This was strangely engaging. Reminded me of a modern James White in the liberalism of form (see Sector General), an idealised, multispecies Roddenberry of alyaunte cohesion. Fascinating that Humans weren't any more centric than anyone else, that really worked well. An author worth keeping an eye on for certain, one of those books where, even though action scenes clearly aren't the idea, the progression of the story comes through loud and clear.