The blurb above is somewhat misleading since the novel is classic space opera in the style of KJA' Seven Suns and follows the absolute same narrative structure with various pov's (good, bad, unclear which, but mostly good/bad) in various threads, in various locations throughout the settled universe - here there are 20 core-worlds exploiting 54 colony worlds of which the so called Hellhole is just one though it is quickly clear it will be the most important - threads that intertwine, separate...

As in Seven suns and especially in the Terra Incognita series, important characters can die at any time so do not get overtly fond of anyone

The writing style is the clear one familiar from the above and the book is a fun adventure you do not want to put down, a bit on the pulpy/campy side and predictable in large measure, but entertaining

As a series debut it ends on the typical KJA' semi-cliffhanger familiar from the series above and I definitely plan to read the next as soon as I get it, though my hope is the authors will keep the series manageable for its depth - currently I would say 3-4 novels, but of course if the universe expands considerably, could be more - since that was the one thing i disliked about Seven Suns

I am not familiar - no interest in the slightest - with the Dune or SW book so i cannot comment on how the co-authorship works there, but here the narrative is smooth and as mentioned very typical of KJA's original standalone series