This starts off looking like a really trope-y sci-fi piece. It starts off looking like really bad sci-fi. Like a Star Trek rip off to be a little more precise. But then it starts to get more and more meta, and the author starts taking apart all the things that make campy sci-fi so appealing, and you get twists and turns that make this one of the best books I've read in recent times. I cannot stress enough how much this book dragged me in and pulled me along to its end. I freaking loved every moment.