This is almost a good book. The problem is that there are several interesting stories here, and they don't quite mesh. The relationship of the three of them, Ray's relationship with his dogs, the culture of Earth (are they all that callous about death, or is it a Ray thing?), the terraforming project, the aliens and Ray's dealing with them, the upset at the highest level of government (again, did she really shoot him? Is that an appropriate reaction? Why not judgment, if he had transgressed - or make him step down, maybe). And the shadowy problem that lies behind at least those last three. Each bit is interesting, but some of them clash - Ray wants to stay with the aliens...but the relationship requires all three of them...but he's a wanderer and the other two aren't...and and and. Just how intelligent are the dogs? Just how strong are they (is Beowulf really stronger than a Centaur?) There's a lot of loose ends and a lot of things that don't quite work. I'm interesting in reading more of this series - unfortunately I have number 3 but not number 2. I think I'll wait and read them in sequence. ( )