Pros:
Middle-aged competent female protagonist. Moral and philosophical ambiguity. The great start to what I'm sure will be an above-average 20+ book space politics saga.

Cons:
I truly do not need any more rape or near-rape in my reading life, and this is a little (lol) dated.

The scenes that most struck me were those when Cordelia had returned home and was met with that slick, neo-liberal, 'we know what's good for you,' non-consensual medical care. I think it'd resonate with anyone who's come up against a dominant power structure and felt confined by their presumptions.