I’ve seen others say it, this book needed a good editor to cut 500 pages out out of it. I have to agree. There is, at best 300 pages of story here. My complaints lie with the writer’s self indulgence and total lack of a cohesive theme. 800+ pages inside the POV of one self loathing, guilt ridden xenobiologist is a hard slog. Following it up with copious appendices feels like a writer who’s fallen in love with the sound of their own voice.