The main characters are if anything more relatable than the Masons. I always found the semi-incest thing a bit creepy in the other books.

There is are central (positive) non-binary and lesbian characters, for people looking for that kind of thing.

McGuire (writing as Grant) revisits some of the issues about freedom, safety, and privacy that she has touched on in previous books in the series. I think these are interesting topics, and she does a good job of talking about them, but there is probably nothing really new to think about here if you're read several other of the series.

There is a rousing story, and a pleasant sort of escapism for those of us that will probably never actually save our friends by clever application of violence.

I think this would be readable without reading the Mason's volumes first, but I didn't read it that way.

The audiobook narrator has lovely Irish accent, and who isn't a sucker for that (possibly Irish people?).