This book handles some very heavy topics in a surprisingly light manner. I started this book on probably the worst possible day, the day after the 2024 election results, and thought maybe reading about an extremely woman-phobic society would not be a good idea. But the book was so fast-paced, and as soon as Ethan stepped outside his world and had unpleasant experiences solely from the men he encountered, while being constantly rescued by a woman, I saw where Bujold was going.
I do think there was a missed opportunity for some more dramatic character development and thicker plots touching on the messages here. I could read 500 more pages about Ethan's adventures outside Athos because it sets up an incredibly interesting character dilemma. But, from the perspective of this book being a fun and entertaining read, it scores highly from me.