Elizabeth Moon
Book 2 of Vatta's War series
Ky Vatta survived an attack in her about-to-be-junked cargo hauler and begins to discover her talents as a spacer. With much of the intersteller communication network sabotaged, she is making decisions as best she can. Her cousin Stella has arrived in Sabine with a package containing her fathers command level implant (all the company data as CEO) and the two cousins are basically it for Vatta Ltd. Stella also brings a letter of marque from the Slotter Key government authorizing Ky to be a privateer (sort of a legal pirate) to protect shipping lanes. Ky is basically in the middle of an internal struggle: is she a cargo hauler or a fighter. But while hauling cargo, they encounter family reject and pirate Osman Vatta, and the choice is made for her. And in the end, Ky now has a cargo hauler and an armed escort ship. It looks like the pattern for the books in the series is one major conflict per book that wraps up a major part of the story, and clearly moves the plot forward, but doesn't finish. And it doesn't feel like stalling (as middle books often do in series). The story here is big enough for the entire series.
4 stars (out of 4)
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