I love the world-building in The Red Scholar's Wake. Unlike most other science fiction the world of space empires and space pirates is based on Vietnamese culture and I found that super interesting. I also enjoyed the ongoing conflict within the pirate community on whether this is all about getting as much money and power as possible or if they should build a better world. However, I could not fully get on-board with the individual characters. The reasoning for the actions was too flimsy for me and the reactions too dramatic.