Moon, Elizabeth: Victory Conditions
Victory Conditions (2008)
Written by: Elizabeth Moon
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 403 (Mass Market Paperback)
At long last, we reach the final book in the series. I'm sure those of you tired of these particular reviews are jumping for joy at this point, eh?
The premise: once more, we're going to Barnes & Noble.com: In the fifth and final book of the series, Commander Vatta is back-locked and loaded and ready to win the fight against the marauding forces of ruthless space pirate Gammis Turek.
For Ky, it’s not just about liberating the star systems subjugated by Turek and defending the rest of the galaxy’s freedom. There’s also a score to be settled and payback to be meted out for the obliteration of the Vatta Transport dynasty . . . and the slaughter of Ky’s family. But the enemy have their own escalation efforts under way-including the placement of covert agents among the allies with whom Ky and the surviving Vattas are collaborating in the war effort. And when a spy ring linked to a wealthy businessman is exposed, a cracked pirate code reveals a galaxywide conspiracy fueling the proliferation of Turek’s warship fleet.
Matching the invaders’ swelling firepower will mean marshaling an armada of battle-ready ships for Ky to lead into combat. But a violent skirmish leaves Ky reeling--and presumed dead by her enemies. Now, as Turek readies an all-out attack on the Nexus system--a key conquest that could seal the rest of the galaxy’s doom--Ky must rally to the challenge, draw upon every last reserve of her strategic skills, and reach deep if she is to tear from the ashes of tragedy her most decisive victory.
Review style: This one is going to be a little different, as I'll not only be talking about this particular book, but also the series as a whole. There will be spoilers, so if that bugs you, I talk in more generalities after the "My Rating" section.
Whew. This took a little while. I think I started it over a week ago and really, once I started reading, I can't say I was all that engaged. Part of the problem is my fault: not only did I look up spoilers for this book, but I also glanced at the last few pages, so I kind of knew what would happen, and naturally, that drains some of the tension out of the story.
However, with this being the final book, I had a certain amount of impatience. I wanted everything to come together and simply go-go-go! No new conflicts, no new characters, and for the love of god, no new POVs. I wanted stuff tied up. The bow didn't have to be pretty, but I didn't want the package bulging out the sides either.
To start with, the book was slow, especially at first. We moved at a snail's pace and I got tired of all the detail that's filled this series to the brim. The detail, in many ways, makes the series (particularly this book) almost bloated. Academically-speaking, I can appreciate the detail and thought that goes behind this book, as well as the realism. But from the entertainment perspective, I'm chomping at the bit. It didn't help that, for example, I could visualize the CCC and how it was set up in the Vanguard to save my life, so I felt a certain disconnect in those scenes. And that was common through-out the book: certain scenes were hard to visualize, especially space battles. That might just be a personal problem of mine, as I often have that same criticism of space opera, but nonetheless, my eyes start getting glassy and I start skimming. I know, that obviously doesn't help the problem.
But there was a certain LACK of tension in this book, a lack that I can't entirely blame the spoilers for. The multiple, unnecessary POVs annoyed the snot out of me. The riggers who took control of the warships annoyed the snot out of me. I don't care that they were being heroes, because I knew they were doomed, and furthermore, the comparison to entertainment vids made the chapters even MORE ridiculous. If they'd done something that had more consequence, like accidentally ram the wrong ship (like Ky's), then maybe it would've been worthwhile, but I found those sections to be dull and tiring. I can't being to express how much these POVs tried my patience.
And it was just this book that had the problem. I remember in Marque and Reprisal, we even get Turek's POV. TUREK. A man whose POV we get once, and by time the book is over, never rises above the stereotypical I-want-to-rule-the-universe kind of villain. To say his defeat was anti-climatic is like saying the sky is blue. What I wouldn't give, in hindsight, to have had Turek to be a more integral part of the story, with more conflicts, though I'll give Moon credit where credit is due: given the vast reaches of space and the sheer amount of resources necessary to fight such a war, how the whole conflict is presented is very realistic. It's just, in the end, a little boring.
And I think on some level, Moon knew this. Why else did we have the sudden and spontaneous plot of Toby's girlfriend knowing the pirate code? Why else did we have the oh-so-random-but-it-amounts-to-nothing subplot of the Slotter Key Vatta CEO who MIGHT be a traitor? Why else is everyone on Nexus, including the ICS, STILL HARPING ON VATTA? Oh, and why else did we suddenly get a love story? Because really, if I'd had the proper build-up, I would've been far, far more engaged in this series.
Here's the thing: I felt irrationally cheated when Trading in Danger didn't have a lick of romance. Then, once I understood that these weren't those kind of books, I really started to appreciate the fact that Ky didn't need a man in her life, which made her interactions with Rafe funny but also focused. Sure, the flirtation was there on his part, but Ky was just distant enough that when they interact in this book and Ky's paying attention to her hormones that I found myself a little lost. I believe Rafe is in love with Ky. But I never really felt an inkling of desire from Ky. Maybe a sniffle of desire, but always pushed aside. So when it comes to the forefront in this book, I'm feeling more than a little betrayed and irritated. Not that Moon betrayed Ky's character, but rather Moon realized she had to cram what she intended in this very last book, so it didn't play out as evenly as it should have.
And don't get me wrong, I like Ky and Rafe together. The line, "Peel me a lime, Rafe," has got to be one of the most loaded, sexy, and charged pieces of dialogue in romantic fiction, like, EVER. And while I appreciate the question mark the book ends with in regards to their relationship (she's not an executive's wife, and he's still got responsibilities to the ISC), I wondered the point of it all. After all, it's the last book in the series. There is no Rowling-esque epilogue to tell me what happens to these characters ten or fifteen years down the road, and after spending some much time with them, I wanted something stronger for my resolution. Not said epilogue, of course, but the way she left it, I'm going to have to fight the urge to ask Elizabeth Moon, "And then what happens?" if I were to ever see her in person. Sure, the Turek storyline is over, but there's so much in the air, so much that has to be repaired, that I feel we need something else, something more. But hell if I know what that something is, save for said epilogue. :) (Though I have a vision: Moon should write another book in this universe that's set some fifteen years later with Toby and Zori as the leads, and using those characters, we can learn what happened to Ky & Rafe, Stella, and everyone else!)
But enough with the grumbling. Because despite the fact I feel this book is bloated with some very unnecessary "conflicts" and POVs, if Moon does anything well, it's not the world-building: it's crafting strong, empowering female characters whose story does not revolve around a man (which is part of the reason Ky's more overt attraction to Rafe bugged me: the first four books spent a lot of time proving she's focused on her job, not on romance, but in the end, after the job is over, she gives into romance). Anyway: Ky, Stella, and Grace were already solid, formidable women in their own right, and then this book adds to the mix Zori and Penny, the latter being the one who really impressed me. And of course, the world-building is solid and good, for all my complaints about the details. It just, in some cases, is too much, but that's a hard balance to find.
And it's been fantastic to see these characters grow and evolve over the course of five books. Ky especially, but even characters like Grace and Stella have their own story arcs, and let's face it, even Rafe is hard not to love. He's sort of a Han Solo/Aragorn combo, and I mean that in the most complimentary and charming way possible.
My Rating
Glad I Borrowed It: this particular book, I feel, is the weakest of the series, which is sad because it is the final book, but kind of inevitable because the book right before this one, Command Decision, is so darn good. There's a lot that frustrated me with this book in terms of multiple POVs and seemingly unnecessary conflicts, but the characters do get their chances to shine, and the overall conflict is resolved, albeit a little predictably and anti-climatically. That said, as a whole, Vatta's War is a pretty solid series, especially for readers who are looking for strong, well-crafted heroines whose stories involve more than just the men in their lives, and I would recommend the series for that alone. Though, I would recommend it also for the world-building. Moon's world-building in this series is a double-edged sword, because sometimes the details are just too much and I want her to get on with it, but as a whole, I'm very impressed with the construction of the story and conflict and how large a role the world-building plays into it. As military SF, it held my attention, but one warning to fans who absolutely loved the deep, emotional connection they found in Moon's unrelated novel, The Speed of Dark: The Vatta's War series is nothing like it. Solidly written, but the POV style alone creates a certain type of distance from the characters, and while I certainly felt for the characters over the course of the series, I never once fell in love with them (though I was often highly entertained by them). It's a good series on the whole, a solid B, but I'm glad, in the end, that I borrowed the series rather than bought it.
Cover Commentary: I like it, though it's not how I envisioned the CCC. It looks too much like a pod, and Ky looks like she's getting ready to go EVA.
DON'T FORGET: The month is creeping to an end! Have you read Emma Bull's War for the Oaks yet? If you're interested in participating in this month's challenge, details are here.