Trading in Danger: Vatta's War, Book 1 (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

The internet has made retitling books a bloody silly idea. All it does is confuse the punters.

Any how a definate improvement on the first volume which hand a rather simplistic plot. ind this episode The Varta family of traders is targeted for distruction. Can the survivors regroup around Ky the heroine of the book? Will all the loose ends be tied up? (Hint: there are more volumes to follow) no sign of mid series sag though. The book ends with a good dramatic resolution.

At Belinta, Ky learned that the planet had ordered agriculture "ag" equipment over a year ago from Sabine Prime which was picked up by another transport company and never delivered. Belinta was desperate for the equipment. No one named Vatta had ever turned down a chance to profit and Ky was no different. Ky hoped to earn enough money so that her ship could be repaired instead of scrapped. Once the personal contract was signed, she was off to Sabine Prime.

Sabine Prime gave Captain Vatta a bit of trouble, but not much, at first. Ky needed a new FTL drive before she could go anywhere. It was a vital part of the ship. Then she needed to purchase the ag equipment. The problem was figuring out how to get the money. FTL drives were very expensive. It all became worse when chaos erupted. Someone blew up the ISC's ansible platforms, so communications was all but gone. Then war ships came in. Ky's ship had no weapons and, with no FTL drive, no way to leave. She and her crew were defenseless and in the middle of a war between Sabine Prime and mercs!

**** Very good beginning to what appears to be a series or trilogy. The plots are all tied up by the end, but many sub-plots are left dangling. I would very much like to find out how one or two of them end up, especially the one from the academy.

The beginning of the book reminded me a bit of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. Young woman, military back ground, done horribly wrong, underestimated, and very cunning. Yet by the half way mark, Ky had definitely separated herself from Honor in my mind. Ky has her own way of dealing with things and any emotional trash is put on hold until the crisis is over. All-in-all, VERY GOOD novel. I hope the sequel comes out quickly. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.