While I appreciate the recommendation (and the response!), there is no way in heck I will be reading the sequel lol.

Now you see, I would agree with you about the 'hard' science portion of the book taking a backseat to the unfolding internal character drama of the novel, but I feel that MDR spends far too much time in the novel talking pseudoscience and jargon to overlook it.

She haphazardly handles complex scientific concepts while spending way too much of the novel describing to readers how intelligent her characters are and taking so much time to demonstrate it with high falutin dialogue. I mean, she devotes 2 freaking pages discussing 'declensions' and yet expects us to accept her half-baked ideas concerning space flight. It just does not feel consistent.

Again, I think it comes back to expectations. If the book had been classified as 'fantasy/fiction' and not 'science fiction', I may have been more generous in my critique.