Even though the characters are well-worn (so similar to those in Firefly in some respects that I kept visualising the captain as looking like Nathan Fillion) and a bit cliched in parts (the commitment-phobic gambler with a true heart, the sozzled doctor); and the plot signposts the development of its characters in a slightly heavy-handed fashion; it is a really good, fun, quick read. Some of the sections are quite moving, even, as the characters are well-drawn and believable. It genuinely pulls you into the world it evokes and make you care what happens, which is always a good thing.

Highly recommended. One of the funniest things I’ve read. His writing style really captures the hesistancy, mistakes, bad thoughts that everyone (well, me, anyway) experiences but never articulates. The characters and situations are vibrant, the ideas slightly off-the-wall but always familiar.