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conalo's review against another edition
4.0
An entertaining and fun read in the sci-fi/space opera genre that kept me interested all the way through. I really enjoyed the new spin on space ship travel as posited in this novel... very cool!!! Good characters and plenty of action throughout. Can't wait to continue with further novels in this universe.
4.5 Stars for a really fun read!!! Recommended for all fans this genre.
4.5 Stars for a really fun read!!! Recommended for all fans this genre.
jameseckman's review against another edition
3.0
A fun space opera with some good characters. It does possess the no democracies in space trope, but the lead peasant character still addresses the princess by her first name without being corrected. Also the bafflegab drive seems a bit mystical to me, but it's used in a fairly consistent fashion and not deus ex machina style. It's part of a series and while the endings not a cliffhanger, it sort just slumps to an ending. A good first novel.
brownbetty's review against another edition
3.0
You might like this book if you like Anne McCaffrey or Mercedes Lackey. The protaganist is insecure, and hated by everyone. Why? Because he's too skilled at the magical skill of line-sensing, and so everyone hates him and also thinks he's unskilled. Except the lines, who love him and think he's special.
I'm honestly suprised I powered through this, but if you like woobies, this might be for you.
I'm honestly suprised I powered through this, but if you like woobies, this might be for you.
sophiebillekens's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What a beatiful idea! Loved the main character Ean and loved the lines. There’s so much affection there. ❤️ Looking forward to parts 2 and 3!
tachyondecay's review against another edition
4.0
Ah, it’s so nice when a book blows you away with how awesome it is. I was hoping I’d like Linesman, but I didn’t anticipate loving it so much. But sister act Sherylyn and Karen Dunstall have managed to create an original, exciting new entry in the space opera subgenre. If you like space opera, SF with a psychic twist, or whiny people getting their comeuppance, you should read this book. So let’s not waste any more time and get into explaining why!
Ean Lambert is a certified ten—which is not to say he’s good looking. Rather, he’s the highest level of linesman. Think of linesmen as Jedis who use their Force powers to fix ships instead of having impractical lightsaber battles. Lines, numbered from one to ten, are energy constructs that humanity uses to facilitate their spaceship operations, including, crucially, faster-than-light travel. No one is really sure what lines are; as with many innovations, we just sort of stumbled onto the secret of making them. Most linesmen “push and pull” lines psychically—again, no one is really sure how that works. Ean is an outsider, both in terms of his social background and how his initially self-taught linesmen skills mean he must sing to the lines. To other tens, he is a dangerous imposter of a linesman.
Anyway, to make a long story short: Ean gets caught up in interstellar brinkmanship far beyond his pay grade. At first he’s not happy, but he quickly comes to enjoy his new situation to an extent, because at the very least it’s proving challenging—and someone is actually appreciating him. After years of being shit on for not fitting in, a few people are paying attention to what he can actually do. So everything is looking up for Ean—you know, if you ignore the people trying to kidnap him, kill him, seize control of a strange alien ship before he does … the usual.
The stakes Linesman are high. Dunstall thrusts us into a human society on the brink of war. The universe reminds me a little of Bujold’s Vorkosigan books, with a few consolidated powers loosely controlling a vast array of planets, united by a fragile FTL MacGuffin (wormholes in Vorkosigan, carefully-scheduled “gating” in this book to avoid mishaps). Linesman is also like the Vorkosigan books in that it’s not precisely military SF, but it's military SF adjacent. The relationship between Abram and Michelle, for instance, reminds me a little of the relationship between some Barrayaran military generals and people like Cordelia or Miles. They are both very strategic people with slightly different specialties and occasionally different priorities (Abram wants to protect Michelle, even if she’s not in the mood to be protected).
Dunstall neatly balances Ean’s acumen. He’s not a completely blank slate, but he has largely eschewed politics until now. He has a history with Lancia (Michelle’s faction), having grown up in poverty there and escaped it only because of his skill with the lines. So it’s ironic that he ends up working for them, not just because Michelle buys his contract but because he starts to like them. This sense of humour and playfulness pervades the book and helps to take the edge off what is otherwise a very tense situation.
In addition to following Ean, some chapters follow Jordan Rossi, a more conventional ten. I like this perspective, both on galactic politics and on linesmen’s place in the power structure. Between Jordan and Ean we get a good sense of how linesmen work with the lines—but it’s clear that there is so much more out there that Dunstall have yet to reveal. I love how they gradually dole out that knowledge: at the start of the book, the uses of lines seven and eight are unknown. Ean discovers what line eight does, and he also makes a few other discoveries I won’t spoil here. But the book ends with Ean interrogating line seven about what it does—a mild cliffhanger, perhaps, but a cliffhanger nonetheless. I was well annoyed when I read that last page!
And I so very much want to read Alliance! I have already checked; my library has two copies—one is on hold, so I’m not the only person in Thunder Bay who is enjoying this series. There’s just something so smooth and enjoyable about Dunstall’s writing. Dunstall manages the scope necessary for space opera without forgetting about having great characters. Much like in the paradigm case of Dune, learning about the wider galactic society is an important part of Linesman, but it is secondary to the main plots.
Finally, this story has a wealth of secondary characters who make it so much better. In general, Dunstall gives us a bunch of interesting women in all sorts of roles. Michelle, although royalty, is not your typical princess, and on the opposite side of the political board we get Admiral Orsaya. Rebekah Grimes shares Michelle’s penchant for scheming, while Admiral Katida puts the moves on Ean shamelessly. The best for last, though: Radko, assigned to Ean as a kind of orderly/babysitter while he is aboard, proves essential in so many respects. Not only does she offer physical protection and training, but she is a wellspring of psychological reassurance and support in a way that surprises both of them. I love that Linesman has so many great female characters. Moreover, there were some good, casual comments about fashion and how it has changed since our present day—we’ve got some tight-fitting tops and tights that are all the rage among men as well as women. (Little bit of fat-shaming on Ean’s part, though.) It’s all very subtle but it’s also important to acknowledge.
Of course just as women have always fought, women have always written science fiction. But if any poor, deluded sod was under the impression that women don’t write good military science fiction, Linesman is just another counterexample. This is an awesome new entry into the field; it has excited me about space opera in ways I was not expecting. If you want to feel that, then you got to get a piece of this action.
My reviews of the Linesman series:
Alliance →
Ean Lambert is a certified ten—which is not to say he’s good looking. Rather, he’s the highest level of linesman. Think of linesmen as Jedis who use their Force powers to fix ships instead of having impractical lightsaber battles. Lines, numbered from one to ten, are energy constructs that humanity uses to facilitate their spaceship operations, including, crucially, faster-than-light travel. No one is really sure what lines are; as with many innovations, we just sort of stumbled onto the secret of making them. Most linesmen “push and pull” lines psychically—again, no one is really sure how that works. Ean is an outsider, both in terms of his social background and how his initially self-taught linesmen skills mean he must sing to the lines. To other tens, he is a dangerous imposter of a linesman.
Anyway, to make a long story short: Ean gets caught up in interstellar brinkmanship far beyond his pay grade. At first he’s not happy, but he quickly comes to enjoy his new situation to an extent, because at the very least it’s proving challenging—and someone is actually appreciating him. After years of being shit on for not fitting in, a few people are paying attention to what he can actually do. So everything is looking up for Ean—you know, if you ignore the people trying to kidnap him, kill him, seize control of a strange alien ship before he does … the usual.
The stakes Linesman are high. Dunstall thrusts us into a human society on the brink of war. The universe reminds me a little of Bujold’s Vorkosigan books, with a few consolidated powers loosely controlling a vast array of planets, united by a fragile FTL MacGuffin (wormholes in Vorkosigan, carefully-scheduled “gating” in this book to avoid mishaps). Linesman is also like the Vorkosigan books in that it’s not precisely military SF, but it's military SF adjacent. The relationship between Abram and Michelle, for instance, reminds me a little of the relationship between some Barrayaran military generals and people like Cordelia or Miles. They are both very strategic people with slightly different specialties and occasionally different priorities (Abram wants to protect Michelle, even if she’s not in the mood to be protected).
Dunstall neatly balances Ean’s acumen. He’s not a completely blank slate, but he has largely eschewed politics until now. He has a history with Lancia (Michelle’s faction), having grown up in poverty there and escaped it only because of his skill with the lines. So it’s ironic that he ends up working for them, not just because Michelle buys his contract but because he starts to like them. This sense of humour and playfulness pervades the book and helps to take the edge off what is otherwise a very tense situation.
In addition to following Ean, some chapters follow Jordan Rossi, a more conventional ten. I like this perspective, both on galactic politics and on linesmen’s place in the power structure. Between Jordan and Ean we get a good sense of how linesmen work with the lines—but it’s clear that there is so much more out there that Dunstall have yet to reveal. I love how they gradually dole out that knowledge: at the start of the book, the uses of lines seven and eight are unknown. Ean discovers what line eight does, and he also makes a few other discoveries I won’t spoil here. But the book ends with Ean interrogating line seven about what it does—a mild cliffhanger, perhaps, but a cliffhanger nonetheless. I was well annoyed when I read that last page!
And I so very much want to read Alliance! I have already checked; my library has two copies—one is on hold, so I’m not the only person in Thunder Bay who is enjoying this series. There’s just something so smooth and enjoyable about Dunstall’s writing. Dunstall manages the scope necessary for space opera without forgetting about having great characters. Much like in the paradigm case of Dune, learning about the wider galactic society is an important part of Linesman, but it is secondary to the main plots.
Finally, this story has a wealth of secondary characters who make it so much better. In general, Dunstall gives us a bunch of interesting women in all sorts of roles. Michelle, although royalty, is not your typical princess, and on the opposite side of the political board we get Admiral Orsaya. Rebekah Grimes shares Michelle’s penchant for scheming, while Admiral Katida puts the moves on Ean shamelessly. The best for last, though: Radko, assigned to Ean as a kind of orderly/babysitter while he is aboard, proves essential in so many respects. Not only does she offer physical protection and training, but she is a wellspring of psychological reassurance and support in a way that surprises both of them. I love that Linesman has so many great female characters. Moreover, there were some good, casual comments about fashion and how it has changed since our present day—we’ve got some tight-fitting tops and tights that are all the rage among men as well as women. (Little bit of fat-shaming on Ean’s part, though.) It’s all very subtle but it’s also important to acknowledge.
Of course just as women have always fought, women have always written science fiction. But if any poor, deluded sod was under the impression that women don’t write good military science fiction, Linesman is just another counterexample. This is an awesome new entry into the field; it has excited me about space opera in ways I was not expecting. If you want to feel that, then you got to get a piece of this action.
My reviews of the Linesman series:
Alliance →
hyenas's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure I recommend this book, because I'm not sure what exactly appeals to me about it. Is it the character and politics driven sci-fi? Aliens? Sentient ships? Likable main character? Could be.
I really enjoyed it, I can see that if you start it expecting traditional sci-fi it can be disappointment. So read without expectations and you may enjoy it.
I really enjoyed it, I can see that if you start it expecting traditional sci-fi it can be disappointment. So read without expectations and you may enjoy it.
thefourthvine's review against another edition
4.0
A new space opera with an incredibly classic feel, this story reminds me of the SF I grew up reading. I've seen comparisons to Anne McCaffrey, and I see that, although this is better SF than she ever managed to write, and I've seen comparisons to Bujold, and again, I get that, though this is not as good as her best SF (but way better than her worst).
There are a lot of strengths here, ranging from a truly human main character it's easy to like (despite his passivity and self-deprecation), to a genuinely compelling pace, to politics that are interestingly complex without ever getting to that one-twist-too-many-now-I'm-bored place. There's also some flaws. I found one of the point of view characters dull and chafed whenever we went back to him, and there was a point about 75% of the way through the book where I whispered, "Don't use up ALL the plots, dear authors; you'll need some for later books." But the flaws didn't make me slow down in my reading or enjoy this any less, and I will definitely be buying the sequel when it comes out. (IN FEBRUARY 2016. AUGH.)
Basically, this a really fun, engaging space opera, with sentient ships and possibly psychic abilities and space princesses (who do stuff!) and politics and an underdog trying to make good. If you like this sort of thing, this is precisely the sort of thing you'll like.
There are a lot of strengths here, ranging from a truly human main character it's easy to like (despite his passivity and self-deprecation), to a genuinely compelling pace, to politics that are interestingly complex without ever getting to that one-twist-too-many-now-I'm-bored place. There's also some flaws. I found one of the point of view characters dull and chafed whenever we went back to him, and there was a point about 75% of the way through the book where I whispered, "Don't use up ALL the plots, dear authors; you'll need some for later books." But the flaws didn't make me slow down in my reading or enjoy this any less, and I will definitely be buying the sequel when it comes out. (IN FEBRUARY 2016. AUGH.)
Basically, this a really fun, engaging space opera, with sentient ships and possibly psychic abilities and space princesses (who do stuff!) and politics and an underdog trying to make good. If you like this sort of thing, this is precisely the sort of thing you'll like.
lordofthemoon's review against another edition
4.0
Human spaceships travel the stars by means of the lines. And the lines are maintained by the linesmen. Ean Lambert is a linesman of the highest order, although one shunned by his fellows for his low origins and self-taught ways, not to mention his eccentric nature of singing to the lines. But now a mysterious force has appeared in the galaxy which may rewrite everything we know about the lines, and ignite a political bonfire that Ean won't be able to put out with song.
I loved this book. The worldbuilding is pretty good, with the political factions being laid out for us and Ean's own history being revealed slowly, over time. Ean started off a bit watery but is moulded by events and people around him and grows substantially as a character. The others around him don't necessarily fare so well, though, and I couldn't get over the way that the princess royal (and heir to the throne) took him under her wing as she did.
Despite all that, the plot cracks along apace and is huge amounts of fun. The alien ship eventually reveals (some of) its secrets but opens up wider questions about the nature of the lines and the wider galaxy at large. Unusually for me, I've already ordered both the other books in the series in one go and I suspect they'll end up pretty near the top of the to-read pile.
I loved this book. The worldbuilding is pretty good, with the political factions being laid out for us and Ean's own history being revealed slowly, over time. Ean started off a bit watery but is moulded by events and people around him and grows substantially as a character. The others around him don't necessarily fare so well, though, and I couldn't get over the way that the princess royal (and heir to the throne) took him under her wing as she did.
Despite all that, the plot cracks along apace and is huge amounts of fun. The alien ship eventually reveals (some of) its secrets but opens up wider questions about the nature of the lines and the wider galaxy at large. Unusually for me, I've already ordered both the other books in the series in one go and I suspect they'll end up pretty near the top of the to-read pile.
hopee's review against another edition
5.0
I read an early galley of this book... so good. Seriously one of the best science fiction books I've read in a long, long time!
kaylynn's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book!
The linesmen manage the lines of ships, making it so the ships function. Ean Lambert is a ten (the highest rank of linesman) but no one considers him a "real" ten because he was self trained and sings to the lines, something no one else does. He's been doing all the work of the other tens who have gone out to a strange spacial anomaly called the Confluence.
Ean's contract is bought out by Michelle, who needs a ten to try and manage the lines of a strange alien ship that has destroyed any other ship that gets close to it. This is followed by politics, singing to the lines, and space battles, while Ean learns more about the lines, and himself, than he'd ever suspected before.
I enjoyed reading this so much. I liked seeing the changes Ean went through, and I found it interesting to see a lot of the other characters through his eyes. I hated Jordan, but he was so much fun to hate. I also liked how everything wasn't black and white but that there were good people trying to do good things and selfish people doing selfish things and a lot of overlap between the two.
And I loved the description of the lines. I loved Ean's singing and how he interacted with the lines and how other reacted to his singing. I also loved Radko and Fergus and of course Michelle. The whole thing was just delightful to read, and the authors did a wonderful job of seeing through a person's viewpoint but giving the reader information that the POV character doesn't necessarily understand. I'm definitely reading the sequel.
The linesmen manage the lines of ships, making it so the ships function. Ean Lambert is a ten (the highest rank of linesman) but no one considers him a "real" ten because he was self trained and sings to the lines, something no one else does. He's been doing all the work of the other tens who have gone out to a strange spacial anomaly called the Confluence.
Ean's contract is bought out by Michelle, who needs a ten to try and manage the lines of a strange alien ship that has destroyed any other ship that gets close to it. This is followed by politics, singing to the lines, and space battles, while Ean learns more about the lines, and himself, than he'd ever suspected before.
I enjoyed reading this so much. I liked seeing the changes Ean went through, and I found it interesting to see a lot of the other characters through his eyes. I hated Jordan, but he was so much fun to hate. I also liked how everything wasn't black and white but that there were good people trying to do good things and selfish people doing selfish things and a lot of overlap between the two.
And I loved the description of the lines. I loved Ean's singing and how he interacted with the lines and how other reacted to his singing. I also loved Radko and Fergus and of course Michelle. The whole thing was just delightful to read, and the authors did a wonderful job of seeing through a person's viewpoint but giving the reader information that the POV character doesn't necessarily understand. I'm definitely reading the sequel.
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