If your copy had the same green cover with Harlan holding Sara, you knew right away there would be romance in this story. While her primary genre has been sf, she has written straight romance, and her sf usually has romance as a strong genre element.
Did the romance(s) work for you? How about the science (say of restoration, for example)?
Did you think she melded the genres well? Did you learn anything that will help you combine genres? I know some hatrackers bemoan the lack of the romance genre in our discussions - now is the time to speak! If you usually avoid romance, did you still find this palatable? Why or why not?
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Actually, the main characters' romance didn't really work for me. There just wasn't enough development to it; a few scenes, mostly narrated rather than shown, of their time detoxing Harlan weren't enough to establish the romantic bond. It was also too easy (no doubts, few questions - and who doesn't have doubts and questions about love), especially given their different backgrounds, to be interesting. Maxil and Fara's romance was in some ways better, but lightly developed (although about right for a sub-plot) and predictable.
The science had some interesting ideas, but wasn't explained any detail. I didn't have a problem with that - this isn't hard science fiction. The restoration idea was rather intriguing, and I wish she had spent more time on that part.
As for melding the genres, the romance comes off as a side note of the story to me. To me, much more emphasis is put on the other threads of the plot, primarily the political situation, and to a certain extent the science fiction aspects. I'm having problems seeing this as a good example of a cross-genre book, to a certain extent because I didn't respond to it well either as a romance or as science fiction (In the end, I had to force myself to finish it). Ms. McCaffrey does a better blending in other books in my opinion - Daria, The Rowan, the second Crystal Singer book, and parts of the Pern books (although those always have the science fiction part first and primary) come to mind.
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