I absolutely love the Galaxy Outlaws series so I got this one and the sociopolitical nature of the story detracted from the story and was forced. So this book takes place in the 26th century and everyone is shocked/challenged by non-traditional roles from 1950. Nearly every female character is openly lesbian or a closet lesbian. The brother/sister being transgendered does not only not add to the story, but actually detracts from the story because it’s not important and forced. The side plot is tedious and detracts from the flow of the story. This is a liberal author being a “renegade” by complying with current social pressures to conform their writing to comply with expected leftist compliance. The reactions of everyone in the story to a non-traditional role is more 1970 than 2570, so it doesn’t work.
Outside the politics of the book it was a well written story about dysfunction and family relations and fills the bio for sequels in the book series. I love the universe J.S. Morin created, but I came to escape current dystopian reality via Sci-Fi, not get a degree in feminist studies. I am not a moralist, homophobic, or a church goer so the cussing doesn’t bother me but indoctrination does. If the trans stuff was central to the story and melded with the flow of the book it would have worked, but it wasn’t so it didn’t.