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wealhtheow's review
2.0
Ean Lambert clawed his way from the slums to become a level 10 linesman. Although he makes huge amounts of money for his contract-holder by fixing the lines that enable travel between stars, he isn't respected like other linesmen. He was trained late in life, and has never shaken his tendency to sing while fixing lines. His bad reputation turns out to have a good side: it leaves him free to discover and learn to control the first alien ship humanity has ever encountered. But meanwhile, betrayals and disagreements between worlds have led to civil wars, and Ean becomes desired by each side.
I liked the concept of the lines, and how captains and crews of spaceships become part of what keeps the lines happy and healthy. But the plot itself was too tangled and ever changing for my taste, especially since I was never given much reason to favor any particular side or character. I didn't care if the Alliance lost worlds, or a particular syndicate took control of the Gate Trade Union, and so the majority of the book was pretty boring, even the blaster battles. Ean has the premise of a likable character, but spends so much time confused or apathetic that I stopped caring about him as well. I don't intend to read the rest of this series.
I liked the concept of the lines, and how captains and crews of spaceships become part of what keeps the lines happy and healthy. But the plot itself was too tangled and ever changing for my taste, especially since I was never given much reason to favor any particular side or character. I didn't care if the Alliance lost worlds, or a particular syndicate took control of the Gate Trade Union, and so the majority of the book was pretty boring, even the blaster battles. Ean has the premise of a likable character, but spends so much time confused or apathetic that I stopped caring about him as well. I don't intend to read the rest of this series.
jshaden's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer - I won an Advanced Reader Copy of this book through a publisher giveaway.
An excellent first in series which I would give 4.5 stars if I could, the author successfully builds universe with a spacefareing humanity using a poorly understood alien technology. By not explaining everything from the get go, I was drawn in hoping to understand more about what was going on as the main character, Ean, learns more. Even better from my perspective, while there are clearly more tales to tell in this universe, this first novel tells a complete story with resolution unlike many first novels in planned series recently. While the pacing was occasionally disorienting, it worked since it was a reflection of Ean's mental state at those points. I look forward to reading more books in the series.
An excellent first in series which I would give 4.5 stars if I could, the author successfully builds universe with a spacefareing humanity using a poorly understood alien technology. By not explaining everything from the get go, I was drawn in hoping to understand more about what was going on as the main character, Ean, learns more. Even better from my perspective, while there are clearly more tales to tell in this universe, this first novel tells a complete story with resolution unlike many first novels in planned series recently. While the pacing was occasionally disorienting, it worked since it was a reflection of Ean's mental state at those points. I look forward to reading more books in the series.
suzjustsuz's review against another edition
4.0
4+ stars
Excellent space opera. I can't wait to jump into the next one.
Excellent space opera. I can't wait to jump into the next one.
heyheyrenay's review against another edition
2.0
As per usual when I read bad books, I want to encourage all my friends to read this particular hot mess and then come talk about it with me.
Plus, read this as an ARC. I sure hope an copy editor is going back through this? Because whoever edited it the first time (if at all?) needs to start bringing their A game to the table, rather than their soggy, mediocre Q game. How embarrassing.
Plus, read this as an ARC. I sure hope an copy editor is going back through this? Because whoever edited it the first time (if at all?) needs to start bringing their A game to the table, rather than their soggy, mediocre Q game. How embarrassing.
bartfennema's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Such loveable characters! I love the kindness that permeates through the pages. In that sense, very relaxing and comforting. I keep returning to this series.
snowcrash's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting sci-fi book. Interesting in that it goes beyond typical tropes and puts forth the question, do ships have souls? Is there an energy band we can't measure, but humans can sense and manipulate? This is the core of the book.
The characters are a bit bland, though. There is a lot of discussion about the lines, what each does and how radical Ean is with his singing. Ean is full of self-doubt. Rossi is an annoying bully. Radko rocks. But the lines and the ships have more life than the people within them. Most of the characters are singularly focused one thing.
I found the idea of the lines and ship souls to be magical. Appealing. Also the point that radical shifts usually come from someone not "properly trained" in the arts. Ean is like Steve Wozniak, told it was impossible to build personal computers, during the time of mainframes. Ean is continually told by the line trainers what he is doing is impossible.
I will pick up the next two, as I am curious about the lines. The first book is a bit rough around the edges. It is the first by the two sisters & I hope they get better with experience.
The characters are a bit bland, though. There is a lot of discussion about the lines, what each does and how radical Ean is with his singing. Ean is full of self-doubt. Rossi is an annoying bully. Radko rocks. But the lines and the ships have more life than the people within them. Most of the characters are singularly focused one thing.
I found the idea of the lines and ship souls to be magical. Appealing. Also the point that radical shifts usually come from someone not "properly trained" in the arts. Ean is like Steve Wozniak, told it was impossible to build personal computers, during the time of mainframes. Ean is continually told by the line trainers what he is doing is impossible.
I will pick up the next two, as I am curious about the lines. The first book is a bit rough around the edges. It is the first by the two sisters & I hope they get better with experience.
sarah42783's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating: 3.75 stars. And a half.
Yet another wondrous MacHalo Buddy Read! Well, I'm, um, you know, assuming it was wondrous and stuff. Back when it happened and stuff. Because I'm, um, you know, a little late for it and stuff. Not much though. Just, um, you know, a couple of years and stuff. Pretty insignificant when you're nefariously immortal like me, really.
But anyway. This Linesman business. Let's get the negative stuff over with right away, shall we? The book is sloooooooow paced. Well it is at first. It's kind of a wonder I didn't DNF, actually. Okay, so I did temporarily DNF it the first time I gave it a try (you know, back in the days when you were all toddlers, in 2016). But I am strong and resilient and reasonable now, meaning I no longer give up on books because I'm slightly bored. No I don't. Certainly not. Okay, where were we? Oh yes, the pace of the book is as hypersonic as a burned out, sleep-deprived barnacle. BUT. There is something about the story that makes it worth slightly nodding off for the first half of the book. What "something," you ask? Wait and see, Young Padawan, wait and see. The big, fascinating reveal shall come in due time.
Okay, let's not get too over excited here, my Tiny Decapods. The big, fascinating reveal in question isn't that earth shattering either. But hey, I appreciate the enthusiasm and stuff.
Another thing that's kinda sorta off putting at first is the main character. It's not that he is repulsively unlikable and stuff, it's just that he kinda sorta comes across as a little whimpish at first. Ugh and stuff. Also, he is kinda sorta hard to warm up to. Nothing as terrible as the much dreaded Unemotional and Flat as a Herd of Ironing Boards (UaFaaHoIB™) type of character, thank fish, but still a bit, you know, well, not easy to warm up to and stuff. Besides, he turns out to be quite the quaint, endearing little guy because reasons to be undisclosed later you're welcome, so all is good and yay.
That's it! No more negative stuff to talk about! Both pretty impressive and fairly painless, huh? Please allow me to pat my little self on the exoskeleton for a minute to celebrate this momentous event. Thank thee kindly.
Like the interlude? Good. I'm glad.
Okay, nerve-racking suspense time is up, time for the big, fascinating reveal. (I'm getting really soft in my old age, I should have dragged this on for hours, maybe also made you beg for it and stuff. Sigh. I've become disgustingly kind, if you ask me.) Please hold on to your pincers, you might never recover from this one. Ready? Get this: the story is refreshingly original. I kid you not. I know this is a lot to take in, but please don't faint. Okay, so I don't read much SF, but I'm pretty sure this line thing is a pretty novel idea. I'd tell you what it's all about, but I'm feeling lazy as fish, so please go and read someone else's review to know more about it. You're welcome. Oh bloody fish, I seem to be in a most lenient mood today, so I'll be super friendly and kind and stuff and tell you this: the "lines" are a sort of Sentient Alien Technology Thingie (SATT™) that make space travel possible. Every spacecraft has a set of lines and stuff. The puny humans in this world don't really know how or why they work, but hey, work they do so who gives a shrimp as to the how or why, really?
And that's where Ean, our Difficult to Warm Up To Yet Quaint and Eadearing Main Character (DtWUTYQaEMC™) comes in. He is a high-ranking Linesman. His job is to, you know, service the lines and stuff. Meaning he fixes the lines and keeps them "in tune" mentally. That would be all fine and dandy and super cool and stuff, only Ean is kinda sorta the autistic genius kind and pretty much everyone thinks he is a freak. He sings to the lines to fix them, you see. And that is just not done in his, um, line of work (I'm hilarious, I know) and stuff. Also, he takes showers, LOTS of showers. Which, you have to admit, is REALLY weird. I mean, taking a shower once a year is strange enough, but taking as many as this guy does here? That can't be a sign of good mental health, if you ask me.
See? Even Toasty the Cat finds Ean's shower obsession repulsive. That's saying something right there.
Anyway, I have to say Ean is a pretty cool character despite his disgusting sanitation habits. He is delightfully quirky and pretty sharp and not nearly as fruitcakey as some people will have you think and he is pretty complex too and I like him so there.
Add to that a Most Glorious Cast of Ass-Kicking Take No Bullshit Secondary Female Characters (MGCoAKTnBSFC™), an exquisite bunch of duplicitous bastards and assholes (both of the male and female variety, thank you very much), tons of deliciously cunning political machinations, and you get your shrimpy little self a bloody shrimping enjoyable read and stuff.
» And the moral of this I Might Have Waited Two Bloody Fishing Years to Not DNF this Book but Wait that Long to Read Book Two I Shall Not Because I am Now Ancient and Wise and Tenacious and Stuff Crappy Non Review (IMHWTBFYtNDNFtBbWtLtRBTISNBIaNAaWaTaSCNR™) is: this book. It is not entirely crappy. HA.
· Book 2: Alliance ★★★★★
· Book 3: Confluence ★★★★★
[ Pre-review nonsense]
Linesman Crash Course (LCC™): lines = singing = insanity = then again maybe not = heart attacks = more lines = pew pew pew =
Don't ask.
➽ Full Hey I'm Only Two Years Late for this BR Go Me and Stuff Crappy Non Review (HIOTYLftBRGMaSCNR™) to come.
Yet another wondrous MacHalo Buddy Read! Well, I'm, um, you know, assuming it was wondrous and stuff. Back when it happened and stuff. Because I'm, um, you know, a little late for it and stuff. Not much though. Just, um, you know, a couple of years and stuff. Pretty insignificant when you're nefariously immortal like me, really.
But anyway. This Linesman business. Let's get the negative stuff over with right away, shall we? The book is sloooooooow paced. Well it is at first. It's kind of a wonder I didn't DNF, actually. Okay, so I did temporarily DNF it the first time I gave it a try (you know, back in the days when you were all toddlers, in 2016). But I am strong and resilient and reasonable now, meaning I no longer give up on books because I'm slightly bored. No I don't. Certainly not. Okay, where were we? Oh yes, the pace of the book is as hypersonic as a burned out, sleep-deprived barnacle. BUT. There is something about the story that makes it worth slightly nodding off for the first half of the book. What "something," you ask? Wait and see, Young Padawan, wait and see. The big, fascinating reveal shall come in due time.
Okay, let's not get too over excited here, my Tiny Decapods. The big, fascinating reveal in question isn't that earth shattering either. But hey, I appreciate the enthusiasm and stuff.
Another thing that's kinda sorta off putting at first is the main character. It's not that he is repulsively unlikable and stuff, it's just that he kinda sorta comes across as a little whimpish at first. Ugh and stuff. Also, he is kinda sorta hard to warm up to. Nothing as terrible as the much dreaded Unemotional and Flat as a Herd of Ironing Boards (UaFaaHoIB™) type of character, thank fish, but still a bit, you know, well, not easy to warm up to and stuff. Besides, he turns out to be quite the quaint, endearing little guy because reasons to be undisclosed later you're welcome, so all is good and yay.
That's it! No more negative stuff to talk about! Both pretty impressive and fairly painless, huh? Please allow me to pat my little self on the exoskeleton for a minute to celebrate this momentous event. Thank thee kindly.
Like the interlude? Good. I'm glad.
Okay, nerve-racking suspense time is up, time for the big, fascinating reveal. (I'm getting really soft in my old age, I should have dragged this on for hours, maybe also made you beg for it and stuff. Sigh. I've become disgustingly kind, if you ask me.) Please hold on to your pincers, you might never recover from this one. Ready? Get this: the story is refreshingly original. I kid you not. I know this is a lot to take in, but please don't faint. Okay, so I don't read much SF, but I'm pretty sure this line thing is a pretty novel idea. I'd tell you what it's all about, but I'm feeling lazy as fish, so please go and read someone else's review to know more about it. You're welcome. Oh bloody fish, I seem to be in a most lenient mood today, so I'll be super friendly and kind and stuff and tell you this: the "lines" are a sort of Sentient Alien Technology Thingie (SATT™) that make space travel possible. Every spacecraft has a set of lines and stuff. The puny humans in this world don't really know how or why they work, but hey, work they do so who gives a shrimp as to the how or why, really?
And that's where Ean, our Difficult to Warm Up To Yet Quaint and Eadearing Main Character (DtWUTYQaEMC™) comes in. He is a high-ranking Linesman. His job is to, you know, service the lines and stuff. Meaning he fixes the lines and keeps them "in tune" mentally. That would be all fine and dandy and super cool and stuff, only Ean is kinda sorta the autistic genius kind and pretty much everyone thinks he is a freak. He sings to the lines to fix them, you see. And that is just not done in his, um, line of work (I'm hilarious, I know) and stuff. Also, he takes showers, LOTS of showers. Which, you have to admit, is REALLY weird. I mean, taking a shower once a year is strange enough, but taking as many as this guy does here? That can't be a sign of good mental health, if you ask me.
See? Even Toasty the Cat finds Ean's shower obsession repulsive. That's saying something right there.
Anyway, I have to say Ean is a pretty cool character despite his disgusting sanitation habits. He is delightfully quirky and pretty sharp and not nearly as fruitcakey as some people will have you think and he is pretty complex too and I like him so there.
Add to that a Most Glorious Cast of Ass-Kicking Take No Bullshit Secondary Female Characters (MGCoAKTnBSFC™), an exquisite bunch of duplicitous bastards and assholes (both of the male and female variety, thank you very much), tons of deliciously cunning political machinations, and you get your shrimpy little self a bloody shrimping enjoyable read and stuff.
» And the moral of this I Might Have Waited Two Bloody Fishing Years to Not DNF this Book but Wait that Long to Read Book Two I Shall Not Because I am Now Ancient and Wise and Tenacious and Stuff Crappy Non Review (IMHWTBFYtNDNFtBbWtLtRBTISNBIaNAaWaTaSCNR™) is: this book. It is not entirely crappy. HA.
· Book 2: Alliance ★★★★★
· Book 3: Confluence ★★★★★
[ Pre-review nonsense]
Linesman Crash Course (LCC™): lines = singing = insanity = then again maybe not = heart attacks = more lines = pew pew pew =
Don't ask.
➽ Full Hey I'm Only Two Years Late for this BR Go Me and Stuff Crappy Non Review (HIOTYLftBRGMaSCNR™) to come.
betsychadwell's review against another edition
3.0
[12 May 2018]
I have mixed feelings about this book. It's gripping, with nearly nonstop action. But that's part of the problem. Action is good if it makes sense. But the author here rarely stops long enough to explain why characters are doing what they're doing. I know a lot of readers get bored if an author spends too much time on back story and politics, but there must be some of it or the action doesn't really make sense. Sure, Ean's immediate motivations are pretty clear but what about the entities, the Alliance and the Gate Union. I want more history. I also want more character development, especially for some of the secondary characters. Abram and Michelle for example. Their relationship was somewhat opaque. I don't know whether I'll read any more in this series or not.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It's gripping, with nearly nonstop action. But that's part of the problem. Action is good if it makes sense. But the author here rarely stops long enough to explain why characters are doing what they're doing. I know a lot of readers get bored if an author spends too much time on back story and politics, but there must be some of it or the action doesn't really make sense. Sure, Ean's immediate motivations are pretty clear but what about the entities, the Alliance and the Gate Union. I want more history. I also want more character development, especially for some of the secondary characters. Abram and Michelle for example. Their relationship was somewhat opaque. I don't know whether I'll read any more in this series or not.