The usual ABC magic! I rate it 4 rather than 5 because I don't find the writing style that neat or transparent - I'm aware of it at all times, although it IS a page turner. What I love about ABC is the depth and breadth of the fictional universe he has created - as seen from the 1970s. Like me he was a professional captain who wrote sex and science fiction, in his case a sea captain who used his experience to write sea strories thinly disguised as space stories - his own admission! This is the 2nd time I've read this story, just one of quite a collection following the career of his flawed hero, captain Grimes, whom I strongly suspect, is based on his own self.I think I'll work my way through the whole series once more. :-)