The Captain’s Log – cold welcome & into the fire (Elizabeth Moon)

Ahoy there me mateys!  This here be a combined review of the Vatta’s Peace duology. While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the Vatta’s War series and ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

Ye think I would have enough of Ky Vatta after readin’ the 5 books in the Vatta’s War series.  Well no, I wanted more!  Luckily for me this companion series exists.  Ever wonder what happens to the Admiral when war is over?  Then this be for ye!

I loved book 1 so much that I didn’t take the time to write me review of it for yesterday (hence no post).  Plus there was a crazy cliffhanger so I just leapt straight into the remainder of the story.  And was very satisfied by what I got.

This story follows Ky as she goes back to her home planet to quickly take care of some business and return to the fleet.  Only she never gets to her destination.  Sabotage finds her stranded in arctic conditions with a very small band of survivors.  I adore survival stories especially when it involves treacherous seas, islands, and people!  This aspect was me favourite part.  I thought how the author chose to portray the timeline of the survival story was particularly lovely.  The only minor quibble was the “rescue” was a little anti-climatic.

But of course after the survivors are saved, the pace gears back up.  I certainly did not expect what happened to Ky and the others after that.  Politics and chaos become the order of the day.  It was super fun.  Ky, Stella, and Grace all play their parts.  And what was fascinating is that they continue to grow and change more in these two books.  Like real people do.  So that was fun.

While the Vatta story can end here, I will certainly take another companion series that looks into the unsolved mystery of this duology.  Arrr!

Side note: Much thanks to me matey, Sarah @ brainfluff, for pointing me in the right direction in terms of the recommended readin’ sequence for these books!

Goodreads has this to say about book one:

Nebula Award–winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with a thrilling series featuring Kylara Vatta, the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta’s War sequence.

Summoned to the home planet of her family’s business empire, space-fleet commander Kylara Vatta is told to expect a hero’s welcome. But instead she is thrown into danger unlike any other she has faced and finds herself isolated, unable to communicate with the outside world, commanding a motley group of unfamiliar troops, and struggling day by day to survive in a deadly environment with sabotaged gear. Only her undeniable talent for command can give her ragtag band a fighting chance.

Yet even as Ky leads her team from one crisis to another, her family and friends refuse to give up hope, endeavoring to mount a rescue from halfway around the planet—a task that is complicated as Ky and her supporters find secrets others will kill to protect: a conspiracy infecting both government and military that threatens not only her own group’s survival but her entire home planet.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Elizabeth Moon – Author

To buy the novels please visit:

cold welcome – Book 1

into the fire – Book 2

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

trading in danger – book 1 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)

marque and reprisal – book 2 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)

engaging the enemy – book 3 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)

command decision – book 4 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)

victory conditions – book 5 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)