Genres:
Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Fantasy, Aliens, Military Fiction
Pages:
384
Published:
June 30, 2015
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.
✧ Overall Score✧
8/10
Super enjoyable and comfy nostalgic in a way that I’m not fully able to articulate. I loved this story! I’m already looking forward to reading the sequels. I found the political intrigue a bit hard to follow, but I’m 90% certain that’s just because I’m a bit of an idiot and should have taken the time to write myself a little flow chart.
✧ Enjoyment Score✧
10/10
A silly, satisfying space opera romp filled with comfortable tropes done well. I would totally read this one again and had a hard time putting it down. The story was fast paced and engaging and I always enjoy novels where the protag is able to talk to the ship. Good stuff! Definitely tropey, but in a way I really enjoyed.
✧ Writing Style✧
7/10
Serviceable to the story and enjoyable to read! Solid dialogue with some subtle political maneuvering, lovely descriptive language where it needed to be, and the authors did a really good job of describing the weird and intangible art of psychic ship communication. Not really any quotes that are gonna wind up on some Pinterest girly’s corkboard, but do you really need that in a space opera?
✧ Plot✧
8/10
You can definitely call the story from pretty much the very first chapter, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. The foreshadowing is there and good and the authors are interested in telling a solid story rather than trying to rug pull you. A little convoluted and a little “chosen one”y in parts but… it’s a space opera. Of course it is.
✧ Characterization✧
6/10
Enjoyable characters, though I don’t think any of them are fleshed out enough for me to be writing fanfic about them, you dig? MC can be a little annoyingly naive but that’s sort of his Thing™️, narratively speaking. I think characterization could use a bit of work — the authors laid out little tidbits of deeper life behind their characters, but none of it really sprang up in this novel. Perhaps the next one?