Confluence by S.K. Dunstall

Science Fiction

Confluence by S.K. Dunstall needs more that just a short and sweet review.  I think it needs a look back at the first two books in series and then a review of Confluence.  

I read Linesman when it first came out and really loved it.  I fact I liked it so much that it was one of my Hugo nominees for that year and a recommendation for our Science Fiction Book Club.  While it did not make the Hugo list it did make the review list for our book club and was the choice this October.  That started my journey back into the world of Ean Lambert.  I reread Linesman and marveled at the way the authors (S.K. Dunstall is the composite of two different authors) dropped hints about Ean and the lines from the very first page when Ean walked onto a ship where the lines were in such a bad condition he was surprised it made it to dock.  He gives the ship a pat and tells the lines the they did well and says he can almost hear them answering.  He has alway been different from other linesman.  He was late to training and had some habits that could not be broken.  He sang to the lines and by singing put them back into tune.  No one else repaired the lines by singing.  Turns out Ean had the right idea and soon he knows that the lines can answer.  From that start Ean makes a journey into a whole new world. 


After re-reading Linesman I found the CD of Alliance, Book Two, at my local library and visited the story again.  Alliance looks at how Ean's discoveries change the politics and the way many of the characters react to those changes.  The plot continues to grow more complex and Ean's abilities becomes both a danger to some and the hope of others.  The stage is set for book three, Confluence.  

I had seen Confluence on Netgalley.  I requested it and heard back that I was approved on the Monday before the election.  I voted early and on election day I dropped back into the world of Ean, Michelle, Radko and Abrams.  I stayed there for two days, did not want to leave so re-read all three books again.  This is one of those series that becomes new every time it is read.  I don't know if this is  the last book in the series but I really hope it is not.  I would love to visit this world again.

So the review of Confluence:

Confluence by S.K. Dunstall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again Ean, Radko, Michelle and Abrams deliver a taunt exciting story. There are other players featured in the story line. Some are new characters and some are side characters from the previous books who get to play a more important part this time. The politics are still front and center. Radko is sent on a mission that should have been a simple in and out. Instead she uncovers a new dangerous plot. More and more people want to control the lines and that means controlling Ean. I loved the fast pace but slow reveal of the danger to both Ean and Michelle. Once again the authors leave small bread crumbs along the way to give hints about both people and actions. I hope that this is not the last time to see this interesting and unique world that had been built in Linesman, Alliance and Confluence. One danger is removed but there are still the alien ships, where they came from and who they were fighting that is unresolved.

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Guardian (The Lost Fleet) by Jack Campbell

Science Fiction/Space Opera

From Goodreads:

"Admiral Geary’s First Fleet of the Alliance has survived the journey deep into unexplored interstellar space, a voyage that led to the discovery of new alien species, including a new enemy and a possible ally. Now Geary’s mission is to ensure the safety of the Midway Star System, which has revolted against the Syndicate Worlds empire—an empire that is on the brink of collapse.

To complicate matters further, Geary also needs to return safely to Alliance space not only with representatives of the Dancers, an alien species, but also with Invincible, a captured warship that could possibly be the most valuable object in human history. Despite the peace treaty that Geary must adhere to at all costs, the Syndicate Worlds regime threatens to make the fleet’s journey back grueling and perilous.

And even if Geary escortsInvincibleand the Dancers’ representatives safely unharmed, the Syndics’ attempts to spread dissent and political unrest may have already sown the seeds of the Alliance’s destruction."

This is short and sweet this time.  I have followed this series from the beginning.  Guardian has the same cast of characters and is a continuation of the previous Lost Fleet Beyond the Frontier books.  Guardian is a good story but for me it lacked the tension that was part of the previous books in the series.  I could not tell from the ending if this was the last book in the series or if there will be more.  If there are more I will continue to read.  

I think reading this series from the start is the best way to know what is going on.

Ace published Guardian by Jack Campbell in 2013.