Delightful characters? Check! Inventive, galaxies-spanning worldbuilding? Check! Sexy aliens? Check! So why didn't I love this book? Well, a lot of those delightful characters get killed. I guess that's par for the course with military SF. I felt that the story dragged and was stressful (even giving me bad dreams), all at the same time. I guess that's realistic for a military story, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. (Cont'd)