Driving the Deep (Finder Chronicles #2)

When I first opened this book I had forgotten the details of the first book in the series. I thought these interesting people on the first page must be known to me, because they are so immediate, vivid and fresh. So I reread Finder and then dove into Driving the Deep.
Haha on me, those delightful people in the first chapter were barely mentioned in Finder. It was great to have the refresher of Ferguss personal story though, which is continued and deepened in this second book.
Palmers writing is detailed and fresh so I was able to follow the many techie bits. I could tell she knows her way around the information and cyber security world. She lets us in on the tech details of this future succinctly and entertainingly.
The setting in the habitats submerged in the deeply dark ocean of Enceladus was nicely resonant with Ferguss emotional state. After working himelf up to the major emotional challenge of returning to his childhood home to reconnect with his family, he is totally detoured by the attack on and disappearance of his adult family of quirky dear friends. His fears and grief drive him to do whatever it takes to find the truth. Which turns out to be quite involved on many levels.
These books remind me a bit, as with other reviewers, of Bujolds Vorkosigan series. There is the accessible writing style, the odd protagonist, and the future where we can delight in a multitude of planets, cultures, diverse humans, fun technology and faster than light travel. Plus, aliens!
There is great situational as well as verbal humor here but little of the flippant Scalzi style conversations that for me detract from the reality of the books reading experience, substituting one liners for depth of development. The characters, their thoughts and dialog are well rooted in this future world and in the characters as whole, well imagined people.
Hurray and I look forward to the next book!