Customer Reviews

Razor's Edge (Sholan Alliance)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Razor's Edge is the fourth novel in the Sholan Alliance series, following Fire Margins. The initial work in this series is Turning Point.

In the previous volume, Kiad formed a Triad with Carrie and Kusac and they have walked the Fire Margins. This trance state has taken them back in time to just before the Cataclysm, where they have met ancient Sholans, including one who will become the god Vartra. They have also sent Tallinu, a young cub who will become Kaid, forward in time to be raised as a foundling and have brought back the Valtegan General, Kezule, and his dupe Kyak to Khezi'ipik, the ancient Valtegan hatching grounds. Kyak has been faced with the Valtegan who had pretended to be his god and caused him to raise a jihad, the Elders have declared Kyak a false prophet, and the desert tribes have repudiated the Kezule worshippers. Kaid has Challenged Ghezu, Guildmaster of the Brotherhood, for his treasonous acts. The Fire Margins have advanced Carrie's pregnancy, so Kaid and Kusac have delivered the cub in an aircar on the way home from the desert.

On Jalna, a Keissan team, with Sholan support, has penetrated Lord Killian's castle to find the contents of a wrecked Valtegan shuttle. There they accidentally release two Sholans, Rezac and Zashou, from a stasis capsule where they have been trapped since the time of the Cataclysm. Before they could escape, the team was detected and held captive by the Jalnians.

In this novel, the recon team on Jalna pretends to rebuild the shuttle laser system while awaiting rescue and Rezac has vivid dreams of his life prior to the Cataclysm. On Shola, the Brotherhood interrogates General Kezule and plants an agent, Keeza Lassah, in his cell. The En'shalla Clan is formally recognized by the Clan Council and is ceded the long abandoned Valsgarth estate; Kusac and Carrie are the Clan Lords and the clan members include all current and future mixed Leska pairs as well as the Vartra Brothers previously assigned as guardians for such pairs. Kusac formally registers Kaid as the third of their Triad and the three of them start planning for a rescue operation on Jalna. Kiad is troubled as his early childhood memories resurface and, having more visions of Vartra as both the man and the god, he moves to Stronghold to resolve his conflicts. A human archaeological team moves onto the estate and supervises the monastery dig.

This novel bridges the transition from the personal problems of the En'shalla clan members to the interstellar problems of the Sholan Alliance. Now that the immediate problems are solved, or at least being managed, the En'shalla Clan begins to fulfill their function as special operatives for Alien Relations. Obviously, their first mission will be to Jalna.

A reviewer has noted that story lines start in one book and are resolved in a later volume. First, this is a technique used by accomplished writers to ease the readers into situations instead of dropping them -- kerplunk -- into a new complication without warning. Second, this technique mirrors real life, where most problems start small and are only solved -- assuming that they are solved -- after a great deal of hand-waving, finger-pointing, head-scratching, and so forth.

Another reviewer has questioned the term "gestalt". It is a German world used by the Gestalt School of perceptual psychology to refer to "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" phenomena in pattern recognition; for example, a smiley face is recognizable as a face even by very young infants, yet it lacks many of the characteristics of a human face. Thus, Carrie and Kusac can form a relationship that is much stronger together than as individuals.

Recommended for all Norman fans and anyone who enjoys tales of interpersonal relationships and problem solving in a SF setting.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I'm also a little surprised by some of the negative comments. I have read the first four books in this series in a week and a half -- I just couldn't put them down! The only reason laundry is getting done is because I done yet have the next one...

You definitely need to start at the beginning, though. This series is not one of those where you can pick up a book in the middle of the series and have any idea what's going on. It's more like one really long book -- don't expect things to be resolved at the end of each book.

Yes, there is a lot about relationships. Yes, there is love and romance. So what? There is also political intrigue. And just enough mystery. I'm sick of SF books which are so technical you need an engineering degree to have a clue about what is going on. There are a lot of characters, but if you start with the first book, they are introduced slowly so it's not confusing.

Bottom line: I haven't been sucked this deeply into a series since...well, ever. I can't wait until I get the next one!

I have read some of the other reviews on this book and was really shocked! Well here it is! I loved the charactors and the plot.So many times I read a book and think, "Is this all there is? What happened to-Whoever or whatever? Very few authors have the Guts to carry a storyline this many booksand still have me pre-ording the next one as soon as it comes out!-and rereading the prior books to more enjoy the new book! Lisanne- Please keep the books coming! These books in your Sholon series reminds me of the phrase,"Where do you want to go today?" They are a lovely escape for a quiet moment to relive stress and bring a smile! Keep Up The Good Work!

Having just completed the book, I will start out by saying I did read the whole book, and I did enjoy it.

I would caution readers that if you are like me and haven't read the first books, it might be better to start there. As previously mentioned in another review, there are a LOT of relationships discussed in this book. I felt a little overwhelmed (and almost started drawing diagrams) trying to keep track of all the characters! There are at least 19 names encountered after going through the prologue and first five pages of Chapter One (and there are many more introduced later....).

There are many references that I presume are to the previous books, which sometimes left me trying to puzzle out what happened and how it related to the current book. Some things were never really explained, with inferences merely by the number of references including Gestalt (a noun, telepath gene mutating virus perhaps), the nature of the Terran/Sholan governments and the exchange program, the 'Alliance', time travel, and so forth.

I was also frustrated in several loose ends that did not conclude within the book, clearly to be taken up by yet another in the series (which does not appear to exist yet).

The current book does have some thought provoking looks at various situations. A few situations are just plain frightening if you really consider what you are reading. While there is almost no actual combat in the book, there is a war going on and some truly horrific choices are made. The frightening part is that it is so plausible. The tone of the book is softened by the bulk of day to day interactions which don't involve the military neccessities.

A lot of the conflict that occurs in the book is a result of various relationships. Some working out better than others. Most of the relationships have considerable thought, insight, and character decision wrapped into the story. But there are exceptions. I was somewhat reminded of Elfquest and the 'recognition' that Pini's elves have in that some of the relationships are thrust on the characters as a result of the telepathic abilities they possess.

There are lots of little culteral differences between Sholan and human characters, but their similarities to humans outweigh their differences. The Sholans we are presented with in this book seem to have adapted to humans overall (a comparison would be humans and vulcans from Star Trek, they are different but not truly alien or all that incomprehensible).

Many of the characters are likable, with distinct variations and personalities. Throughout the two evenings I read the book, my interest was maintained in many of the core characters (and the host of additional characters making appearances).

I would recommend reading the book AFTER reading the first ones. I enjoyed the book, but I think it will all be much clearer when I am done with the first ones.

Dale Allen

Lisanne Norman's books are a recent discovery. Luckily, I began with "The Turning Point", the first book in the series. It's the typical theme of "boy meets girl" handled with imagination. The boy is a handsome alien feline who crash lands on the human girl's newly colonized world; a world that has been recently conquered by a race of alien reptiles. I could hardly put the book down and was eager to see how Carrie and Kusac would handle the challanges that awaited them on Kusac's home world of Shola in "Fortune's Wheel", the sequel. I was not disappointed. "Fire Margins" and now "Razor's Edge" were even better than the first two books. With each new book, Ms. Norman continues to develop believable characters who show personal growth in complex situations. Add to that the detailed descriptions of the Sholan world in which they live combined with an epic story line and you have a great adventure series. Enjoy!

Only the strongest of the strong can survive the taboos of a cross-species relationship. Carrie (a human telepath) and Kusac (a Sholan telepath) are getting the opportunity to test this resolve as they must stand up to both of their people, who try to manipulate or destroy them. The other member of their unique Triad is Kaid. The trio are struggling to come to grips with their unique arrangement, but also with what they have learned from their travel through the FIRE MARGINS.

However, rest and absorption are not on the menu for this intrepid threesome. They travel to the planet Jalna in an effort to rescue Sholans and humans being held prisoner. None of the trio are prepared to meet the dangerously insane people who have incarcerated members of their races. Unknown to any of them is that the natives are long time plants from their enemy, the Valtegans.

The fourth novel in Lisanne Norman's "Sholan alliance" is a fascinating science fiction work that provides in-deptg insight into various species inhabiting the universe. To Ms. Norman's credit, all the species seem very authentic and the story line is fast-paced and fun to read. Fans of cultural exploration of otther worlds will enjoy this entire series.

Harriet Klausner

Another fantastic book in the Sholan Alliance Series by Lissane Norman. Each time one of the books in her series has come in the mail, I've been unable to put it down until I've read it cover to cover! Great book, great author, great series!

Lisanne Norman's series had a high and a low point for me. Somehow I treaded past the first book Turning point and went on to the more interesting book after that, Fortune's Wheel. But, about 3/4ths of the way through Razor's Edge, I put the book down and never picked it back up. I was kind of sick of Leskas and when 3 person Leskas began appearing that was it for me. I guess I'm just a two-person traditonalist. Plus, the abilities of the telepaths are kind of hazy-you don't really know what they can do, exactly. I know that even they don't know all they can do, but still...Was it me or did Norman's writing get a bit mechanical? Carrie seemed to lose most of her personality. Overall, the series died out, going from interesting to tiring. Maybe her next book will lift it out of the dredge.

I ask myself "Why do I keep reading these damn books?" At #4 the plot only seems to get worse with each book. This book was practicaly an exact copy of the last one. A big, long, convoluted and seemingly pointless build up to a "climax," only this time instead of going back in time (groan) they go on a rescue mission. However the mission doesn't seem to be that important since it's rushed through and paid little attention. There are so many other events in the book that are drawn out into excruciating detail that you'd expect a little more drama and excitment when it came time for the big fanale, right?

Let's get to the basics. The soap opera continues as far as the characters go. Carrie's character is so far removed from the first book that it might as well not even be her. SHe's very passive and has lost all of her pasion and vigor. Kusac's more of the same character he's always been, no real change here. Kaid... I'm just sick of this guy. After all he went through in the last book even to the point were he softened and acted like a decent, likable guy, he completely relapses back to his cold blooded killer mode from the second book. Yes he lightens up some, but it's just really annoying to go through all of this AGAIN when the exact same thing happened in "Fire Margins." Vanna and Garas are practically no shows, which is too bad because I liked their storyline. The same with Kusac's parants - they're barely in it at all.

The new character I liked was Rezac - I liked his story better than anyone else in the book simply because he was a real dynamic character. He was much more interesting and complex than all the rest.

The three-way Leska mumbo jumbo is silly, as is the rescue mission itself. It never seems as if it couldn't have been anyone to do it. Just like in "Fire Margins," there was a lot of fuss about how important it was that these characters do these things, but it's never maid clear WHY it MUST be them.

One starts to question Sholan society after awhile. Do they drink anything besides c'shar? Isn't there a Sholan Coke? Or how about just water? Then there's the sex, and while, yes, I enjoy a good sex scene or two, but really... Everyone is having sex all the time. I think that every female character ends up pregnant, literally. And since the Sholans are just a big planet full of swingers sharing themselves with just about anyone, it's amazing that the whole planet wasn't wiped out by a STD at some point in time.

The problem I have is the same reason I haven't been able to stop reading these things - It never ends. Seriously, there have not been four books. There has only been one huge 2000 page book divided into smaller, easier to read segments. One picks right up where the last one left off as if it were meerly a page break. Stuff from one book is brought up but not resolved until the next one, like in this book with the excruciatingly long and drawn out subplot with General Kezule which obviously won't be dealt with till the next book. These cliffhanger endings are total cheap shots. These books should be half as long as they are.

But I'll probably keep reading the damn things. I've come this far, so why not. I still genuenly like most of the characters even if the story is ludicrous and stipid at times. This book would rate higher if it had been better writen and the plot held more firmly together, but as of now the only thing saving this whole series are the characters.

I have read every single book in the series and I loved all of them. My only regret is that Carrie is not shown to be possesed of any offenssive talents(ie. telekinesis, pyrokinesis...). Her mani talents all seem rather useless in any combat situations. Perhaps Ms. Norman will develop more hidden talents in the next book in the series. Also as with her other books in the series the complex relationships inherent in the storyline did become somewhat tedious and only minorly detracted from my enjoyment of the book

On a different note Ms. Norman has posted a message on her webpage saying the next book will be called Dark Nadir and she is in the process of writing it.