I was absolutely intending to read the description of this book and then pass on by. Then I sort of accidentally read Ajay Smith’s review and became intrigued. Since several reviews noted, “It’s not what you would think from the title, it’s much much better,” I wound up buying the book. Those reviews were right! And now I am adding my voice to the chorus.

Here are a few thoughts about what made this book a very worthwhile listen for me.

1. The characters in this book are so interesting. Carter is not at all what I expected. He doesn’t fit either the hero or anti-hero mold. He’s not exactly a wise-cracking tough guy though he does have a sort of snark-adjacent way of speaking (or internal dialoging). And then there are Pykh and Siel. They are the same species and speak the same language and have been together for quite a while, but are still metaphorically from two different worlds. Seeing their two points of view adds so much depth to the story.

2. The communication issues. First, they don’t have a universal translator or babel fish or anything. Second, Carter has a very different understanding about what is going on than Pykh and Siel. Even Pykh and Siel interpret things differently sometimes. The author’s excellent examination of these dynamics, the attempts at communication with both successes and (many) failures becomes almost an anthropological study between the three characters – but in a really wonderful and fascinating way. There is quite a lot of sexual content pretty much from the beginning, but it’s so intertwined with the social context that it’s at a different level than the usual run-of-the-mill steamy romance story.

3. I love how Carter tells the reader about his military training. Sometimes it’s useful and sometimes it’s not, but hearing about it is always interesting.

4. The narrator – holy smokes, what talent. Someone else commented in their review that certain scenes would probably not be so heartbreaking if the narrator were less skilled, and I agree. Not just the raw skill of speaking well and creating distinct voices for each character, but also his unique and unexpected interpretations of them put this performance right at the top of the chart.

5. This book is very intense and the author’s skill is what made it work. I notice that as the trilogy progresses each book is longer than the one before. I’m hoping that’s because the editor gave the author more freedom to explore the interesting characters and setting.

I could say more, but I’m making every effort not to include any spoilers. No matter how much I want to tell everyone about the excellent scenes and funny bits of dialog. (The book is not comedic by any means, but there are definitely funny moments and funny lines.)

In short, I recommend this book and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.