I am impressed that Leckie found another ingenious way to tell a story from the viewpoint of first-person semi-omniscient. It's that exact narrative style that I enjoyed os much in her Ancilliary books. Slow to build, I honestly would had abandoned this book if I did not already have such trust in the author. My trust was rewarded, this is a lovely piece of world-building and slowly rising momentum. I could wish for a slightly better ending for the characters, but I also appreciate the sort of tactful privacy that Leckie lends them. Also on the topic of pricacy, I appreciate that the main character (or maybe I should say the main human character) is trans and that is not particularly an issue at any point in the narrative. This character, Eolo, is addressed as "you," which places the reader as trans in the narrative, with a subtlety that I find delicious.