New Review

Stars Beyond by S.K. Dunstall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As I read this just kept getting better and better. Josune, Roystan, and Nika as well as the other characters kept the action going and the plot thickening. I loved the first book and Stars Beyond lived up to my expectations. S.K. Dunstall is on a roll with first the Linesman books and now the Stars Uncharted. This could be the last book in this series but I am hoping for one more. I love the crew and would love to see how they carry on after all the danger and tension in this book.

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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.

Stacking The Shelves - November 19, 2016

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

For Review:

Rookie K-g Unit Christmas by Valerie Hansen and Lenora Worth

Wind River Rancher by Lindsay McKenna

The Reluctant Cowboy by Kate Pearce

Confluence by S.K. Dunstall

Death at St Vedast by Mary Lawrence

Musing Mondays - June 22, 2015

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme sponsored by A Daily Rhythm that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Is there a bookshop you absolutely adore? Or, perhaps one you’ve always wanted to visit? What is the name of it, and where is it located?

There are two used bookstores close by but no other independent.  Barnes and Noble is the big one here and I just rate it OK.  Some I would like to visit are Uncle Hugo in Minneapolis and The Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego.  I love the Tattered Cover in Denver even though they moved a few year ago and are not as much fun as before.  On a trip three years ago I stopped in Portland to visit Powells.  It was really overwhelming.

Now for my muse.  I love Science Fiction and the past week I have read several really outstanding SciFi books.  Minder Rising by Carol Van Natta is a great SciFi Romance.  Dark Horse by Michelle Diener is another SFR that meet all my criteria for a 5 star rating.  Both had stories that would hold up without the romance.  In both the romance just made the story stronger.  Linesman by S.K.Dunstall is a strong SciFi story with some great new twists.  Minder Rising is part of a series but it can stand alone.  Linesman is the first book in a new series.  I don't know about Dark Horse but it did have possibilities for future stories so I am hoping for a series there too.  I am half way through Silver Ships by Scott Jucha.  It has a strong story and has possibilities as a SFR.  Don't know yet about the possibilities of a series.