Cold Welcome

January 9, 2017
Nebula-winner Moon’s popular far-future Vatta’s War series (Trading in Danger) roars on after a break of nearly a decade with this extended survival-and-rescue mission. Intrepid adventurer Kylara Vatta, a precocious Space Defense Force grand admiral at 29, blasts off in a shuttle to accept a hero’s welcome on the home planet of Slotter Key that she once left in disgrace—but she crashes on its least habitable icy continent. Familiar and colorful characters resurface, such as Ky’s rakish lover, Rafe Dunbarger, CEO of the vast Interstellar Communications, and Ky’s redoubtable great-aunt Grace Vatta, baker of clandestine fruitcakes and head of Slotter Key’s planetary defense. Abounding with a new set of piratical baddies, ramped-up military slang, assorted betrayals, and echoes of Shackleton’s incredible cold-weather trek, this lengthy space opera alternates among Ky in the planet’s coldest regions and a spooky tunnel environment, Aunt Grace’s political and economic machinations in the planetary capital, and Rafe’s paramilitary derring-do, all typical though flamboyant elements of Moon’s sci-fi mystery-action saga. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary.

January 15, 2017
After an extended--and impressive--excursion into fantasy, Moon returns to science fiction, picking up her Vatta's War series (Victory Conditions, 2008, etc.) where she left off.Although no prior knowledge is assumed or required, we plunge immediately into a swirl of familial politics and interstellar intrigue. Following her victory in the recent brutal war, Ky Vatta, now the youthful Grand Admiral of the interstellar Space Defense Force, returns to her home planet, Slotter Key. But Ky's shuttle loses contact and crashes into the sea. Searches, hampered by a lack of communications, appalling weather, official foot-dragging, and a deliberate, long-term effort to conceal the region from probes, prove fruitless. Ky must take command of a motley band of soldiers who only reluctantly accept her authority--they report to Slotter Key, not Ky's space fleet--and weld them into a force capable of survival, maybe even fighting, in the extreme cold. Neither Grace Lane Vatta, Ky's great-aunt and Slotter Key's civilian Rector of Defense, nor Stella Vatta, CEO of the family business empire, believe Ky is dead. And Ky's love interest, Rafe Dunbarger, CEO of a corporation that makes ansibles (instantaneous communicators), has a secret, private method of communication, so he knows she's alive. Once again, Moon's great strength is her characters, particularly the soldiers and how they comport themselves when under great stress. Less robust, the underlying plot, or what little's discernable here, comes across as a trudging retread of previous conspiracies and treacheries. And while the life-and-death situation intrigues, the overall narrative lacks tension--Ky's successfully negotiated so many similar circumstances we never seriously consider the possibility that she'll be killed or even defeated. Solidly engrossing if unspectacular fare, with greatest appeal to readers who prefer the familiar over the innovative.

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March 15, 2017

Coming home to a war hero's welcome would please most people, but Adm. Kylara Vatta is returning to the planet where her parents and siblings were killed. However, plans are dashed when her shuttle is compromised and crashes into the ocean. Ky works on getting surviving passengers to land, not knowing if the attack was aimed at her or someone else, if they are being hunted, or if one of the group is the saboteur. As the crew finally makes land on a small arctic island, Ky discovers that their refuge holds some secrets of its own, secrets that a mysterious government faction will do anything to keep hidden. VERDICT Moon's fresh series launch brings back the celebrated heroine of her "Vatta's War" books, along with the Vatta family. Business and governmental exploits clash in an exciting tale of military sf that will delight fans of the genre and series alike. [See Prepub Alert, 10/31/16.]--KC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2017
Ky Vatta, now an accomplished and battle-hardened admiral, is reluctantly returning to her home planet, Slatter Key. Her great aunt, recently appointed head of the planet's department of defense, has requested Ky come and oversee some complicated family business. Despite Ky's hopes that her homecoming will be understated, a larger plot of conspiracy and sabotage comes to light when Ky's shuttle veers off-course and crashes on an uninhabited island. As Ky and her crew struggle to survive, a complicated web of lies, allegiances, and espionage threatens to bring down the Vatta family and prevent Ky's rescue. Moon returns to hard sf after nearly eight years, visiting familiar characters from the Vatta's War series. Though it is intended as an alternate entry in the series, readers need not have read the previous books to enjoy this one; Moon provides enough backstory to fill in any blanks. A gripping page-turner with enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most hardened sf reader, this is a great return to the tales of the Vatta family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)