I think the problem is that her only move is "I don't like a civilian running around in my precinct, so I'm going to do everything I can to undermine him and get rid of him."  But we will never give that any weight, not because we know that Castle is important to the team, but because we know that Castle isn't going…

The books I've read by Vinge have all been very different.  I think a good place to start is Marooned in Real Time.  It's not that long, it's fairly accessible, and I really dug the story.  It's kind of a Noirish mystery crossed with a Left Behind (the setting more than the religious tripe) rebuild the world type…