This is a 4 in one omnibus edition, including: Breaking the Cycle, The Big Black Mark, The Far Traveler and Star Courier. I got through the first two and then had to stop. The plots aren't all that novel or interesting, but the worst part is the gender imbalance (always more men than women) and the poor portrayal of women, even when they are officers. The writing is interesting but the characters are a bit two dimensional and the relationships between Grimes and his various women is always wrong in many ways. Just too dated to continue with. These are old stories from the late 60's and early 70's, the technology isn't bad, but that's about all that's not outdated. ( )