I hated Walk In Silence. I really loathed it. It reads like a particularly annoying bit of Mary Sue fanfiction to me.
Like - do we have to know that the woman is not only a starship captain but turned down the offer of work as a Super Model? Why add that? It doesn't contribute to the plot, it doesn't feature in her character development. It's just a gratuitous piece of nonsense.
And all the 'bad' features of the lead characters are transparently not bad. You know how Mary Sues sometimes have a figleaf of supposed faults to cover up the fact that they are perfect little madams? And this half-alien race are subject to racial loathing because they are covered in cute fur? Give me a fucking break.
But what worries me is - am I sexist? Do I hate this story because it embodies a female perspective? Am I rejecting my feminine side? Am I less tolerant of rubbish written by women than by men? (NB In my defence, the last book I read which I thought was similarly poorly writen was the Da Vinci Code) (Sorry to those who liked it)