This was a fast-paced, decent enough story, if a little predictable in places (if you can't see Gilla's actions and motivation coming from a long way off, you're not paying much attention). That being said, it's not rising above two stars from me.

Everyone has tropes that they just don't care for. Personally, I don't see what could possibly be appealing about aliens who look like devils, complete with horns and forked tails, but it makes me roll my eyes every single time. Especially as there's absolutely no reason for it in this particular book. Had the indigenous inhabitants of Devil World looked like literally anything else, it wouldn't change a single thing about the story. Not one thing! What, I ask you, is the point of it then?

Someone needed to kill a darling here and didn't. This isn't even the first time I've seen this stupid trope in a Trek novel. Here's hoping never again.