Marque and Reprisal

Vatta's War, Book 2

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway

Although the exciting military career she hoped for never got off the ground, Ky Vatta ended up seeing plenty of combat when she took the helm of one of the commercial transport vessels in her family's fleet...and steered it into a full-blown war. Now the lessons she learned in that trial by fire are about to pay off - because this time, the war has come to her. Someone has launched a full-throttle offensive against Vatta Transport Ltd., Ky's father's interstellar shipping empire. In short order, most of Ky's family is killed, and subsequent attacks sever vital lines of communication, leaving Ky fighting, in every sense, to survive.

Ky is determined to identify the ruthless mystery enemy and avenge her family's name, but she needs not only firepower but information. And she gets both in spades - from the band of stranded mercenaries she hooks up with; from her black-sheep cousin, Stella, who has been leading a secret life; and from Stella's roguish ex-lover, Rafe. Together they struggle to penetrate the tangled web of political intrigue that is wreaking havoc within InterStellar Communications, on whose effective operation their own livelihoods - and perhaps lives - depend.

But the infighting proves to be infectious, and it isn't long before Ky's hired military muscle are turning their suspicions on the enigmatic Rafe, whose wealth of knowledge about ISC's clashing factions and startling new technologies has begun to make him smell like a rat...or a mole. With swift, violent destruction a very real possibility, the last thing Ky needs is a crew divided against itself - and she's prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that Vatta stays in business, as well as in one piece.

What she is not prepared for is the shocking truth behind the terror - and a confrontation with murderous treachery from a source as unexpected as it is unrelenting.

©2004 Elizabeth Moon (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Excellent plotting and characters support the utterly realistic action sequences: swift, jolting, confusing, and merciless. Equally significant, Moon doesn't neglect violence's aftermath." ( Kirkus Starred Review)

No time to grieve

Originally posted at FanLit.

After being kicked out of the officer’s academy, getting dumped by her fiancé, and taking a position as a captain in her father’s shipping empire, Kylara Vatta is not living the life she planned. She barely escaped the events in Trading in Danger and was considering severing ties with Vatta Transport until tragedy struck. An unknown enemy has declared war on Vatta Transportation, bombed their buildings and killed most of the family. But Ky has no time to grieve. The enemy is after her, too, and she has no idea what to do or, more importantly, who to trust. As she learns in this installment, Marque and Reprisal, even family members can be enemies. (I so wanted to use the phrase “traitor trader” there, but I spared you.)

Marque and Reprisal picks up right where Trading in Danger left off and those who were pleased with the first installment of VATTA’S WAR will likely be pleased with this one. Ky desperately needs some allies which gives Elizabeth Moon the opportunity to freshen up the story with several new characters: Stella Vatta, Ky’s sexy blonde cousin with the bad reputation who turns out to be smarter than most people would guess; Rafe, Stella’s ex-lover who has deep secrets of his own; Toby Vatta, a 14 year old cousin who’s now an orphan; Martin, Ky’s newly hired bodyguard; An entire fleet of interstellar mercenaries; Jim, a young stowaway; and a puppy.

Ky and the crew deal with a series of misfortunes which keeps the story moving quickly. As Ky learns that the real world doesn’t follow her ethical code, she’s just beginning to adapt, though she’s not quite sure where the line she doesn’t want to cross is or whether perhaps she’s already crossed it. There’s plenty of death and destruction in this story so far and it’s clear that Ky has a lot of fighting left to do, both physical and emotional, to recuperate from the mess she’s in, to get revenge on her family’s unknown enemies, and to rebuild Vatta Enterprises.

The greatest strength of this series is that it’s emotionally compelling, unpredictable, and often exciting (the climactic fight scene in Marque and Reprisal is awesome). There are some definite issues that will turn some readers off: a few long slightly technical sections where Ky and her crew are prepping the ship and getting armed, repetitive dialog as Ky goes over the plans or history with each new character, too frequent reminders that Ky is worried about her possible killer instinct, a lack of distinctive flavor for the different planets and ports we visit, a few plot devices that seem contrived (especially the little twist at the end of this book), and I suspect that Ky’s unwillingness to think about her dead family has more to do with Moon’s reluctance to write about it than Ky’s reluctance to think about it. But even so, I’m enjoying the story well enough to forgive these flaws.

I’m listening to the audio production narrated by Cynthia Holloway. As soon as I finished Marque and Reprisal I spent one of my precious Audible credits to download the third VATTA’S WAR novel, Engaging the Enemy. I’m really rooting for Kylara Vatta, but I’m kind of scared of her, too.

Conspiracies and sabotage

This is my second book by Elizabeth Moon and I am getting hooked on this series. Kylara Vatta is in command of an old Vatta transport ship from book one and is trying to find other members of the Vatta family and gather them up to fight back against whoever is trying to kill them all. She finds her cousins Stella,a company spy and 14 year old Toby who is the only survivor of the transport ship he was interned on. Rafe a friend of Stella and spy for the InterStellar Communication companies also joins the crew. They are swept up in intrigue, conspiracies, sabotage and fighting for their lives. Moon provides some assassination attempts and a space battle scene. Aunt Gracie who is famous for her fruit cakes in book one and the family "ding bat" turns out the be the family spy master, she is the only one of the older generation alive now. The reader could be better. Can not wait to read the next book in the series.

She's Back!!!!!

Ky Vatta returns and she's in deeper trouble than before. Ky is growing to be a great character who through her charm and resolve earns the respect of those much older and experienced than her. When the Plot against her family proves to be bigger than she realizes. Ky teams with her Infamous cousin Stella and her Eccentric Great Aunt Gracie who both are more than they seem. Ky is getting for the fight of her life as she makes a decision to where her path will lead. And It will cost her blood in more ways than one.

Vatta's War Gets Deadly

Kylara Vatta's life as a trader ship captain gets more than a little "interesting" as her family is destroyed, and her own life and ship are attacked by powerful enemies. The overall plot moves forward at a quick pace as the violence against the Vattas escalates and intensifies. The interaction between Ky and Stella is not particularly healthy, and is, IMO, one of the weaker elements of this series.

The reader, Cynthia Holloway, is still by far not my favourite reader, but she does seem better in this and later books in the series. I've given the performance a 3 out of 5. It adds nothing to the series, but isn't an annoying distraction either. Overall, this book is a 4 out of 5, and with a better reader would be a 5 out of 5.

Continues to be an excellent series

I liked this book as much as book 1. The character continues to be engaging and the story is interesting. I'm going to keep on reading the Vatta books.

Awsome story BUT

Would you consider the audio edition of Marque and Reprisal to be better than the print version?

Comparable.

Any additional comments?

My children's reaction to the reader was why are we listening to a robot.
She did a fair job giving each character slight differences but I noticed it came accross as if it was the very first time she read it. Way to mechanical.

Traders go to war

Fascinating space saga about a family of traders faced with their galaxy in chaos. How trade and profit can provide the structure to get the galaxy back to normal.

Ky and Her Motley Crew

I admire the way Ky’s integrity draws the right people around her. Their sum is always greater than their parts.

Believable Characters

The universe in this series is similar to that of the Liaden Space series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, but although less attention is paid to exploring the universe's culture, the characters are somewhat better developed. There are also similarities to the Honor Harrington series by David Weber, but the lead character is more human and all the supporting characters don't get killed off.

The narrator is distracting. Most characters speak in the same voice, which has an odd cadence and comes across as slightly robotic, like the voice on the trains you find in large airports. The voice is unable to convey any emotional content, other than cheeriness, which is wildly inappropriate for many of the situations the characters find themselves in. The only variation in her voice comes when speaking as a male 14 year old and a male 20-something, where she manages to make them both sound like a whiny 7 year old.

Good story, poor reader

Would you try another book from Elizabeth Moon and/or Cynthia Holloway?

I love Elizabeth Moon but I intend to never purchase a book read by Cynthia Holloway again.
This means I won't be listening to the rest of the Vatta's War series. I will look for the books in a print format.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Marque and Reprisal?

The hand to hand combat in space.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Some people perform a book, enhancing the material. Cynthia simply read it aloud. Very little differentation of character voices and common words mispronouced.