A reluctant hero on a mission in a well-established galaxy, this fish-out-of-water tale is very well written. The characters (and even the villain) have some growth. The background contains just enough of the galactic situation to remain interesting to series readers.

Flipping a trope on its head, the main character comes from a male-only society. Rather than scream misogyny, this is an interesting religious take on a frontier society. But the main story is a mystery - what happened to the shipment they were supposed to get? The reluctant hero must venture WAY outside his comfort zone to find a solution.

The majority of the book takes place aboard a station, and is also well written. Serious thought has gone into how to protect these people and how they would react to it. Like many gathering places, the politics of the greater universe are represented. Other than a few name drops, the main characters of the series don't appear at all. This is the third Vorkosigan book I have read, all in publication order. It proves the author had created a well-mapped universe to work from. All of the first three books were published in 1986 as well.

Next I will tackle the sequel to the first book, though published 5 years later. [b:Barrayar|61905|Barrayar (Vorkosigan Saga, #7)|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397151220l/61905.SY75.jpg|3036422] is one of the highest rated in the series on Goodreads. Looking forward to it!