Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

I wasn't sure if I would at first: it's a space opera with houses and serfs, pretty much.   To be honest, I don't like my futuristic science fiction to pick such specifically backward parts of history to mesh with in this way.   I like looking forward to see things get better, not to be so heavily reminded of the gross things that happened in the past. 

But there were hints that this wouldn't be typical: same-sex marriage is accepted, even within royalty.   (Bisexuality, promiscuous female characters, and prostitution are all not only legal but widely accepted as well.   So there were some progressive attitudes that I appreciated very much.)

That being said, I don't read all that much in the space opera genre and I was prepared for this to be one of the reasons why.   The feudal setting was just too much - and then came Lady Kiva Lagos, her equally profane mother who was just as direct and insulting in her negotiations.   Those were, for the most part, the two favored characters who charmed me with their utter bluntness and the fact that they didn't give a fuck about who looked at them sideways. 

Scalzi can write, the plot lines all came together, and I ended up finding myself fascinated by how people who were naive to the ruthless politics of the upper class navigated their way through this and a crises that could not only collapse their empire but mean an end to humanity.   But the truth is that this wouldn't have been rated nearly as highly if not for the characters.   I ended up falling in love with Kiva and her mother immediately, but there was a slow burn for most of the rest.   

It's a space opera for people who aren't massive space opera fans.    (Many of them don't have enough AI or robots for me.   This, to be honest, didn't either, but made up for it with an abundance of characters I fell for hard.)

So far, this is number one on my Hugos novel list.