Great characters make for great stories and The Jump Point has a raft of great characters.

The story orbits around Mahra Kaitan - freebooter, mercenary, and refugee from a destroyed homeworld. Then there's Timon Pellis - enigmatic, charismatic captain of The Dark Falcon, a ship with more than a few surprises under its skin. Against them, or maybe with them, Vidor Carr - a man who knows what he wants and isn't afraid of doing whatever it takes to get it.

But what of the Sirona themselves? Mysterious aliens who appear and disappear at will, always willing to trade until they aren't, with apparently deadly consequences.

James has assembled all these parts into an intricate tale of mystery and misery, a veritable Swiss watch of a story with each part keeping the whole ticking along.

Highly recommended.