I thoroughly enjoyed getting a look at some of the non-Radchaai civilizations, including the alien Geck. I also liked that the main character 'thought slow' - she didn't always have a witty retort, but it was a lot of fun to watch her figuring things out a little bit later. Once again, an engaging story against a backdrop of interesting gender & culture stuff.

Works well as a standalone novel, but I enjoyed the references to the events of the Ancillary books.