Summary: Ivan finally gets to play lead in this long running series.
Science fiction is such a moldable setting. There are the hard science books, the space opera, the mystical fantasy books, the near term commentary and a ton more. Readers that dismiss genre fiction are really missing out. (Slate had an article about Ursula Le Guin that made this point well.)
For me, there are two types of science fiction types that I really like. One is the idea fiction. Use a science fiction setting to create a world and take it to its logical conclusion to explore various ideas about society, religion, ethic and/or philosophy.
The other type is the hero story. This is a wide group. It can include everything from Star Wars to Ender’s Game.