As a former fan of Orson Scott Card, welcome to the party pal.

Yeah, that was my reaction as well. It's bloody strange - it isn't lingered on, but Kovacs even mentioned a few occasions of being sleeved in other genders as positive (though the context might have been about enjoying superior pain tolerance) and his Awesome and Cool Envoy conditioning, as-described, would definitely put work into erasing any fucks given.

The latest book Thin Air however, had nastier sexual dynamics and gave me a strong sense of actual bitterness and not just thematic cynicism. Kinda sucks.