The author has introduced us to some key characters, and tried to give us the ability to identify with them a bit. He has painted a picture of the settings that is relatively vivid and helpful. I’m surprised that he painted one character as such a bland person that we really can’t get excited about her. And he has made it clear that a defining character of another character is the deliberate abuse of shocking profanity. He’s an interesting character whose connection with the ship is really intriguing, but I’m not sure I could get past the gratuitous profanity to get into the story.