Command Decision (#4)
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 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.
Reviews
“Strong female leads, terrific action and complications aplenty; should grab existing fans and win new converts.”
“The frequent FTL (faster than light) jumps between Ky’s deep-space engagements, Rafe’s reluctant boardroom battles, Grace’s wily machinations and Stella’s expert financial calculations keep the excitement level high.”
“Nebula Award winner Moon handles action and intrigue with equal skill; her characters are varied and believable. With particular appeal for fans of the “Honor Harrington” series and dynastic sf, this novel is recommended, along with series predecessors, for most sf collections.”Library Journal
“The saga of doughty Kylara Vatta keeps getting better! Moon definitely has the gift. Engaging characters, great plot, great action, great pacing. I look forward to each new installment in the saga.”Analog
“The fourth Vatta’s War volume is Moon at her best.”Booklist
“Moon’s latest tale of intergalactic take-over and economic turmoil is still running strong. The conclusion, involving all of the characters, leaves no doubt that a fifth volume can be expected and, with war about to break out, it promises to take us to new places again.”SFX Magazine (UK)
“One of scifi’s best military space series. The Serrano Legacy showed that Nebula Award winner Elizabeth Moon was a military SF writer to reckon with. Her more recent Vatta’s War series, a skillful blend of military SF with hard SF, the family saga and space opera, confirms Moon’s place with Lois McMaster Bujold and David Weber in the top tier of turn-of-the-millennium military SF writers.”Scifi.com
“A gripping series for those of us who enjoy yarns about ‘coming of age in space opera.'”SFRevu
“Perhaps the best volume of the series so far.”SFReviews
“Elizabeth Moon writes grand space opera–that is, when she’s not writing brilliant military fantasy. COMMAND DECISION is the fourth in the rousing Vatta’s War series that I’ve enthusiastically followed. One of the best in the series to date.”BookLoons
“[S]he gives us a cast of complex, interesting people as they cope with, and learn from experience. I found it almost impossible to put this book down, and am seriously disgruntled that the next is not in the immediate future. Like tomorrow. So I guess it’s time to reread them all again.”SFSite.com (Sherwood Smith)
“If you have been enjoying the Vatta’s War series, you will enjoy this one. What else do you need to know? If you enjoy fast-moving space adventure, with involving characters and space war tactics and action and all […] these books will work for you. Plenty of cool action, several engaging good guys root for in a struggle against some really, really bad guys (as ever, Moon’s villains are truly villainous). this is pure light Space Opera–nothing earthshaking, nothing new, but good fun.”SFSite.com (Rich Horton)
Awards & Accolades
#31 New York Times Hardcover Bestseller List
#5 Locus Hardcover and Mass Market Bestseller Lists