But as we barreled toward the climax, I found that things went too fast for me. I occasionally 'lost visual,' especially during action scenes, and found myself… see those words again 'interested but not invested.' This is a recurring problem I've had with Bear's climaxes in the past.

Yeah, I enjoyed this book a lot but have had the same problem with Bear's other books (which I've often enjoyed). It's like the emotion gets underwritten at crucial points, so what should be a really thrilling climax (that's what she said) feels kind of dry and detached. I think her writing in first person is typically a lot better than in third.