Thursday, July 19, 2012

Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon ****

Even though Victory Conditions by ex-Marine Elizabeth Moon is the fifth and final installment of her Vatta's War series, it stands alone very nicely ... readers can even (should) skip the chapter one summary. The very young Admiral Ky Vatta has recovered from being kicked out of the Academy to being put in change of the joint forces to defend the free world from the forces of Turek who has been destroying and enslaving planets one system at a time. Space opera at its best ... battle tactics with FTL drives, micro jumps, energy beams, shields, ... updated and well done.

Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth. This is space opera for girls and women. In this world, Ky Vatta is the Admiral, her cousin Stella is in line to take over the Vatta commercial interests from her Aunt Grace. When love interest Rafe Dunbarger retires from the head of ISC, his sister Penny will be in charge. Not only are women everywhere, but the subplots are more feminine: teenage lovers, Aunt Grace's relationship with a younger man, and the challenges between career and family life.

A macho genre rewritten for the 21-century.

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