I don't know how this book managed to wring 3 stars out of me, but it did. Coming from the never-should-have-been-published first book, I was not open minded. Sure enough, it starts off overflowing with the same military action cliches and cheesy enlisted fan fiction. The dialogue reads like a recruitment ad turned action movie. The 'sci' part of this sci-fi is mostly made-up gadget acronyms, the rest relying on the reader's imagination to fill in the holes (unexplained sensors and thrusters and comms galore). The author has to joke at least once per page about what the Krai will eat and what the di'Taykan will have sex with. And yet. Somehow, the author manages to develop the plot lines into something intriguing, with some moral dilemmas, some actual character development, some sacrifice, and non-cringeworthy moments. Having been burned, though, I'm still hesitant about the rest of the series...