I like Elizabeth Bear’s writing and I liked the past two books in this series but this one did not work for me. Another very anxious protagonist. Nearly constant assaults by space pirates who are two-dimensional unknowable opponents so there’s not a lot of nuance or learning there. A lot of that Momma Bear “Now that you’ve threatened my children I am REALLY MAD” posturing which I’m sure works for some people but does not work for me. There’s a lot of interesting interspecies interactions and those parts are fascinating but that was not enough for me.