Where at first I was hands down excited to read this new novel, when I was a couple hundred pages in, I realized its very problematic nature. In an era of #ownvoices and focus on diversifying the publishing world, I fear this focus of ‘diversity sells’ overruled the fact that Paolini is a white, male author. He should not be writing a book from a woman of color POV. There is already enough white maleness in the sci-fi genre never mind those authors writing different voices. I think Paolini is a good writer but the way he wrote from the mind of a woman (as a woman) felt extremely inauthentic and off-putting. I think it would have been stronger as just a space opera with a male point of view—nothing is essential to the story/plot/theme would have to be changed for this to be told from a male POV. While the genre doesn’t necessarily need more of those, I think it’s important to save publishing space (and money and advertising) for actual women of color to write their own voices.