Book Banter -- City of Pearl

Title: City of Pearl
Author: Karen Traviss
Length: 392 pages
Genre: sci-fi
Plot Basics: Environmental police Superintendent Shan Frankland agrees to go on a long-term mission to Cavanagh's Star, where a human colony was founded years before. She's given secret orders that will only be triggered in her memory once she finds something on the colony. But what Shan and her team of scientists and marines find when they land is an alien race, zealously committed to keeping Cavanagh's Star free from more human influence.
Banter Points: Word Nerd was in the mood to start a new sweeping series, something in the space opera family. While not quite space opera, Traviss' debut novel was an enjoyable read. More fiction and less science made for smooth reading (not a technical sci-fi novel). The plot picks up in the second half of the book
Bummer Points: Every so often, the plot jumped ahead in time without much in the way of transition. Also, some of the minor scientist characters were very 2D.
Word Nerd Recommendation: Peter Hamilton it's not, but that may actually make Traviss' work more accessible.