The main character, Ish, goes from being the only mildly clever person in a sea of spacefaring simpletons who find basic tests and little ideas mind-blowing in Quarter Share (which was quietly pleasant to fall asleep to because there was at least some simple problem solving in a neat world) to being, apparently through no effort of his own a sexual Adonis surrounded by “the most stunningly beautiful women this side of galaxy” who fawn all over his every cringeworthy move. To be clear: it’s not even that a trading story turned to a romance story – there’s no actual romance, no challenge, no conflict. Just as another reviewer accurately put it: middle school puerile wish fulfillment. Even that would be bearable if literally anything else was going on in the story.