Status Updates From Lords of the Starship

Ugh, this had such potential and I did like it last time...Now, I'm struggling to enjoy it or even make progress.
The only plot-relevant woman has no name and just has been robbed of her agency and forced to have sex with her rescuers.
Aside from the premise and ideas behind the story, I really don't see how I could have liked it the first time around.

It's okay, but I'm having a hard time caring too much. Maybe it's the high coming off of three incredible books in a row; maybe it's just dated writing.
It looks like the story is favoring the elitist, secretive upper class in the revolution?

A major part is about 'Great Men' and their deeds, but the class struggle and motivations are interesting.

Geston is an American author, but the tone and substance of the book is all very British.
Highly stratified society, an academic elite, dry, witty humour.
The pace is picking up with time going by in months and years and the beginnings of the society around the Ship beginning to form, good!

It is very much a short-tracked Foundation. A (divinely) gifted old man makes a eon-spanning plan and submits orders from beyond the grave to a nation in ruin to be build up through his visions.
There as a battle which read a lot like a Post-apo fantasy, while I normally like that kind of thing, it's not what I picked this one for; I'm much more interested in the culture and societies evolving around The Ship.

Small pocket book, tiny letter, but smooth reading. It might possibly be dated but the prose is solid.
With the amount of times the word 'man' was uttered in these first pages I'm doubting we'll see many woman, but I'm hoping for an otherwise nice journey.

I wanted to star Caliban's War but wasn't in the mood for diving straight into another relatively big novel, so picked this hidden gem up again as I never reviewed it and deserves attention.