finally get ANY proper answers about the events that forced Ky out of Spaceforce Academy in the very first chapter of Vatta's War, and even then it's only partially, with loose threads left dangling.
I think that's what really limits this to 3 stars for me. The fact that things started out in one place with one threat to be dealt with, but the story progressed and things changed, grew, more questions were raised, but at the end when that original threat was dealt with all these new issues were just left piled up and unaddressed. It makes for a very unsatisfying conclusion. I can only hope there will be at least one more book that attempts to tie everything up.
February 5, 2018
Book received from both Netgalley and Random House/Del Rey for an honest review
Two things to be noted immediately: 1) this is the second book in the Vatta Peace series, which follows the Vatta War series (with about a 5 year chronological gap between the last book in War, and first in Peace) – and yes, at the very least, book one in the Peace series needs to be read before reading this book here, and, preferably the War series; 2) only the action that started to build up near mid-point, well, more around 70% plus, kept this book from receiving a lower rating than it did.
Another thing to be noted slightly less immediately: people’s personalities change over time, that’s reasonable and expected, and several characters in this specific book showed personality changes from the prior series. One, though, seemed to have changed more than time would allow. To explain what I mean would be too spoiler-y; I’ll attempt to give a hint without spoiling stuff – there’s a scene during which Stella Vetta very reluctantly puts on body armor, she’s quite prissy about it and thinks it’s stupid to do so, then is all panic-y and oddly confused about guns (momentarily) – the problem? You know the first time Stella was meet? It probably wasn’t then, but the first time Stella and Rafe shared a scene together in this multiple series thing had Stella wearing body armor and being quite masterful with a gun and showing a weird lack of panic in a dangerous situation ().
Right, so, after all these ‘immediately’s are out of the way, what can I say about the book? *thinks*
I do not wish to give a recap of the book or anything like that, especially as this book is the second book in one series, and the . . . 8th, I think, in the extended Vatta series (combining War and Peace). So I won’t.
There are books that start strong, edge of the seat type stuff, kind of fumble around in the middle, then either have a great ending or stumble trying to find an ending. This book? Started slowly, and was somewhat tough to get into. Middle was frustrating legal and political stuff; while the end (well before the end, the end of the middle) turned up the action (which literally just means that Ky finally left the house she was in, that kind of action), and built up to an exciting near climax. Then we, the readers, had to get to Rafe and Ky stuff to close off the book. So I guess the book ended somewhat annoyingly there as well (okay, I never liked the Rafe & Ky stuff at any point in this multiple series situation and so that probably helps increase my negative feelings about this book here).
So long and short: once I got past a certain odd reluctance to dive into this book brought on by how the prior book ended (there was a glimpse of how the series might turn from there, an exploration, adventure type of glimpse, which was immediately shut down by weird legal and political stuff – picked up by the beginning of this book here), the book turned out decent, then got quite interesting and even, pardon the phrase, ‘not-put-down-able’.
Rating: 3.68
February 5 2018
Two things to be noted immediately: 1) this is the second book in the Vatta Peace series, which follows the Vatta War series (with about a 5 year chronological gap between the last book in War, and first in Peace) – and yes, at the very least, book one in the Peace series needs to be read before reading this book here, and, preferably the War series; 2) only the action that started to build up near mid-point, well, more around 70% plus, kept this book from receiving a lower rating than it did.
Another thing to be noted slightly less immediately: people’s personalities change over time, that’s reasonable and expected, and several characters in this specific book showed personality changes from the prior series. One, though, seemed to have changed more than time would allow. To explain what I mean would be too spoiler-y; I’ll attempt to give a hint without spoiling stuff – there’s a scene during which Stella Vetta very reluctantly puts on body armor, she’s quite prissy about it and thinks it’s stupid to do so, then is all panic-y and oddly confused about guns (momentarily) – the problem? You know the first time Stella was meet? It probably wasn’t then, but the first time Stella and Rafe shared a scene together in this multiple series thing had Stella wearing body armor and being quite masterful with a gun and showing a weird lack of panic in a dangerous situation ().
Right, so, after all these ‘immediately’s are out of the way, what can I say about the book? *thinks*
I do not wish to give a recap of the book or anything like that, especially as this book is the second book in one series, and the . . . 8th, I think, in the extended Vatta series (combining War and Peace). So I won’t.
There are books that start strong, edge of the seat type stuff, kind of fumble around in the middle, then either have a great ending or stumble trying to find an ending. This book? Started slowly, and was somewhat tough to get into. Middle was frustrating legal and political stuff; while the end (well before the end, the end of the middle) turned up the action (which literally just means that Ky finally left the house she was in, that kind of action), and built up to an exciting near climax. Then we, the readers, had to get to Rafe and Ky stuff to close off the book. So I guess the book ended somewhat annoyingly there as well (okay, I never liked the Rafe & Ky stuff at any point in this multiple series situation and so that probably helps increase my negative feelings about this book here).
So long and short: once I got past a certain odd reluctance to dive into this book brought on by how the prior book ended (there was a glimpse of how the series might turn from there, an exploration, adventure type of glimpse, which was immediately shut down by weird legal and political stuff – picked up by the beginning of this book here), the book turned out decent, then got quite interesting and even, pardon the phrase, ‘not-put-down-able’.
Rating: 3.68
February 5 2018
July 13, 2018
3 & 1/2 stars
In the previous book of this new series featuring Kylara Vatta, we saw the character returning home after her successful campaign against the pirates that were wreaking havoc on the interstellar shipping lines: instead of receiving the deserved hero’s welcome though, Ky found herself, and the crew of the shuttle ferrying her on-planet, battling for their survival on an isolated, barren continent. The discovery of a hidden base on that continent, and of the conspiracy to keep its existence hidden from general knowledge, confirmed the presence of a number of corrupted elements in Slotter Key’s government and military, a discovery that should have brought on a massive cleanup.
What instead happens here is the attempt at a massive cover up: the soldiers rescued together with Ky from Miksland are bundled off on the pretense of medical checks and completely isolated from the rest of the world, their families being told that they are all incapacitated due to a pathogen infection, while Ky, unaware of their fate, is hounded on very trumped up charges of expiration of her citizen rights, just as Rafe and his right-hand man Teague’s visitor visas are called off. For her own part, Ky would not be aware of the fate of her fellow survivors if not for the successful escape of three of them, who seek shelter at her home and reveal the existence of the devious plot.
Into the Fire, unlike its predecessors, becomes then more of a political thriller than a space opera story, as Ky and her friends and family try to stay abreast of the attempts to silence and possibly kill them – not just in relation to the cover up involving Miksland and the secret base, but also because that purpose becomes entangled with some other individuals’ desire for revenge against Vattas, all of them. This last is probably the weaker thread in the narrative, because the long-held grudge looks all out of proportion when compared with the intended retribution, and the opponents little more than cardboard nasties.
On the other hand, the conspiracy involving Miksland, tied as it is to the possible financial gain from the continent’s rich resources and to a play for independence whose roots go back several decades, makes for a very compelling narrative, especially when Ky’s adversaries move from bureaucracy to outright slaughter as they try to remove her from the playing field. This deeper look into Slotter Key’s society is quite unsettling when one stops to consider that home assault and assassination seem to be part and parcel of this culture and that the need for an escort, bodyguards and a fortified home are normal facts of life where prominent figures are concerned. More than once, as I read along, I found myself wondering at this future version of mankind, one where the finer points of bureaucracy, whose pedantry can outgun plain good sense at every turn, exist side by side with home invasions by trained commandoes or murder by poison gas: it’s a bizarre dichotomy indeed, and certainly one more suited to a Game-of-Thrones-like society rather than an advanced civilization that colonized space.
It makes however for a very engaging read, and if this new installment of Kylara Vatta’s adventures does not offer much in the way of expanded characterization, it more than makes up for it by sheer suspense, especially in the latter part of the book, when the rescue operation to free the remaining prisoners is carried out with the same military precision that Ky used to combat the pirates in space. We are also afforded a deeper look into some characters’ back story, especially Ky’s formidable aunt Grace, whose mysterious past, that was hinted at several times in previous books, is revealed in all its unsettling details.
And here lies what for some readers might be a problem with this story: for those who started following Ky’s adventures only from Cold Welcome, as it happened with fellow blogger Mogsy at Bibliosanctum, the connection to the various hints scattered over the course of the five books of Vatta’s War might look somewhat uninteresting, even distracting, while for me it finally shed some light in several dark corners that had me wondering at past goings-on. What’s more, the perceived brusque turn from the journey of survival in Cold Welcome to the more… mundane developments here might feel like a slowing of the rhythm, while in the original series the author often made her readers privy to the financial and political side of the Vattas, and to their complicated family dynamics, so that here these details don’t look like they came out of the blue.
That said, this novel is not completely problem-free: my main point of contention with it comes from the author’s habit of repeating known facts several times during the course of the narrative, which in the end becomes quite annoying. It’s one thing to briefly mention past happenings to remind old readers, or to inform new ones about them, but it’s quite another to rehash information they already possess, over and over again. When we are told, for example, that Ky’s citizenship has been revoked because she was away from Slotter Key for a certain number of years, we don’t need to have this information repeated – in all its minute detail – every time the narrative requires another character to be apprised of the fact. It’s a pattern that I noticed in the other books as well, but here at times it reaches embarrassing proportions, and this kind of…. redundancy only manages to slow down the pace of the novel, feeling at times more like padding than anything else, where this story should be about more than a simple word count, in my opinion.
Still, I did enjoy Into the Fire because I am by now invested in Kylara Vatta’s journey and look forward to learning more about it, especially now that the bulk of past issues seems resolved, so that I’m curious to see where the story will head next. I’m sorry that, for the reason I expressed above, I’m unable to give it a higher rating, but I trust this author to do better in the next installments, and I will wait for them with great anticipation.
Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG
In the previous book of this new series featuring Kylara Vatta, we saw the character returning home after her successful campaign against the pirates that were wreaking havoc on the interstellar shipping lines: instead of receiving the deserved hero’s welcome though, Ky found herself, and the crew of the shuttle ferrying her on-planet, battling for their survival on an isolated, barren continent. The discovery of a hidden base on that continent, and of the conspiracy to keep its existence hidden from general knowledge, confirmed the presence of a number of corrupted elements in Slotter Key’s government and military, a discovery that should have brought on a massive cleanup.
What instead happens here is the attempt at a massive cover up: the soldiers rescued together with Ky from Miksland are bundled off on the pretense of medical checks and completely isolated from the rest of the world, their families being told that they are all incapacitated due to a pathogen infection, while Ky, unaware of their fate, is hounded on very trumped up charges of expiration of her citizen rights, just as Rafe and his right-hand man Teague’s visitor visas are called off. For her own part, Ky would not be aware of the fate of her fellow survivors if not for the successful escape of three of them, who seek shelter at her home and reveal the existence of the devious plot.
Into the Fire, unlike its predecessors, becomes then more of a political thriller than a space opera story, as Ky and her friends and family try to stay abreast of the attempts to silence and possibly kill them – not just in relation to the cover up involving Miksland and the secret base, but also because that purpose becomes entangled with some other individuals’ desire for revenge against Vattas, all of them. This last is probably the weaker thread in the narrative, because the long-held grudge looks all out of proportion when compared with the intended retribution, and the opponents little more than cardboard nasties.
On the other hand, the conspiracy involving Miksland, tied as it is to the possible financial gain from the continent’s rich resources and to a play for independence whose roots go back several decades, makes for a very compelling narrative, especially when Ky’s adversaries move from bureaucracy to outright slaughter as they try to remove her from the playing field. This deeper look into Slotter Key’s society is quite unsettling when one stops to consider that home assault and assassination seem to be part and parcel of this culture and that the need for an escort, bodyguards and a fortified home are normal facts of life where prominent figures are concerned. More than once, as I read along, I found myself wondering at this future version of mankind, one where the finer points of bureaucracy, whose pedantry can outgun plain good sense at every turn, exist side by side with home invasions by trained commandoes or murder by poison gas: it’s a bizarre dichotomy indeed, and certainly one more suited to a Game-of-Thrones-like society rather than an advanced civilization that colonized space.
It makes however for a very engaging read, and if this new installment of Kylara Vatta’s adventures does not offer much in the way of expanded characterization, it more than makes up for it by sheer suspense, especially in the latter part of the book, when the rescue operation to free the remaining prisoners is carried out with the same military precision that Ky used to combat the pirates in space. We are also afforded a deeper look into some characters’ back story, especially Ky’s formidable aunt Grace, whose mysterious past, that was hinted at several times in previous books, is revealed in all its unsettling details.
And here lies what for some readers might be a problem with this story: for those who started following Ky’s adventures only from Cold Welcome, as it happened with fellow blogger Mogsy at Bibliosanctum, the connection to the various hints scattered over the course of the five books of Vatta’s War might look somewhat uninteresting, even distracting, while for me it finally shed some light in several dark corners that had me wondering at past goings-on. What’s more, the perceived brusque turn from the journey of survival in Cold Welcome to the more… mundane developments here might feel like a slowing of the rhythm, while in the original series the author often made her readers privy to the financial and political side of the Vattas, and to their complicated family dynamics, so that here these details don’t look like they came out of the blue.
That said, this novel is not completely problem-free: my main point of contention with it comes from the author’s habit of repeating known facts several times during the course of the narrative, which in the end becomes quite annoying. It’s one thing to briefly mention past happenings to remind old readers, or to inform new ones about them, but it’s quite another to rehash information they already possess, over and over again. When we are told, for example, that Ky’s citizenship has been revoked because she was away from Slotter Key for a certain number of years, we don’t need to have this information repeated – in all its minute detail – every time the narrative requires another character to be apprised of the fact. It’s a pattern that I noticed in the other books as well, but here at times it reaches embarrassing proportions, and this kind of…. redundancy only manages to slow down the pace of the novel, feeling at times more like padding than anything else, where this story should be about more than a simple word count, in my opinion.
Still, I did enjoy Into the Fire because I am by now invested in Kylara Vatta’s journey and look forward to learning more about it, especially now that the bulk of past issues seems resolved, so that I’m curious to see where the story will head next. I’m sorry that, for the reason I expressed above, I’m unable to give it a higher rating, but I trust this author to do better in the next installments, and I will wait for them with great anticipation.
Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG
September 28, 2020
Nice ending book in the 2nd story arc of this character. Good action and story flow that makes for an interesting and entertaining read. Recommended
June 6, 2018
I've really liked Elizabeth Moon's previous work, at times I've considered her my favourite science fiction author on the weight of her Vatta's War series.
It's with regret that I have to say that I hated In to the Fire. I found it to be tedious and largely pointless with so much filler seeming to buff out a very small amount of actual content is this volume. How many times in one novel do I need to have the preparation and/or consumption of breakfast, lunch or dinner described to me? I mean really, the eggs they're mixing are they free range, is it honey roast or peppered ham he's adding. These are the details I'm just so eager to uncover in this book.
Whereas previous books had kept me interested from start to finish and disrupted my sleep, I have literally been finding it hard to stay awake reading this and had to compell myself to finish it. The pacing of this book is significantly slower than in prior work.
Primarily Ky as a character has become so competent and god like that there is no real tension at all... Ky has a plan, the plan goes great, Ky needs to know something, she finds that thing out, Ky needs a plot specific item, oh look she has it now. Yay Ky, Ky is the greatest. Woo. Pointless.
As previously, a lot of research appears to have gone in to writing the book but when that research is seemingly dedicated to flight recorder shelf filing systems and planetary visa application processes, it all seems rather moot. I don't need the author to dazzle me with their understanding of filing systems by making me read half a chapter on someone doing that. I don't need to spend about half the book being told to care about people's immigration status, it's just not a compelling plot thread. Drop it sooner.
As I say, so little actually happens during most of the book plot wise from start to finish and then when the plot rears its head it is shooed away in the shortest and tightest amount of time possible. There are undercurrents of an interesting plot being pointed to but the whole book seems like a stalling tactic to get to the third, where the interesting stuff will actually happen I assume. Side quest after side quest, finally some plot specific stuff which is skipped by in a few scant pages and then straight back to side quests again.
All in all, to me Book 2 is a very boring transition between Book 1 and Book 3. One that wraps up a couple of plot ends in a very lacklustre way then rushes it's finale and fizzles out.
It's with regret that I have to say that I hated In to the Fire. I found it to be tedious and largely pointless with so much filler seeming to buff out a very small amount of actual content is this volume. How many times in one novel do I need to have the preparation and/or consumption of breakfast, lunch or dinner described to me? I mean really, the eggs they're mixing are they free range, is it honey roast or peppered ham he's adding. These are the details I'm just so eager to uncover in this book.
Whereas previous books had kept me interested from start to finish and disrupted my sleep, I have literally been finding it hard to stay awake reading this and had to compell myself to finish it. The pacing of this book is significantly slower than in prior work.
Primarily Ky as a character has become so competent and god like that there is no real tension at all... Ky has a plan, the plan goes great, Ky needs to know something, she finds that thing out, Ky needs a plot specific item, oh look she has it now. Yay Ky, Ky is the greatest. Woo. Pointless.
As previously, a lot of research appears to have gone in to writing the book but when that research is seemingly dedicated to flight recorder shelf filing systems and planetary visa application processes, it all seems rather moot. I don't need the author to dazzle me with their understanding of filing systems by making me read half a chapter on someone doing that. I don't need to spend about half the book being told to care about people's immigration status, it's just not a compelling plot thread. Drop it sooner.
As I say, so little actually happens during most of the book plot wise from start to finish and then when the plot rears its head it is shooed away in the shortest and tightest amount of time possible. There are undercurrents of an interesting plot being pointed to but the whole book seems like a stalling tactic to get to the third, where the interesting stuff will actually happen I assume. Side quest after side quest, finally some plot specific stuff which is skipped by in a few scant pages and then straight back to side quests again.
All in all, to me Book 2 is a very boring transition between Book 1 and Book 3. One that wraps up a couple of plot ends in a very lacklustre way then rushes it's finale and fizzles out.
May 30, 2024
A re-read (and finishes a re-read of the whole series). The first part of this series was almost triggering. Bad things happening to good characters that they didn't deserve. Characters not acting their best. And with previous read, just seeming off. But also sometimes a person just gets something wrong and fixing it a couple days later is fine. And in this story, especially at the beginning, the characters just didn't have time for mistakes. But a bang up fast-paced read. And one that I liked better than the initial read. 4 of 5
Good followup and a solid ending. This one had some wavery bits especially early on in which the author's handling of some of the characters, especially the relationships with Stella just seemed off. But it evened out and didn't get in the way of the story. Basically a military space intrigue though this one is set almost completely on the planet. Strong female characters but all with flaws. Perhaps bits of it are a little more obvious and pat than I'd like. And perhaps more actual history would make the whole thing more believable. So other of the author's books are better - but I'm glad she put out another one. 3.5 of 5.
Good followup and a solid ending. This one had some wavery bits especially early on in which the author's handling of some of the characters, especially the relationships with Stella just seemed off. But it evened out and didn't get in the way of the story. Basically a military space intrigue though this one is set almost completely on the planet. Strong female characters but all with flaws. Perhaps bits of it are a little more obvious and pat than I'd like. And perhaps more actual history would make the whole thing more believable. So other of the author's books are better - but I'm glad she put out another one. 3.5 of 5.
September 23, 2018
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...
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...
February 28, 2018
Great space opera,except that all the action takes place on land!
Ky Vatta's return to her home planet of Slotter's Key goes from bad (see 'Cold Welcome') to worse when 3 women who were in the group of survivors show up on her doorstep with the Military Police hot on their heels. They bring news that the survivors have been kept drugged and confined in various military facilities under the guise of 'quarantine'. Our three escaped with the goal of finding Ky and unloading their anger at her failure to release them from this detention. Ky, of course, knew nothing and becomes determined to rescue all of 'her people'.
As the story progresses we learn just how vast this conspiracy is. It involves a major political threat to the planetary government, with various military and business concerns deeply involved. Ky's main goal is to rescue the survivors before they can be killed, but who can she trust?
The story moves along at a great clip, with action on several fronts. Lots of twists, turns as it races towards the dramatic conclusion. I found it almost impossible to put down.
The way the story ends, with no threads left dangling, makes me fear that this is the last we will see of Ky and company. I sure hope not. I would gladly read more books featuring her if the author chooses to write them.
Ky Vatta's return to her home planet of Slotter's Key goes from bad (see 'Cold Welcome') to worse when 3 women who were in the group of survivors show up on her doorstep with the Military Police hot on their heels. They bring news that the survivors have been kept drugged and confined in various military facilities under the guise of 'quarantine'. Our three escaped with the goal of finding Ky and unloading their anger at her failure to release them from this detention. Ky, of course, knew nothing and becomes determined to rescue all of 'her people'.
As the story progresses we learn just how vast this conspiracy is. It involves a major political threat to the planetary government, with various military and business concerns deeply involved. Ky's main goal is to rescue the survivors before they can be killed, but who can she trust?
The story moves along at a great clip, with action on several fronts. Lots of twists, turns as it races towards the dramatic conclusion. I found it almost impossible to put down.
The way the story ends, with no threads left dangling, makes me fear that this is the last we will see of Ky and company. I sure hope not. I would gladly read more books featuring her if the author chooses to write them.
April 7, 2018
Roughly 3.5 Stars.
INTO THE FIRE is the second book in the series called “Vatta’s Peace” by Elizabeth Moon.
Moon is known for her military sci-fi and space opera series called Vatta’s War. I had assumed this new series would be in a similar vein but the space opera components appear to be increasingly minimal as the series proceeds. I have not read the previous series, just the new one.
In the first book, COLD WELCOME, Kylara Vatta returns to her home planet of Slotter Key after acquitting herself admirably in various military operations in space. However her space shuttle is sabotaged and she manages to survive a crash landing in the sea and make it to a wintry, barren continent with a couple dozen troops. That book was centered around Ky’s fight for survival for herself and the troops she commands. I thought the setting was odd for a military sci-fi space opera but the suspense of will-they it won’t they survive was compelling. And before they leave the remote continent Ky and company discover an abandoned secret military base which holds important secrets (alien artifacts).
In INTO THE FIRE, Ky has returned to her family (her cousin Stella Vatta is the CEO of the huge Vatta corporation which focuses on planetary and interplanetary shipping of goods and services and her aunt Grace is the Rector, basically the equivalent of planetary Secretary of Defense) to discover that there’s a vast conspiracy formed to do the Vattas (and her specifically) extreme harm. So she’s “home” (well really it’s Stella’s home) but she is definitely not safe and sound.
Ky has to deal with some bizarre fallout fir being missing for more than half a year due to the events in the first book. She was presumed dead and the Commandant of the Military Academy was killed (murdered) in the original crash. But what is Ky’s biggest problem? IMMIGRATION! Because she had been returning to Slotter Key after more than a decade away (as something of a military hero) she was unaware citizenship laws had changed and the administration considers her an illegal undocumented immigrant warranting arrest and confinement. This provides a deep insight into the administrative fussiness of Slotter Key society.
Another one of the cultural norms of the world Moon is building in the Vatta books is that assassination and violent death are considered common place (among wealthy families like the Vatta’s). Ky (and Stella and Grace) are subject to attacks of various kinds multiple times (poison attack, home invasion, direct military assault and mercenary double agents). This element of the book does add some suspense even though it’s really hard to believe any of the main characters will come to substantive harm (even though we do know that another assassination attempt successfully killed Ky’s parents and other members of her family in events that happened before this series began). Moon is at her best when she is describing the action scenes involved in these attacks and other military episodes. She also provides some intrigue by depicting the complicated nature of the relationship between Ky and Stella, who could be described as “frenemies.” This dynamic is interesting but it’s not entirely motivated in the text.
One of the key weaknesses in the book, IMHO, is Moon’s curious penchant for including the most mundane details of her character’s lives and activities. There are LOTs of examples of information being provided of things I don’t believe the reader needs to know (like the fact Ky eats ham sandwiches when she needed a quick snack after working too hard or the specifics of how meals are going to be prepared at Stella’s house when Ky and her fiancé Rafe are staying there). Maybe this is intended to communicate verisimilitude but I found it mostly tedious and distracting.
Overall, I am still interested in Ky’s character and I want to see what happens to her in the future so I will continue to read the Vatta’s Peace series but INTO THE FIRE convinced me I don’t need to seek out Moon’s other books I presume they will suffer from this and other flaws in the writing. That’s probably too bad because I suspect that having read the multiple books in the Vatta’s War series that preceded this one would provide more context of the reasons for why another prominent Slotter Key family is going through such machinations to exterminate the Vattas.
As I reflect on my reactions to the book another flaw in Moon’s writing which I didn’t think consciously about as I read the book but becomes more evident as I prepare and write this review is that Moon doesn’t spend much time on depicting or discussing the diversity in her world-building, so my assumption is that most people are alike. She does mention a few times that Ky’s skin is light-brown in color but I don’t have a good sense of what Stella looks like (although her beauty and poise are remarked on several times). Ky’s boyfriend Rafe is described as “a shortish man, black haired, dark-eyed, well-dressed.” What image is that supposed to provide the reader of his “race” or “ethnicity”? I suppose that’s fine in a typical fiction book but there are a lot more SFF writers these days who are trying to be more explicit and direct in addressing issues of representation but Moon doesn’t appear to be one of them.
INTO THE FIRE is the second book in the series called “Vatta’s Peace” by Elizabeth Moon.
Moon is known for her military sci-fi and space opera series called Vatta’s War. I had assumed this new series would be in a similar vein but the space opera components appear to be increasingly minimal as the series proceeds. I have not read the previous series, just the new one.
In the first book, COLD WELCOME, Kylara Vatta returns to her home planet of Slotter Key after acquitting herself admirably in various military operations in space. However her space shuttle is sabotaged and she manages to survive a crash landing in the sea and make it to a wintry, barren continent with a couple dozen troops. That book was centered around Ky’s fight for survival for herself and the troops she commands. I thought the setting was odd for a military sci-fi space opera but the suspense of will-they it won’t they survive was compelling. And before they leave the remote continent Ky and company discover an abandoned secret military base which holds important secrets (alien artifacts).
In INTO THE FIRE, Ky has returned to her family (her cousin Stella Vatta is the CEO of the huge Vatta corporation which focuses on planetary and interplanetary shipping of goods and services and her aunt Grace is the Rector, basically the equivalent of planetary Secretary of Defense) to discover that there’s a vast conspiracy formed to do the Vattas (and her specifically) extreme harm. So she’s “home” (well really it’s Stella’s home) but she is definitely not safe and sound.
Ky has to deal with some bizarre fallout fir being missing for more than half a year due to the events in the first book. She was presumed dead and the Commandant of the Military Academy was killed (murdered) in the original crash. But what is Ky’s biggest problem? IMMIGRATION! Because she had been returning to Slotter Key after more than a decade away (as something of a military hero) she was unaware citizenship laws had changed and the administration considers her an illegal undocumented immigrant warranting arrest and confinement. This provides a deep insight into the administrative fussiness of Slotter Key society.
Another one of the cultural norms of the world Moon is building in the Vatta books is that assassination and violent death are considered common place (among wealthy families like the Vatta’s). Ky (and Stella and Grace) are subject to attacks of various kinds multiple times (poison attack, home invasion, direct military assault and mercenary double agents). This element of the book does add some suspense even though it’s really hard to believe any of the main characters will come to substantive harm (even though we do know that another assassination attempt successfully killed Ky’s parents and other members of her family in events that happened before this series began). Moon is at her best when she is describing the action scenes involved in these attacks and other military episodes. She also provides some intrigue by depicting the complicated nature of the relationship between Ky and Stella, who could be described as “frenemies.” This dynamic is interesting but it’s not entirely motivated in the text.
One of the key weaknesses in the book, IMHO, is Moon’s curious penchant for including the most mundane details of her character’s lives and activities. There are LOTs of examples of information being provided of things I don’t believe the reader needs to know (like the fact Ky eats ham sandwiches when she needed a quick snack after working too hard or the specifics of how meals are going to be prepared at Stella’s house when Ky and her fiancé Rafe are staying there). Maybe this is intended to communicate verisimilitude but I found it mostly tedious and distracting.
Overall, I am still interested in Ky’s character and I want to see what happens to her in the future so I will continue to read the Vatta’s Peace series but INTO THE FIRE convinced me I don’t need to seek out Moon’s other books I presume they will suffer from this and other flaws in the writing. That’s probably too bad because I suspect that having read the multiple books in the Vatta’s War series that preceded this one would provide more context of the reasons for why another prominent Slotter Key family is going through such machinations to exterminate the Vattas.
As I reflect on my reactions to the book another flaw in Moon’s writing which I didn’t think consciously about as I read the book but becomes more evident as I prepare and write this review is that Moon doesn’t spend much time on depicting or discussing the diversity in her world-building, so my assumption is that most people are alike. She does mention a few times that Ky’s skin is light-brown in color but I don’t have a good sense of what Stella looks like (although her beauty and poise are remarked on several times). Ky’s boyfriend Rafe is described as “a shortish man, black haired, dark-eyed, well-dressed.” What image is that supposed to provide the reader of his “race” or “ethnicity”? I suppose that’s fine in a typical fiction book but there are a lot more SFF writers these days who are trying to be more explicit and direct in addressing issues of representation but Moon doesn’t appear to be one of them.
March 20, 2019
The word "Peace" shouldn't be in this series title. There's never peace. In fact, the characters in the book mention that. It's one struggle after another against people who are heartless and I have no idea why they want so much to be in power when most of them already are. I liked this book but I was emotionally exhausted by the end of it.
March 14, 2018
Hero downgraded!
Things are not right! Having returned to Slotter Key a hero, Kyla Vatta has survivors from Miksland turning up as escapees on her doorstep, and Ky's suddenly trapped in her house having been declared a non citizen and wanted for questioning. The whereabouts of the other personnel who escaped from Milksland is unknown and alarming and Aunt Grace is coming under legal, personal attack. Facts surrounding Grace's past are brought to light that threaten her freedom. Stella is forced to dig deep and finds herself more capable than she thought.
At times I found events in Into the Fire somewhat disjointed. Stella's self pitying stance becomes dangerous for all. On the other hand she is being kept in the dark by Ky. Even though we have seen Stella come into her own as a highly talented woman, here we see her face unforeseen danger and grow from that testing.
Ages old mysteries are brought to light and Ky finds the past rushing up to capture the present. Danger looms and the enemy is faceless. Whom to trust is moot as the very fabric of Slotter Key is threatened. Politics and legalities threaten Kyla and Rafe and the plans they'd been making are put on hold as survival becomes prime. These are times of surprises, shocks, and danger to the existence of Slotter Key.
Overall, another Elizabeth Moon gift from the Slotter Key menagerie.
A NetGalley ARC
Things are not right! Having returned to Slotter Key a hero, Kyla Vatta has survivors from Miksland turning up as escapees on her doorstep, and Ky's suddenly trapped in her house having been declared a non citizen and wanted for questioning. The whereabouts of the other personnel who escaped from Milksland is unknown and alarming and Aunt Grace is coming under legal, personal attack. Facts surrounding Grace's past are brought to light that threaten her freedom. Stella is forced to dig deep and finds herself more capable than she thought.
At times I found events in Into the Fire somewhat disjointed. Stella's self pitying stance becomes dangerous for all. On the other hand she is being kept in the dark by Ky. Even though we have seen Stella come into her own as a highly talented woman, here we see her face unforeseen danger and grow from that testing.
Ages old mysteries are brought to light and Ky finds the past rushing up to capture the present. Danger looms and the enemy is faceless. Whom to trust is moot as the very fabric of Slotter Key is threatened. Politics and legalities threaten Kyla and Rafe and the plans they'd been making are put on hold as survival becomes prime. These are times of surprises, shocks, and danger to the existence of Slotter Key.
Overall, another Elizabeth Moon gift from the Slotter Key menagerie.
A NetGalley ARC
November 6, 2018
4.5 stars.
An action-packed sequel to Cold Welcome that takes place directly after the rescue of Ky and her fellow survivors for the shuttle crash.
Ky is portrayed as this brilliant planner and strategist at the tender age of 29. It is a bit unbelievable but still, quite a rousing tale. I really enjoyed it.
An action-packed sequel to Cold Welcome that takes place directly after the rescue of Ky and her fellow survivors for the shuttle crash.
Ky is portrayed as this brilliant planner and strategist at the tender age of 29. It is a bit unbelievable but still, quite a rousing tale. I really enjoyed it.
October 3, 2023
I enjoyed reading this book. The primary characters were thoroughly credible and developed in the course of the adventure. Although peace seemed like an unrelated topic, I found out that there was another series, probably in a time slightly earlier than this one, which was "Vatta's War", but I haven't read that series. Anyway, the political, social and military action was interesting and it seemed to have finished the previous story, even though it was a stand alone story. Actually, this story could be read alone as well, and I would like to think the author has a talent in that regard.
April 4, 2020
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Quote:
"We ready?" he asked when Ky had settled herself in the backseat.
"Better be," Ky said. "I'd hate to have wasted all those hours trying to make this plan as shaky and unworkable as possible."
Review:
Into the Fire picks up almost immediately after Cold Fire leaves us: trapped on Slotter Key with a rebel shadow faction of the army hellbent on the destruction of the Vatta family first and the Slotter Key government second. This shadow faction has insinuated itself into every part of the Slotter Key government, and they use it at every advantage... to screw over the Vatta family.
To say I did not care for this book is perhaps an understatement. It is, in a lot of ways, better than Cold Fire. For instance, the setup to make the story in Into the Fire makes some sense, especially since it is based on past events that happened in the original quintet. The characters are also mostly together in one place, communicating with each other, and solving problems together.
It was a lot of the other parts that I just did not care for.
To start with, Into the Fire repeated itself. A lot. The beginning of the book was a lot of the same scenarios on a loop. Which mostly meant that anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I'm pretty certain I saw the same conversation, with the same lawyer, three times. Though I shouldn't say it is everything goes wrong. Maybe one in every three things go wrong, just so you feel like there is some forward momentum but in actuality it is a trap, waiting until a certain part in the story when everything all happens at once.
Also I have a hard time believing this shadow faction in the military can exist. Several thousand people were on the enemy side, and not one of them blabbed? Not even once? For generations? Two people on the good side told their superiors during the course of this one book alone, which prompted more investigations into what was going on. No organization, no matter how careful, is going to choose entirely people who are on their side. And they're not going to keep everyone happy the entire time: someone is going to get jilted and turn coat.
Plus this revenge plot the enemy family has been cooking up against the Vatta family has been ongoing for decades. And the feud started centuries ago when the Vatta family wouldn't play ball with their criminal enterprise. Like seriously? That's what we're going with? That fueled 2 centuries of hate and decades worth of destruction?
Of course we're forgetting about Grace Vatta's past which gets brought up in more detail in Into the Fire. It is implied, though I can't remember if it was outright stated, that her involvement in the Unitarian War contributed to the enemy family's hatred of her. Her being in the war was brought up before, quite a bit actually, but it was always surface level because no one wanted to bring up bad memories. And honestly I do not like the way this was handled. Both on the side of the author and on the side of everyone involved in the book. It just seems so unnecessary, and in some ways rewriting the past to make the present situation work.
Once the book finally kicked off into high gear, things went quicker. In fact a bit too fast. I didn't care for the ending to this story because it felt wrapped up too quickly, too easily. I do believe Into the Fire is the last book in Vatta's Peace. I haven't seen anything about a third book, though I haven't seen anything to suggest this is complete, either. And the ending certainly feels like it wrapped up the story in a nice little package that no one at all is ever going to worry about again.
Though there are enough random threads left hanging and unexplored that she could totally come back to this world again if she wanted to. Trust me.
Quote:
"We ready?" he asked when Ky had settled herself in the backseat.
"Better be," Ky said. "I'd hate to have wasted all those hours trying to make this plan as shaky and unworkable as possible."
Review:
Into the Fire picks up almost immediately after Cold Fire leaves us: trapped on Slotter Key with a rebel shadow faction of the army hellbent on the destruction of the Vatta family first and the Slotter Key government second. This shadow faction has insinuated itself into every part of the Slotter Key government, and they use it at every advantage... to screw over the Vatta family.
To say I did not care for this book is perhaps an understatement. It is, in a lot of ways, better than Cold Fire. For instance, the setup to make the story in Into the Fire makes some sense, especially since it is based on past events that happened in the original quintet. The characters are also mostly together in one place, communicating with each other, and solving problems together.
It was a lot of the other parts that I just did not care for.
To start with, Into the Fire repeated itself. A lot. The beginning of the book was a lot of the same scenarios on a loop. Which mostly meant that anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I'm pretty certain I saw the same conversation, with the same lawyer, three times. Though I shouldn't say it is everything goes wrong. Maybe one in every three things go wrong, just so you feel like there is some forward momentum but in actuality it is a trap, waiting until a certain part in the story when everything all happens at once.
Also I have a hard time believing this shadow faction in the military can exist. Several thousand people were on the enemy side, and not one of them blabbed? Not even once? For generations? Two people on the good side told their superiors during the course of this one book alone, which prompted more investigations into what was going on. No organization, no matter how careful, is going to choose entirely people who are on their side. And they're not going to keep everyone happy the entire time: someone is going to get jilted and turn coat.
Plus this revenge plot the enemy family has been cooking up against the Vatta family has been ongoing for decades. And the feud started centuries ago when the Vatta family wouldn't play ball with their criminal enterprise. Like seriously? That's what we're going with? That fueled 2 centuries of hate and decades worth of destruction?
Of course we're forgetting about Grace Vatta's past which gets brought up in more detail in Into the Fire. It is implied, though I can't remember if it was outright stated, that her involvement in the Unitarian War contributed to the enemy family's hatred of her. Her being in the war was brought up before, quite a bit actually, but it was always surface level because no one wanted to bring up bad memories. And honestly I do not like the way this was handled. Both on the side of the author and on the side of everyone involved in the book. It just seems so unnecessary, and in some ways rewriting the past to make the present situation work.
Once the book finally kicked off into high gear, things went quicker. In fact a bit too fast. I didn't care for the ending to this story because it felt wrapped up too quickly, too easily. I do believe Into the Fire is the last book in Vatta's Peace. I haven't seen anything about a third book, though I haven't seen anything to suggest this is complete, either. And the ending certainly feels like it wrapped up the story in a nice little package that no one at all is ever going to worry about again.
Though there are enough random threads left hanging and unexplored that she could totally come back to this world again if she wanted to. Trust me.
February 7, 2018
I pre-ordered this book last week because I have been looking forward to it since I finished Cold Welcome last year. Into the Fire takes place immediately after Ky and the other survivors of the shuttle crash were rescued from Miksland, but all has not gone well. Ky discovers that since she has been off the planet for so many years there are questions as to whether or not she is still a citizen of Slotter Key even though she was born there and has never claimed to be a citizen of any other world. Her funds have also been frozen because of the death of her former aid who was a Cascadian citizen. So overall, Ky's life is a mess. And the other survivors of the shuttle crash have disappeared.
Even though Elizabeth Moon is classified as a science fiction writer, there is very little that is science fiction in this latest episode. The story is more about relationships between family members, coping with an intransigent government and the intrigue involved in figuring out who and why Miksland has been kept secret for so many years.
Moon spent 3 years in the Marine Corp and I believe it lends a great deal of realism to her military science fiction. And as always, the characters and their interactions are a joy to read. Reading this latest book really makes me want to go back and re-read the series from the beginning to see what I missed the first time through.
Even though Elizabeth Moon is classified as a science fiction writer, there is very little that is science fiction in this latest episode. The story is more about relationships between family members, coping with an intransigent government and the intrigue involved in figuring out who and why Miksland has been kept secret for so many years.
Moon spent 3 years in the Marine Corp and I believe it lends a great deal of realism to her military science fiction. And as always, the characters and their interactions are a joy to read. Reading this latest book really makes me want to go back and re-read the series from the beginning to see what I missed the first time through.
September 15, 2018
There is something about Elizabeth Moon's writing that I just find endlessly readable, and endlessly enjoyable. Her world building always leaves me curious and eager to learn more, and her characters are the kind I get attached to, like, and root for. So even when Ky is just too lucky or too perfect at everything she does to really suspend disbelief, I don't care a whit, because I'm having so much fun reading the book. And yes, some days it's just nice to have the hero actually feel heroic.
February 11, 2018
I pick up a new Elizabeth Moon novel with anticipatory delight. In its pages (or phosphors, for the ebook version), I will find fascinating characters with skills and intelligence, subtle conflicts of culture, superbly handled tension and plot twists, and insights into people who are different from me. Unlike the heroine of Into the Fire (and Moon herself), I have no military experience whatsoever (30 years of Chinese martial arts notwithstanding). I was a long-haired, sign-waving war protester. Most military fiction leaves me looking around for those love beads. But not Moon’s, and a big part of that (aside from her sheer story-telling skill) is the intelligence and compassion of her military characters.
In the previous novel, Cold Welcome, Ky Vatta and an assortment of people under her command and not-under-her-command manage to survive a shuttle crash into icy waters and make their way to an abandoned base in a frigid, barren landscape. Their survival depends not only working together and making the best decisions but a huge measure of luck. Ky’s training and experience give her a structure to establish leadership and discern what must be done, and by whom, and in what order, how to best use the skills of the others, how to resolve conflicts without squelching initiative. Most of the book centers on how leadership, delegation protocols, the balance between negotiation and creativity and obedience, and the skills to construct and carry out strategic planning can save lives. In fact, there’s very little shoot-‘em-up and a great deal of wow, these people have thought carefully about how to manage desperate situations. Into the Fire continues that story.
After the grand finale and rescue, Ky might think her ordeal is over. Ha! Her meticulously collected records of the sabotage go missing and her people mysteriously disappear, drugged and kept incommunicado by forces inimical to her family. The focus shifts from physical to political survival. Sabotage, betrayal, immigration raids, poisoning, and a rescue executed in typical Ky Vatta style build and sustain tension. Again I was impressed by the skillfulness with which Ky and her companions make and execute plans, whether it’s marshalling an academy full of unseasoned cadets to defend the planetary president or nab the drugged prisoners from several different locations. Ky didn’t just jump into action, as characters in many other military novels so often do. She didn’t say, “Trust me, just do what I say” to her subordinates. She conferred with those with expertise, made plans, revised them, revised them again, made backup plans and backups to the backups, made sure everyone had the information they needed to do the best, smartest job. Things went wrong, as of course they must in fiction. And that’s half the fun of the adventure.
Moon provides enough backstory for Into the Fire to stand on its own, but I recommend reading it together with Cold Welcome. And I do recommend it!
In the previous novel, Cold Welcome, Ky Vatta and an assortment of people under her command and not-under-her-command manage to survive a shuttle crash into icy waters and make their way to an abandoned base in a frigid, barren landscape. Their survival depends not only working together and making the best decisions but a huge measure of luck. Ky’s training and experience give her a structure to establish leadership and discern what must be done, and by whom, and in what order, how to best use the skills of the others, how to resolve conflicts without squelching initiative. Most of the book centers on how leadership, delegation protocols, the balance between negotiation and creativity and obedience, and the skills to construct and carry out strategic planning can save lives. In fact, there’s very little shoot-‘em-up and a great deal of wow, these people have thought carefully about how to manage desperate situations. Into the Fire continues that story.
After the grand finale and rescue, Ky might think her ordeal is over. Ha! Her meticulously collected records of the sabotage go missing and her people mysteriously disappear, drugged and kept incommunicado by forces inimical to her family. The focus shifts from physical to political survival. Sabotage, betrayal, immigration raids, poisoning, and a rescue executed in typical Ky Vatta style build and sustain tension. Again I was impressed by the skillfulness with which Ky and her companions make and execute plans, whether it’s marshalling an academy full of unseasoned cadets to defend the planetary president or nab the drugged prisoners from several different locations. Ky didn’t just jump into action, as characters in many other military novels so often do. She didn’t say, “Trust me, just do what I say” to her subordinates. She conferred with those with expertise, made plans, revised them, revised them again, made backup plans and backups to the backups, made sure everyone had the information they needed to do the best, smartest job. Things went wrong, as of course they must in fiction. And that’s half the fun of the adventure.
Moon provides enough backstory for Into the Fire to stand on its own, but I recommend reading it together with Cold Welcome. And I do recommend it!
March 1, 2018
If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading Cold Welcome, then I suggest you put this one on hold and track it down, because the story carries on almost seamlessly from that first adventure featuring Ky Vatta and the other hapless passengers who crashed into the sea with her. However, this story also includes a lot of the characters who featured in Moon’s previous series, Vatta’s War. As I have read all the books in this space opera adventure series, I was delighted to meet up with characters whom I regarded as old friends. Himself, who only read the first book, found he was floundering at bit at the start.
I found this story to be gripping and tension-filled as Ky finds herself once more in the middle of a mess of trouble. This time though, she is back home where she should feel safe. I really liked the fact that she was once more confronted with a situation where she didn’t know who to trust. Moon is very good at building the tension and providing an atmosphere of suspicion. It seems particularly hard on the poor souls who endured all sorts of hardships, while struggling to survive in desperate conditions, only also to face imprisonment where they are drugged into drooling helplessness.
One aspect I appreciated is that now she is back home, Ky finds she has to deal with her cousin, Stella. The two don’t particularly get on, mostly because they clashed a lot during their teens. The cliché would be that because they are Family and under threat, the two young women would suddenly pull together – and it was refreshing that Moon sidesteps that wornout trope and provides us with a more interesting and believable dynamic. The other main character who faces a crisis is Grace, who in theory, as Rector of the planet, should be well guarded and entirely capable of coping with any threat to her leadership. Events prove otherwise.
The story is fast-moving, with plenty going on. And unlike Cold Welcome, the viewpoint swings between a larger cast of main characters, both protagonists and villains. Moon is deft at quickly establishing sympathetic characters and making me care about what happens to them and I found myself caught up in the plot, reluctant to put the book down until I knew what happens next. Of course, with such a steady build-up in tension, the climax of the book has to really matter and Moon succeeds in producing plenty of action as both sides make their move. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and will be eagerly looking out for the next book in this engaging series. This is recommended for fans of science fiction thrillers – though ideally, you should first read the Vatta’s War series and Cold Welcome.
9/10
I found this story to be gripping and tension-filled as Ky finds herself once more in the middle of a mess of trouble. This time though, she is back home where she should feel safe. I really liked the fact that she was once more confronted with a situation where she didn’t know who to trust. Moon is very good at building the tension and providing an atmosphere of suspicion. It seems particularly hard on the poor souls who endured all sorts of hardships, while struggling to survive in desperate conditions, only also to face imprisonment where they are drugged into drooling helplessness.
One aspect I appreciated is that now she is back home, Ky finds she has to deal with her cousin, Stella. The two don’t particularly get on, mostly because they clashed a lot during their teens. The cliché would be that because they are Family and under threat, the two young women would suddenly pull together – and it was refreshing that Moon sidesteps that wornout trope and provides us with a more interesting and believable dynamic. The other main character who faces a crisis is Grace, who in theory, as Rector of the planet, should be well guarded and entirely capable of coping with any threat to her leadership. Events prove otherwise.
The story is fast-moving, with plenty going on. And unlike Cold Welcome, the viewpoint swings between a larger cast of main characters, both protagonists and villains. Moon is deft at quickly establishing sympathetic characters and making me care about what happens to them and I found myself caught up in the plot, reluctant to put the book down until I knew what happens next. Of course, with such a steady build-up in tension, the climax of the book has to really matter and Moon succeeds in producing plenty of action as both sides make their move. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and will be eagerly looking out for the next book in this engaging series. This is recommended for fans of science fiction thrillers – though ideally, you should first read the Vatta’s War series and Cold Welcome.
9/10
January 9, 2022
For years I wanted to know what happened after Kylara Vatta's Space Defense Force defeated the enemy in a civil war against organized pirates (the Vatta's War series). And then came the Vatta's Peace series, telling us exactly that. And now I want to know what happens after the events of this book, because I can't believe either a) that now Slotter Key is completely free of traitors, b) Ky won't find something exciting to do, or c) the secret base on Miksland doesn't have any stories to tell. But alas, this is the last book - so far, anyway, and it came out in 2018 - in Vatta's Peace.
Into the Fire picks up shortly after Cold Welcome ends. Ky is safe, rescued from Miksland, the southern continent where she and the survivors of a shuttle crash landed, survived, and escaped forces intending to kill them all because they'd stumbled on a secret base. Ky's embroiled in the affairs of her family's corporate interests, and has lost track of the people she'd led during the six months on Miksland. And then three of them turn up - having escaped from sedated captivity. It turns out that those who have secrets to keep are still active, and are keeping those secrets by imprisoning the other survivors, with the intention of eventually killed them and blaming it on a disease.
As Ky investigates the commandant of the Slotter Key Spacefore Academy disappears - it turns out he was one of the traitors - and she winds up holding the position on an interim basis. And from that position she helps to put down an open rebellion by the traitors. But we don't know, yet, exactly who was behind the insurrection, or what ties to the off-planet pirates they may have. And we emphatically don't know whether the base on Miksland is ancient human, or alien.
I really hope Elizabeth Moon returns here, because she's left a number of threads dangling. The old show business axiom is "Always leave them wanting more," and I do.
Into the Fire picks up shortly after Cold Welcome ends. Ky is safe, rescued from Miksland, the southern continent where she and the survivors of a shuttle crash landed, survived, and escaped forces intending to kill them all because they'd stumbled on a secret base. Ky's embroiled in the affairs of her family's corporate interests, and has lost track of the people she'd led during the six months on Miksland. And then three of them turn up - having escaped from sedated captivity. It turns out that those who have secrets to keep are still active, and are keeping those secrets by imprisoning the other survivors, with the intention of eventually killed them and blaming it on a disease.
As Ky investigates the commandant of the Slotter Key Spacefore Academy disappears - it turns out he was one of the traitors - and she winds up holding the position on an interim basis. And from that position she helps to put down an open rebellion by the traitors. But we don't know, yet, exactly who was behind the insurrection, or what ties to the off-planet pirates they may have. And we emphatically don't know whether the base on Miksland is ancient human, or alien.
I really hope Elizabeth Moon returns here, because she's left a number of threads dangling. The old show business axiom is "Always leave them wanting more," and I do.
December 29, 2021
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This is the 7th and likely final book in the Vatta series since it ties up quite a few loose ends and has a definitive ending. As with previous volumes, we have cartoony villains and strange logic holes in plot and characterization. But if you turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride, it is a fun and enjoyable read or listen through to the end. And no, Stella does not get less annoying.Story: Her enemies have successfully hemmed her in - taking away resources, mobility, and communications. But Vatta has military members to rescue and a family to restore - and a secret weapon in the form of her allies: Grace, Mac, and Rafe. It's time to bring the fight home and end it once and for all.
This is a solid ending to the Vatta series as Kylara plots daring rescue attempts all the while outmaneuvering her enemies in the government and the military.
Note: I listened to the audio version of the book and the narrator was much better in this book than the first. She stopped the odd speech patterns and instead gave a more straightforward read.
March 1, 2018
Kylara Vatta returns from her Cold Welcome (paper) on her home world of Slotter Key to face new problems. She had discovered that the supposed unhabitable continent of Miksland was actually being mined for two centuries. To keep it a secret, elements of the Slotter Key armed forces have drugged the survivors and put them into quarantine for a fake disease. Three of the soldiers escaped and found their way to Ky alerting to her danger. Soon she is accused to murder, and lost her citizenship because she’d been away too long, Her great aunt Grace, the Rector in charge of Slotter Key’s military is poisoned and luckily gets the specialized care necessary to survive. That send Ky and her friends Into the Fire (hard from Del Rey) first to rescue the other survivors and get their story out. Then finding herself in a place of command, she has to save the President and other elected officials from an attack on the Capitol city. I don’t like red tape which made it more difficult to read the first half, but the second half was all action and lots of fun. Elizabeth Moon shows her military background well in this tale. Review printed by Philadelphia Free Press
March 10, 2018
No one does action/adventure sci-fi half so well as Elizabeth Moon, and I'm really enjoying the Vatta's Peace series. If you like action/adventure sci-fi (with strong and interesting female characters), you really should read the entire series, beginning with Trading in Danger.
That said, I do wish there was a bit more space in the series. Ky Vatta stays very firmly on the ground the entire book. I also wish that Moon had gone for less backstory, as it can feel a bit shoved in at times, as I already remember all the important bits. And I'm still not a fan of Rafe (so dull). But these are small points in what is really quite a good book.
That said, I do wish there was a bit more space in the series. Ky Vatta stays very firmly on the ground the entire book. I also wish that Moon had gone for less backstory, as it can feel a bit shoved in at times, as I already remember all the important bits. And I'm still not a fan of Rafe (so dull). But these are small points in what is really quite a good book.
March 27, 2018
I enjoyed this overall, partly because it balances the political elements with action and character development. But I will say that it keeps up the trend of Ky's foes feeling a little underwhelming. I couldn't help feeling that such a large scale conspiracy should have their shit together more than this.
I'd love to read more about these characters, but I really hope any future installments ditch the Ky/Stella drama for good. It was tired by the end of the original series, and this time it felt a little contrived, as if they kept treading the same ground mostly just to ramp up the tension.
I'd love to read more about these characters, but I really hope any future installments ditch the Ky/Stella drama for good. It was tired by the end of the original series, and this time it felt a little contrived, as if they kept treading the same ground mostly just to ramp up the tension.
April 4, 2018
Ky Vatta and her fiance Rafe are trying to decide what to do when the world interrupted. Instead of free space, they are sucked into finding out what happened to the rest of the group that were rescued from Miksland and who all is involved in the conspiracy. Overcoming bureaucracy, sabotage, murder, and outright insurrection, Ky, Stella and Aunt Gracie manage to survive and even thrive. It will be interesting what else Elizabeth Moon will throw at the Vatta family.
Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title.
Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title.
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