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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Conclusion to an Entertaining Series, March 4, 2008
This review is from: Victory Conditions (Vatta's War) (Hardcover)
Victory Conditions is the conclusion of the five volume Vatta's War space opera series by Elizabeth Moon. The other books in the series are:
Trading in Danger
Marque and Reprisal
Engaging the Enemy
Command Decision
Summary: The Vatta's War series covers the actions of Ky Vatta and her surviving family as they attempt to recover their lives and deal out justice following a devastating attack against their family and their interstellar holdings. Classic space opera with ships and space battles, intrigue, and romance.
Stylistically, the Vatta's War series appears to be a more mature version of the Heris Serrano tales that hooked me on Moon's writing. Compared to the earlier Serrano tales, the story arc of the Vatta's War collection is more cohesive and end-directed. However, this does not lessen the earlier books. Rather, it illustrates a difference in focus on the part of Ms. Moon.
As with all space opera, the draw for the reader comes in term of voice and characterization. Ms. Moon draws very enticing characters for the reader to care about and has a welcoming and smooth writing voice. Thus, all of the books in the series were easy reading and enjoyable recreational experiences.
Good as it was, Victory Conditions did not leave me as satisfied as I had hoped. Although the writing voice remained solid, the depth of characterization shallowed compared to the other books. I'm certain that "rushed" feel came about due to all the threads that appeared to need tying off to draw the series to conclusion The reading was still entertaining but I missed some of the deeper emotional involvement the earlier volumes carried.
I rate the series overall as very enjoyable and recommended with only mild regret for a relative lack of depth in the last volume. That reservation is counterbalanced by a "solid" and "final" ending that nonetheless leaves potential for future exploration should the author and publisher choose.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Solid finale too the series, but weaker than the others, April 7, 2008
This review is from: Victory Conditions (Vatta's War) (Hardcover)
Victory Conditions was a solid conclusion to the series, but like the other reviewers, I thought in general it was a bit more rushed and especially "forced" than it needed to be. Moon focuses so much on wrapping up the series that the characterization really suffers as a result. And this is a shame, especially since she has spent four books working through the motivations of her main, supporting, and even small characters.
As a result, the challenges and conflicts that come from interpersonal dilemmas disappear. For example, (spoilers ahead), one girl in the book turns out to know the pirates' secret code language, because her dad works for them and taught it to her. Rather than spending a couple pages helping the girl work through her feelings about her dad, Moon simply has her suddenly recall a memory that paints him as a duplicitous snake and which prompts the girl to show little remorse over his eventual execution.
Similarly, because the characterization has become more shallow, it seems like Moon's own biases and views come to the fore in ways unsupported by the general plot. There is an inane little piece about the incompetence and irrationality of a non-profit professional sitting on the board of the galaxy's largest company. Leaving aside the logical gap (what is a non-profit manager doing on a private ICT company board?), this section is interesting because the rest of the board are pretty one-dimensional, so it's striking that Moon chooses to focus on this element of the character's motivation and personality.
So, unfortunately, the book reads as something of a foregone conclusion. As another reviewer wrote, all the good guys step up, all the bad guys screw up, right on cue. It's all a little too tidy. However, if you can get past these issues, Victory Conditions remains a solid read, particularly after the first 50 pages. Moon's other strengths definitely remain in this book: solid narration; interweaving of politics, military, and business interests; and nicely fleshed out dilemmas between family, jobs, and responsibility. Her depiction of space battles clearly demonstrates some solid research/thinking about the challenges of combat in a 4x environment, and the descriptions of these battles are excellent.
Overall, a good read, but the weakest of the series.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rush to finish, February 28, 2008
This review is from: Victory Conditions (Vatta's War) (Hardcover)
I liked the emphasis on debris fields in space combat and timing difficulties when battling on a system-wide scale. It just all seemed too pat...the good guys stepped up when needed to support, the bad guys fumbled on cue. The conflicts were all resolved and everybody was happy. The plot seemed to roll along without a problem to it's conclusion. Even the medical/psychological problem experienced by the main character was dealt with quickly and efficiently with no noticable after-effects.
I still enjoyed the book, and thank Ms Moon for bring the story to a close. I always enjoy her world-building and the thorough manner in which she crafts her universe.
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