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Command Decision
Command Decision
Command Decision
Audiobook15 hours

Command Decision

Written by Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by Cynthia Holloway

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

After orchestrating a galaxy-wide failure of the communications network owned and maintained by the powerful ISC corporation, Gammis Turek and his marauders strike swiftly and without mercy. First they shatter Vatta Transport. Then they overrun entire star systems, growing stronger and bolder. No one is safe from the pirate fleet. But while they continue to move forward with their diabolical plan, they have made two critical mistakes.

Their first mistake was killing Kylara Vatta's family.

Their second mistake was leaving her alive.

Now Kylara is going to make them pay.

But with a "fleet" consisting of only three ships-including her flagship, the Vanguard, a souped-up merchant cruiser-Kylara needs allies, and fast. Because even though she possesses the same coveted communication technology as the enemy, she has nowhere near their numbers or firepower.

Meanwhile, as Kylara's cousin Stella tries to bring together the shattered pieces of the family trading empire, new treachery is unfolding at ISC headquarters, where undercover agent Rafael Dunbarger, estranged son of the corporation's CEO, is trying to learn why the damaged network is not being repaired. What he discovers will send shock waves across the galaxy and crashing into Kylara's newly christened Space Defense Force at the worst possible moment.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 5, 2009
ISBN9781400178308
Command Decision
Author

Elizabeth Moon

Former Marine Elizabeth Moon is the author of many novels, including Echoes of Betrayal, Kings of the North, Oath of Fealty, the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy, Victory Conditions, Command Decision, Engaging the Enemy, Marque and Reprisal, Trading in Danger, the Nebula Award winner The Speed of Dark, and Remnant Population, a Hugo Award finalist. After earning a degree in history from Rice University, Moon went on to obtain a degree in biology from the University of Texas, Austin. She lives in Florence, Texas.

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Reviews for Command Decision

Rating: 3.8830987042253526 out of 5 stars
4/5

355 ratings18 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Couldn't put it down.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Ky Vatta ahs put together a squadron of ships but they're not really a unified command yet after years of working as independent privateers and her problems aren't helped when a coup against the head of ISC leads to Vatta Trading being registered as an enemy of ISC, and ISC had a harsh policy against those who attempted to break its monopoly on interstellar communications. Meanwhile, Ky aids a mercenary fleet escape the pirate ambush as the first action of her new fleet. Meanwhile Stella and Toby start making inroads on re-establishing Vatta's trading empire.This book has a lot of action going on and Ms Moon just about keeps on top of the various threads
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Feels very much like a setting up book, not that much happens, and there's a wider focus on characters away from Ky who spends a lot of time 'training' her little fleet, and not actually doing.The other main characters this time around are Stella, who's found her feet running what's left of the Vatta business, and Rafe who discovers his family - the head of the IFS ansible monopoly - to have been abducted without the rest of the corporation knowing. This alongside Ky provides various opportunities to look at different circumstances of command, between the military obvious ones, through to more personal choices of family and finance.It all moves along quite well, but it's hardly deep writing. But if you've enjoyed the previous ones this is no worse. We get to meet more humods in another shape/size/colour but this hardly adds to the cultural contexts.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this very quickly. It was a great continuation of the series and managed to have a few twists in it as well as some usual predictable pieces too, which is good because it made it satisfying as a story. I like that there is a wide range of aspects to the series. More than just a series of space battles and shipboard routine. There are legal elements, corporate governance, organised crime and government. On top of all of that there is a good layer of human interaction and emotion from some flawed characters that you can empathise with.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not the best book to read at bedtime - I was up until I was done. Everything's clearly coming together for the big finish, now that we're on book 4 of 5. I do appreciate the observation that 'life isn't a fairy-tale - though sometimes it seems like it.' (Sorry, lost the marker so paraphrasing from memory.) Toby is distracting in that he reminds me too much of Wesley Crusher, but I can forgive that, and just about anything, as this series is just such a kick.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Part of a series of a science fiction family saga about the Vatta clan, this tells about three young family members at the onset of taking over huge responsibilities, each in a different capacity. Having not read others in the series, I felt that Moon did a good job of incorporating earlier stories without belaboring the catch-up. More technology than is my cup of tea, but plenty for those who like it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book got me along the way to book #4 in the Vatta's war series. The characters developed and the plot thickened.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At the end of third book in series I was bored. After a few months, I saw Command Decision. I wasn't expecting a lot, was looking for a fun read, some space battles and interstellar commerce. All of them was there. If you like these Command Decision is great.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I do like Vatta. This one has Ky on her own and pushing (what she thinks are) her limits; Stella ditto; and Rafe being pushed well beyond his limits and hanging in there. It's very much a story-in-progress - a lot of events depend heavily for understanding on knowing the previous books, and while it ends with things temporarily calm it's more a turning point than any kind of conclusion. Basically, this book gets all the pieces in place for some fast and furious work in the last book (I read it but don't recall the details of the action, but it's obvious the sort of thing that's coming). Good stuff. As usual, Moon presents very realistic characters with solid motivations (however odd) and vivid descriptions of situations and events. Very rich.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I thought this one was a little better than the previous three. The characters are still good, and there really aren't any new ones. However, they seem to be settling down into their roles, and the action is good and varied. Its an interesting mix of business, corporate espionage, and space warfare. Its a little unbelievable that a young person with no experience can lead larger and larger groups of ships and do so successfully, but its still entertaining.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another great installment.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is book four in the Vatta's War series.Ky Vatta now has the beginnings of a fleet to fight against the space pirates responsible for the death of her family. However, she's knows it's not enough--especially with her fleet low on funds and ammunition. Meanwhile, Rafe travels to his homework and discovers his own family in peril. The pirates haven't merely taken over the galaxy by force--they have infiltrated high level governments in various systems, including the Rafe's family-managed communications giant ISC.I read this in two days. I didn't want to put it down. I've never considered myself a big scifi reader, but this series has proved otherwise. This is space opera at its finest, with sprawling space battles, sabotage, and boardroom deals that impact millions. I'm already almost 100 pages into the fifth and final book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Another good read. The universe didn't get any more complex & the story line continued quite logically, except for the 'hidden' person I mentioned in my last review. I found the reasons for that & the character's reasoning behind it to be weak. It wasn't the person I suspected, either.Again, the book has plenty of action & good characters. Well worth the few hours it takes to read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The premise: for the fourth book in the series, I'm pulling from BN.com: After orchestrating a galaxy-wide failure of the communications network owned and maintained by the powerful ISC corporation, Turek and his marauders strike swiftly and without mercy. First they shatter Vatta Transport. Then they overrun entire star systems, growing stronger and bolder. No one is safe from the pirate fleet. But while they continue to move forward with their diabolical plan, they have made two critical mistakes.Their first mistake was killing Kylara Vatta’s family.Their second mistake was leaving her alive.Now Kylara is going to make them pay.But with a “fleet” consisting of only three ships–including her flagship, the Vanguard, a souped-up merchant cruiser–Kylara needs allies, and fast. Because even though she possesses the same coveted communication technology as the enemy, she has nowhere near their numbers or firepower.Meanwhile, as Kylara’s cousin Stella tries to bring together the shattered pieces of the family trading empire, new treachery is unfolding at ISC headquarters, where undercover agent Rafael Dunbarger, estranged son of the corporation’s CEO, is trying to learn why the damaged network is not beingrepaired. What he discovers will send shock waves across the galaxy and crashing into Kylara’s newly christened Space Defense Force at the worst possible moment.My RatingWorth the Cash: there's a part of me that wants to say the 4th book is the best so far, but that's because it really utilizes its cast to tell the bigger, more epic story. You really get to see how different pieces of the puzzle fit together and you really start to see a bigger picture in terms of story. Each POV character had an interesting storyline, but much of what made those storylines so interesting was the build-up from the three previous books. Still, I'm enjoying the series so far, and I've only got one book to go. I continue to be impressed with the cast of characters and how each character has a solid story and goal, and of course, the world-building continues to fascinate. Granted, I wouldn't recommend STARTING with this book--if you're interested, you MUST start with the first of the series, Trading in Danger, and work your way up. But it's worth it: the books seem to steadily improve with each volume, and that's always encouraging.Review style: stream-of-conscious this time, because Moon's pretty consistent and I don't have a whole awful lot to say about this particular title. No spoilers. If you're interested, the link to my LJ is below. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)REVIEW: Elizabeth Moon's COMMAND DECISIONHappy Reading!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Elizabeth Moon takes the standard elements of Space Opera--FTL drives, ansible communications, scattered (and largely independent) nation-state planets, nasty pirates, slavers, privateers, mercenaries--and mixes them a bit differently than is common in the genre. Her isolated cultures, in particular, are exceptionally well-considered and consistently drawn. She's also got a knack for story-telling that's really quite delightful.I suspect she's donated a new common element to the Space Opera canon, by the way: All of her stories have super-competent grandmother types who play fairy godmother to their charges. Great fun.In this story (I'm trying to avoid spoilers), the series' three principal characters spend quite a bit of time coming to terms with their unexpected leadership roles in their family businesses. They're fairly, but not entirely, successful.Fun book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I like Elizabeth Moon and I think she has got a great book series in Vattas war.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    More fast paced action and space battles. There's a hostage rescue of Rafe's parents, and larger slices of politics sneaking in.There are also a couple of rather obvious plot chunks to make the story more fun, although in at least one case it works to not only make Ky look more heroic (although it does that too) but to make other bits of plot move along nicely too.We're getting to a "This is not the end, but it is the beginning of the end" (to misquote) kind of situation I think. One more, just possibly two more books in the series without a significant new twist.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Elizabeth Moon's SF books are good old fashioned space opera. Ok - so they always have a non-traditionally female lead. But mostly they have young heroes who overcome all the odds stacked against them to be come the saviors of their families, they planets, and their way of life. Command Decision falls perfectly in line with the rest of the genre, continuing the exploits of Kylara Vatta as intrepid young merchant captain turned privateer. At the end of Engaging the Enemy she was leading a very small group of semi-military ships while her cousin rebuilt the family fortunes, and funded the tiny navy. By then end of Command Decision Ky has saved the day a couple more times, cousin Stella has re-established the commercial empire, Toby, the boy-genius, has made fantastic leaps in McGuffin technology, and Ky has acquired enough ships and followers to be called Commodore, and probably working on Admiral.Don't get me wrong - I love the series. It is wonderfully well written over-the-top space opera. It is Saturday afternoon at the movies with popcorn and jujubees. Moon's story telling has only improved over time & I'd say the Vatta series is better balanced and paced than the Esmay Suiza/Familias series. All of the series books make up a greater whole with a well defined arc, and I'd say there is one more book to go to finish out the Vatta series.