After getting a bit darker in the last book, Lowell decides to spread it a little more gray this time. It's not always "best possible outcome" with a wink and a grin, but it is pretty close. Ishmael continues to work his charm captaining a new ship, the Agamemnon. While it might be the worst ship in the fleet, it's crew isn't nearly as troubled as in Double Share. There are certainly call backs to Ishmael's earlier ships and he pays those lessons forward with good results.
I was most disappointed in Ishmael's personal storyline aboard Diurnia Station, particularly the middle visit in the book. I had a different outcome in mind and was a bit surprised at how it played out. There keeps being a hint about the identity of a person 'off-screen' and I truly expected a big reveal in the last visit to Diurnia Station just to re-anchor the story there. I'm anxious to continue on with the next book, but don't see how that character would help or hinder Ishmael after the events in this book.
I was a bit confused about some character details. It seemed like one character was revealed to be homosexual early in the story, but ends up involved in an opposite sex relationship later.
I was also slightly disappointed we didn't get another appearance of the welkies in any shape or form.
On the plus side, this book continues with very compelling characters, situations and dialog. It doesn't feel like the story should end after the next book.