I think as sci fi space operas go this is excellent. I ended up reading the authors interview at the end and I would agree that there are elements of both horror and noir in this but in a decidedly non-douchey way. 

If series like Dune seems like too big of an undertaking (and it is soooo dryyyy), I would recommend this book series as a way to dip into the genre. It's exciting, there's plot advancement and neat alien-esque spacey wobbly stuff.