Ahoy there mateys! This be an abandon ship! I really loved the author's Semiosis Duology so I was excited to get a copy of this. Sadly, this one didn't float me boat at all. The writing was very stilted and the characters felt unnatural too. It be a shame when the premise felt so great. I am going to consider this one a miss but I would give the author's work another shot given how much I liked their previous books. Arrr!