Out of the Dark/YMMV


 * Alas, Poor Villain: Ground Base Commander Shairez. She may be responsible for kidnapping humans to develop a plague to wipe us all out, but through most of the book she's shown as an intelligent, curious, hard working, and capable aide who is one of the more likable enemies and often serves to draw out the Admiral's softer side.
 * Audience-Alienating Premise: The Genre Shift Twist Ending alienates some hard SF fans.
 * Genius Bonus: Mircea Basarab.
 * Ho Yay: Mircea and Stephen. Mircea calls him "my Stephen" and likes to touch his hand or shoulder as they talk. (This is portrayed as a difference in foreign values on personal space, but slash fans will probably squee anyway.) Stephen comes to admire him in return.
 * Only the Author Can Save Them Now: Before the Twist Ending, humanity pretty much has no chance, and it looks like the book will be about how we going down fighting to the end.
 * Shocking Swerve: Into a Genre Shift.
 * It is foreshadowed, though.