Trading in Danger / Remnant Population

Vatta's War

by Elizabeth Moon

A 2-for-1 bundle from Hugo-nominated author Elizabeth Moon! Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father's only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it's no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can't hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar cruiser. It's adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. And despite her family's misgivings, there can be no doubt that a Vatta in the service will prove a valuable asset. But with a single error in judgment, it all comes crumbling down. Expelled from the Academy in disgrace--and returning home to her humiliated family, a storm of high-profile media coverage, and the gaping void of her own future--Ky is ready to face the inevitable onslaught of anger, disappointment, even pity. But soon after opportunity's door slams shut, Ky finds herself with a ticket to ride--and a shot at redemption--as captain of a Vatta Transport ship. It's a simple assignment: escorting one of the Vatta fleet's oldest ships on its final voyage ... to the scrapyard. But keeping it simple has never been Ky's style. And even though her father has provided a crew of seasoned veterans to baby-sit the fledgling captain on her maiden milk run, they can't stop Ky from turning the routine mission into a risky venture--in the name of turning a profit for Vatta Transport, of course. By snapping up a lucrative delivery contract defaulted on by a rival company, and using part of the proceeds to upgrade her condemned vehicle, Ky aims to prove she's got more going for her than just her family's famous name. But business will soon have to take a backseat to bravery, when Ky's change of plans sails her and the crew straight into the middle of a colonial war. For all her commercial savvy, it's her military training and born-soldier's instincts that Ky will need to call on in the face of deadly combat, dangerous mercenaries, and violent mutiny....

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Fiction

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2003

About the author

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

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

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

Reviews

[Kris Sellgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trading in Danger is an exciting space opera -- the stunning events of the first part of the novel still haunt me. But the real gem of this pairing is Remnant Population. An old woman, despised as a drudge by her son's family, chooses to stay behind when colonists abandon a planet with a marginal economy. She is reveling in freedom when she finds herself not alone but in a first contact situation. I love this for the non-traditional heroine, and for the way she handles both the non-human sentients and the re-appearance of the greedy Corporation.

[Kristine Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm impressed about how Moon ages her characters. They grow not just in age, but in experience. They make a lot of mistakes and it looks like they are going to fail, but they always manage to find something or someone to help them succeed.

[Rachel Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing like Remnant Population to me. I feel this was more for fans of Star Trek and Romance books. It didn’t even seem to be by the same author! Still entertaining, but I’m not sure if I will read the other books in the series yet.

[Elizabeth Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

Space Opera at its finest.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than I thought it would be. I enjoyed reading about the making your own financial decisions and standing on your own.