Linesman by S.K.Dunstall

Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

First in a brand new thought-provoking science fiction 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.

Linesman caught me from the very first page.  Ean Lambert is the main character and he is supported by a large cast of interesting secondary characters.  Ean’s background is at the heart of the back story for Linesman.  The plot is structured so that both back story and world building come out as the story progresses.

The plot is fast paced and full of both tension and action.  While the characters are interesting the plot uses the characters to drive the action and there is plenty of action.   I like action driven plots and Linesman manages this without shorting the character development.

The title gives a hint of what is at the heart of the story.  Ships travel the void using lines that must be tuned to work correctly.  There are ten lines until an alien ship shows up with line 11.  Ean becomes a very important linesman when he is the only one who can work with that line.  

While Linesman is the first book in a new series it does tell a complete story while setting the stage for future books.  I will be keeping an eye out for the next book to see how both the story and the characters develop.

ACE published Linesman by S.K. Dunstall in 2015.

I received an ARC of Linesman from Netgalley in return for an honest review.