GIve me a book about a guy being doted on by a couple of big snuggly porcupine creatures & I'll enjoy it. That's a fact. But there's some compelling scifi here as well, dealing with survival & communication on a war-torn alien world.

The human, Carter, is obviously at the biggest disadvantage, being physically weaker than everyone around him & unable to speak the local language. But his alien companions have cultural barriers between them too, they've each got their own perspectives & flaws, so it's not like they're just dragging him around, waiting for him to catch up. It really feels like 3 people working things out, getting through it together. And when Carter finally gets an opportunity to shine it's such a genuine "hell yeah!" moment.

Sweet, funny, tender, and exciting. Great stuff.