Why do I like her?
It's rather refreshing to read a book whose protagonist is...well, kind of a jerk. I think that this sci-fi series has kept me coming back because it's so different from many of the other "space-colony" types out there. The premise lends itself very well to provoking the imagination and in the end you feel like you've not only seen a great film with spectacular special effects, but heard and smelled and felt an entirely different world, one that could never possibly exist in nature (at least, not on our planet).
The characters are all well-developed and McCaffrey keeps the narrative spinning along on a good pace. It's engaging and satisfying.