Trading in Danger

"Trading in Danger" is an adventure story in the context of a trading company, replacing the camel caravans and clipper ships of old with the space ships of tomorrow. Excitement and adventure in an imaginative story of a young woman's self-growth, dealing with commercial enterprises, military threats, leadership responsibility, risk taking, family relationships, romantic challenges, all in the face of injustice, subterfuge, and disasters. The seductive lure of security or the challenge of independence? Are these mutually exclusive, or does the one require the other? Using a totally different plot, this story shares a theme of the movie "Liberty Valance," illustrating the need of both intellect and force in defending freedom, for an individual or a society.

If I were still in college, this author would be on my DO NOT PICK UP UNTIL AFTER FINALS list. Like every other book she's written, this one begs to be read from cover to cover without putting it down. At first, I thought this story was going to be similar to her previous (and excellent) series. But after 2 pages, I was hooked and no longer noticed any similarities. Now that I'm done reading the book, I'm ready to read it again while waiting for the sequel to come out in paperback. There is no sex. No foul language. And no long discussions about religion or morality. It's an adventure and a coming-of-age story. Very enjoyable.

I loved this book, couldn't put it down. Good old fashion story telling with just enough techno to keep it science fiction. The author kept the number of characters to a minimum and kept the action focused on the main character. As soon as I finished this book I began searching for other books by this author. Thank you Elizabeth, I had a very enjoyable weekend with your book.

This the first book of the Vatta space opera series. Kylara Vatta is a young woman from a rich shipping family who gets booted out a military academy, so her father assigns her the captancy of an old space freighter that needs to be piloted to a distant scrap yard. Naturally, things don't go according to plan....Yes, there are a lot of simlarities between this book and the author's Serrano/Esmay books, but there are also enough differences to keep it interesting. I would say that the tone of this book is slightly more realistic and less warm/fuzzy than the Esmay books. I really like some of the unique personal issues that Kylara struggles with, and it's clear that Kylara is pursuing a very different course than the one Esmay Suiza took.I also like the fact that this book has a solid ending that doesn't leave you hanging. No series cliff-hangers here!

Ky Vatta wakes up as a senior cadet in the honor squad yet a couple of hours later she is asked to hand in her resignation because she broke a rule causing major fallout. She returns home and is given command of the Glennys Jones, an old FTL ship that is to be sold for scrap after it finishes its lasting trading venture.When Ky reaches the planet Belinda, she discovers the government needs agricultural equipment that another trading ship failed to deliver. She decides to make an unscheduled stop at Sabine to obtain the equipment and with the profit she makes she hopes to buy the Glennys Jones and work for herself. She didn't count on being in the middle of a war or mercenaries dictating her actions or stopping a mutiny but Ky is determined to surmount all obstacles or die trying.This is the first installment in a brand new military science fiction series and it is absolutely outstanding. The heroine may be untested but she is a survivor and will do what is necessary to win. Readers will adore her and will want to read other books in this series. Elizabeth Moon is a talented storyteller who makes the audience believe that she is recording events that happened.Harriet Klausner