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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My Musing - Monday November 21, 2016

I miss the Musing Mondays that Jenn at A Daily Rhyme used to host.   I was gone for four months at the beginning of 2016 and when I came home the meme was gone.  Today, a Monday, I decided to just do a muse on my own and maybe I will continue when I have something I want to muse about on future Mondays.

During the last week I have been thinking about books and series.  What brought all of these thoughts on?  Two series that I never get tired of re-reading.  Both have the final book in the series available on Netgalley and I was quick to request both.  


The two series:  The Others by Anne Bishop and Linesman by S.K. Dustall.  I received Etched in Bone, 5th book in the Others series, and Confluence, the 3rd book in the Linesman series from Netgalley.  Confluence will come out next week, Etched in Bone will not be out until March of 2017.  

Both are series that I love.  Both are very different.  I have read and re-read both series lately.  After much musing I realized that one of the attraction in both series are the main characters.  Meg Corbin in the Others and Ean Lambert in the Linesman series have one very distinct feature.  Both have been very sheltered and both have just been turned out into the real world.  Both authors used that fact to build an interesting world and use the reaction of both Meg and Ean as a way change the characters and the action around them.  

Both contain some excellent writing and on every re-read I find a something new.  Usually that is very subtle and forwards action to come.  Those clues were easy to miss the first time I read the books but having read the books once it is much easier to see the clues for what they are.  

Having said that they are different I guess I should mention how.  Linesman is set in the far future and is Science Fiction/Space Opera.  The Others is set on a alternate Earth and could be paranormal, fantasy, or alternate history.  Different setting and very different cast of characters.  Even though they are very different I still love them both and will be re-reading again in the future.

If you read this post and have books you like to re-read feel free to comment with the books and the reason you love them so.

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.