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Linesman
Linesman
Linesman
Audiobook12 hours

Linesman

Written by S. K. Dunstall

Narrated by Brian Hutchison

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

First in a brand new thought-provoking space opera series. The lines. No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he's crazy. Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level-ten linesman like Ean. Even if he's part of a small, and unethical, cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he's certified and working. Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy. Each of the major galactic powers is desperate to be the first to uncover the ship's secrets, but all they've learned is that it has the familiar lines of energy-and a defense system that, once triggered, annihilates everything in a 200 kilometer radius. The vessel threatens any linesman who dares to approach it, except Ean. His unique talents may be the key to understanding this alarming new force-and reconfiguring the relationship between humans and the ships that serve them, forever. "Riveting and fast-paced. LINESMAN is a great read." -NYT bestselling author Jack Campbell "Full of fast action, interplanetary intrigue, appealing characters, and a fascinating new take on the idea of the sentient spaceship, LINESMAN is a whole lot of fun to read. I want to hear the ships' lines singing!" -Sharon Shinn, National Bestselling Author of ARCHANGEL.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 30, 2015
ISBN9781501901225
Linesman

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Reviews for Linesman

Rating: 3.934027836111111 out of 5 stars
4/5

144 ratings13 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent book on a subject rarely seen. Worth your time!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A new author to me. Liked this one a lot, some fresh ideas and the universe has a lot of potential for more stories, which I'm looking forward to.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It was enjoyable, different take on a traditional fantasy trope
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Rated it 3 1st. Twice thru 5 pieces fell together
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Dull dull unbearably dull. Also incoherent and nonsensical. And dull
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The lines. No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he’s crazy…Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level-ten linesman like Ean. Even if he’s part of a small, and unethical, cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he’s certified and working. Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy. Each of the major galactic powers is desperate to be the first to uncover the ship’s secrets, but all they’ve learned is that it has the familiar lines of energy—and a defense system that, once triggered, annihilates everything in a 200 kilometer radius. The vessel threatens any linesman who dares to approach it, except Ean. His unique talents may be the key to understanding this alarming new force—and reconfiguring the relationship between humans and the ships that serve them, forever.

    This really fell apart for me about halfway in. Ean got too powerful too quickly, and everything else just felt made up and fake Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series. Really disappointed, because it started out SO good. And by the way? I felt like I was hearing the word “lines” every other word by 2/3s of the way in. Ugh.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Interesting concept but the characters are written mostly as caricatures and 2-dimensional, if you're lucky. Read like a potboiler, and other than the initial invention of "lines", mostly forgettable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ean Lambert is a Linesman, one of the gifted individuals who can manipulate, repair, and use the lines of energy that make faster-than-light travel possible. Moreover, he's a ten, the highest level of Linesman--but he's also a slum kid who came to line training late. He sings to the lines rather than thinking at them. It's odd behavior that, combined with his atypical lower-class background, makes him an oddball and an outcast among higher-level Linesmen.

    But with most higher-level Linesmen off investigating the strange, line-like phenomenon of the Confluence these last six months, Lambert has been busy, as the only ten available to repair ship lines. And he's almost the only ten available when Lady Lyan and Commodore Galenos decide they need one to investigate a derelict alien ship.

    What follows is high-stakes political and military adventure, as Lambert confronts the strangeness of his way of working the lines, the handicaps of his upbringing and lack of education until he was able to sign on with the Rigel cartel, and being plunged into the middle of political and military crisis. Along with Lambert himself, Lyan, Galenos, and others on Lancastrian Princess are interesting characters, as are Rossi, Fergus, Orsaya, and others among the rival forces.

    This is the start of a series of unknown projected length, but this volume comes to a reasonably satisfying ending, and it does a good job of establishing the universe and the basic issues at stake. I like Lambert and his friends and allies, and enjoyed the time getting to know them.

    I can't see this as a Hugo nominee next year, but it's certainly a good read.

    Recommended.

    I received a free electronic galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book. It's straightforward space opera with some interesting concepts regarding the power underlying space flight and with a sympathetic protagonist. I found it entertaining. It's written by two sisters in Australia, and I will go ahead and read the next two books out in the series. I was surprised by the negative comments in the LT reviews. I didn't find it overly complex in the number of characters, I didn't find the political machinations at all unrealistic other than Michelle being a bit of a Mary Sue, and I didn't dislike all the characters. Russo, yes, you are meant to dislike him. I enjoyed the ride.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    'Linesman' reminded me just a bit of a more military-inflected take on Anne McCaffrey's 'Crystal Singer' books.

    It's adventure-oriented sci-fi. In this future, space travel is dependent on "The Lines" - adopted 'found' alien technology which is only partially understood by humans. Each spacecraft has a set of 'energy' lines which have to be maintained and 'in tune' (almost like a piano) to function well. Only Linesmen (both male and female; this is an egalitarian future) can perceive the Lines and 'fix' them mentally. Ean Lambert is a top-rated Linesman, but he's a bit unusual. He's the only one in his field who has to sing to the lines in order to get them to respond. He's a great singer, but this quirk has caused his colleagues to treat him with contempt for his eccentricity - and has caused Ean himself, a slum boy made good who already had a bit of a self-esteem problem, to have a giant inferiority complex.

    Ean's also jealous, because when all the other top-rated Linesmen are sent out to investigate a just-discovered anomaly known as The Confluence, his Guild's master, who holds his contract, keeps him close to home to work on mundane tasks.

    However, everything changes when a wealthy and politically well-positioned aristocrat decides she needs to hire Ean for her own purposes. Suddenly, he finds himself placed as a linchpin in a conflict that may determine the fates of interplanetary empires.

    It's fun space opera, but at times it dragged on a bit where it should've been more quick-moving. I feel like the story could've benefited by being edited down into a shorter book with the same amount of plot. It has two viewpoint characters - Ean is the main one, but a smaller number of chapters are Jordan, a guy on the 'other side.' I didn't find Jordan's character compelling at all, and I think the book could've done without him.

    However, it's a promising debut from these two authors, and I'll be willing to follow up with the forthcoming sequel to find out what happens next!

    Many thanks to NetGalley and Ace for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book started well but I enjoyed it less the further I read. This is partly due to the structure: it alternates between two point of view characters. As often happens with this structure, I was enjoying one point of view and totally uninterested in the other one. And, as I see it, there are three things going on in this book: the story of our main character, Ean; the mystery and wonder of the Big Dumb Objects they encounter; and the human political struggles and machinations to try to gain control of it. I enjoyed the first two, and found the third nearly destroyed my enjoyment of the story. I just didn't care about these people and their politics and their power struggles, and that was the main focus of the second half of the book. Which was too bad, really. This could have been a lot more fun than it turned out.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is amazing! Ean is such a great, well written character. Very interesting way to combine music and science.