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A review by tome15
Linesman by S.K. Dunstall
3.0
Dunstall, S. K. Linesman. Linesman No. 1. Ace, 2015.
S. K. Dunstall has so far published four space operas. This first one shows promise but still has some very rough edges. One must give him credit for adding a new wrinkle or two to the idea of the sentient spaceship. The series harkens back to Anne McCaffery’s classic The Ship Who Sang (1969), but although Dunstall’s ships do not sing, they require engineers to sing to interface with them somewhat telepathically. They are alien ships that operate on an unexplained technology called “lines,” each of which seem responsible for some aspect of ship operation. Our hero is a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with an exceptionally profound sensitivity to the lines. He is taken in by a princess who needs a linesman for her yacht. We are clearly in the realm of science fantasy rather than science fiction here. There are several holes in the world building. How is it that several interstellar states can be based solely on alien technology they do not understand? Why singing? What happened to the aliens?
S. K. Dunstall has so far published four space operas. This first one shows promise but still has some very rough edges. One must give him credit for adding a new wrinkle or two to the idea of the sentient spaceship. The series harkens back to Anne McCaffery’s classic The Ship Who Sang (1969), but although Dunstall’s ships do not sing, they require engineers to sing to interface with them somewhat telepathically. They are alien ships that operate on an unexplained technology called “lines,” each of which seem responsible for some aspect of ship operation. Our hero is a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with an exceptionally profound sensitivity to the lines. He is taken in by a princess who needs a linesman for her yacht. We are clearly in the realm of science fantasy rather than science fiction here. There are several holes in the world building. How is it that several interstellar states can be based solely on alien technology they do not understand? Why singing? What happened to the aliens?