★★★★ (of 5)

• Full Title: Victory Conditions
• Author: Elizabeth Moon
• Year: 2008 (mine was a library hardback)
• Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure
• Publisher: Ballantine Books*
• ISBN 978-0-345-49161-9 (hardback)
• Wikipedia page (series)
• Author’s Wikipedia Page

(* The publisher was also listed as Del Rey, and elsewhere in the book, Random House.)

 

Summary

As with previous sequels in this series, Victory Conditions begins almost immediately after the end of the previous book (Command Decision). It is the fifth (and final) book of the Vatta’s War series. It wraps up the saga of Kylara Vatta’s rise to interstellar fame as a competent commander of space forces.

Now with the help of regional governments, assistance from major mercenary corporations, and a fleet full of former privateers, Ky brings her determination and skill to bear on civilization’s greatest threat.

 

What I Liked Least About It

I thought the descriptions of the two major space battles (pg. 155-189 and pg. 342-365) were more chaotic and less understandable than previous big battles in the series, though the latter is better than the former. The first one seems almost like Moon rewrote it multiple times, adding new parts and removing old parts and never making a final pass to smooth it out.

One could argue that the book (and series) should have ended on pg. 365 instead of pg. 398. When the final big space battle is finally done and the pirates are defeated in all the ways that matter, the reader feels the tension drop away. Yes, there are still a few loose threads, but we assume we know how most of them will tie up, or that a later book might deal with some of them. Or perhaps an epilogue would suffice. Instead, we have 33 pages, much of which describes an anticlimactic “victory celebration” during which Rafe makes an ass of himself and Ky is disappointed in him. Then Rafe and Ky are suddenly fine with each other. And there’s an argument between Ky and her cousin. And a hint at future mischief with a mercenary company. As an aspiring writer, I do understand the author’s desire to tie up loose ends, but for me these 33 pages were a slow and disappointing let-down after the big climax.

 

What I Liked Most About It

Victory Conditions, overall, was a satisfying and firm conclusion to the five-book series — a series that reads more as one huge novel than as five separate books. Vatta proves what everyone doubted — that she had what was required. Against overwhelming odds, she emerged victorious — as we always kind of suspected she would, though we sometimes doubted too.

About midway through, Ky suddenly feels the weight of all she’s been doing and has to check-in to a medical facility for stabilization. I thought this came way too late in the five-book series, but I’m glad that it was included. Too often, military space adventure stories like this give us the impression that true heroes can perform their heroic acts and then go on with their lives. Ky has lost family and friends to pirate attacks, and has caused plenty of death on her own, both in self-defense and in retaliation. Fortunately, the civilization in Ky’s time is well-equipped with mental health experts that she didn’t have to pay for.

 

Conclusion

If you made it this far in the series, you definitely should read Victory Conditions. It wraps everything up.

 

 

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