S. K. Dunstall

Written by two Australian sisters who call themselves S. K. Dunstall, Stars Uncharted had all the ingredients I needed for a fun space opera read. Lots of action and humor, space travel, a slow burning love story, and characters that I enjoy rooting for. Although presented as an ensemble cast, there are two characters who do the narrating – Nika Rik Terri who is a skilled body modder (modifier), and Josune Arriola, an engineer, who is living under an assumed identity after the exploration ship she was crewing on was destroyed. These two women are thrown together and form a fast friendship as they and their allies try to escape from a deadly corporation who wants to silence them.

This group of widely assorted characters come together as they are all on the run from the same enemy and although many of our heroes are not exactly who they are pretending to be, together they bond and become a family of misfits with common goals and aspirations. As this is the first book of a duology, not all problems were cleared by the end of the book, but it also didn’t leave us totally hanging, as the immediate problems were addressed.

I found Stars Uncharted to be a rip-roaring adventure and as this appears to be a resource-run universe, the continuation of space exploration and the search for rare elements and metals was widely hinted at. Of course I can see that this exploration could well cause them to once again become the quarry of these dark companies. I look forward to continuing the adventure in the next book..… (mer)

Very enjoyable and inventive. This book drew me in from the first page, with its pleasant writing style, intriguing world building and interesting characters. I liked Nika in particular for her inventiveness, her passion, and her dogged determination to survive. Also Josune and Roystan refuse to give up, continuing to plan if things go awry. That makes both the women on the free people to root for, and I like that the two of them are friends. In general, the crew as a group works well together, having each other's back, even if some of them only joined recently.
And, always a nice thing to be able to comment on: women are well represented on all sides, being just as likely to be in charge or be an expert and experienced as the men.
The only thing that I would have changed is the pacing. It it's incredibly high, all the time. Everyone is continuously in running, fighting, and/or problem-solving mode, invariably with high stakes. Some down time would have been good... The linesman series doesn't have this problem, so the authors are definitely capable of it.… (mer)

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.

This really fell apart for me about halfway in. Ean got too powerful too quickly, and everything else just felt made up and fake Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series. Really disappointed, because it started out SO good. And by the way? I felt like I was hearing the word “lines” every other word by 2/3s of the way in. Ugh.… (mer)