Linesman (A Linesman Novel)

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 show more 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. show less

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.

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 show more 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. show less

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.

-- reread review

I truly love these books and this world. This time they were slightly soured for me with some sexism and racism that I hadn't seen before so bewarned.

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. show more Which was too bad, really. This could have been a lot more fun than it turned out. show less

I randomly picked one of the numerous 'galleys I had loaded into my reader due out this month and started reading... aaaand I was pretty much drawn into the story from there. Yeah, I am a sucker for underdog stories and this is how this one begins... with the introduction of Ean Lambert - a Linesman who doesn't quite fit in with his peers due to his "unconventional" methods and his "street rat" background. Linesmen being those who can interact with "lines" - which is actually from alien tech that humanity stumbled across and eventually gained access to FTL capabilities from.

Oh... there's also space battles, intrigues, royals, admirals, aliens & politics/corporate tussles. But mostly, I think, I found the concept of the "lines" the most show more intriguing thing.

Overall this book pretty much had a classic space adventure/space opera vibe. Although I think it could have been more richly realised, there is enough there to sink your teeth into.

In hindsight, I did feel that Ean's situation had a bit of a Mary Sue thing going for it (getting support from the right people for one thing and then having all these things happening to you and it working out (somewhat) neatly) but it's done in such away that you don't feel insulted (is that the word?) for enjoying it. Haha. Although now I also notice that Ean doesn't seem to be doing much and was just solely reacting to things that happen to/around him. Oh, and he is pretty much a poster child of the inferiority complex.

Flow-wise there were a few times where I felt the story telling felt a bit scrambled, tch, but I just wanted to find out what happened next and glazed over those passages.

Will definitely look out for the second book (sigh - another series #headdesks)...

My general consensus is between a "like" and "really like" - so a 3.5 rating from me, rounded down to 3 because of certain nit-picky post-read considerations.

Addendum: I just realised what was dodgy about this book... the title! Yeah, linesman just brings to mind that one point in my life when I was into watching the EPL (footie) on TV... with offsides and whatnot. HAHAHA. (Also, I just found out that they're not called linesman anymore but "assistant referees"... whot?!) show less

'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 show more 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. show less