Customer Reviews

Stronghold Rising: A Sholan Alliance Novel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the sixth book of the epic Sholan Alliance series, and takes the story in new directions to places unforseen. "Stronghold Rising" is not recommended as a place to jump in; the books of this series should be read in order.

Where much of the three previous books revolved around the character Kaid, this book represents a return to Kusac as the central focus of the story. The fifth book, "Dark Nadir", had some unpleasant things happening to the main characters and left some readers uneasy about the direction the series was taking, but with this, the sixth book, we get some payoff. It provides the overall context that makes more sense out of some of the events in "Nadir" and the earlier books. Furthermore, it sets some remarkable events in motion, some of which are left to be resolved in the next installment of the series (read: cliffhanger ending).

Fans of the series don't need to be convinced to buy this book, but some readers have been less impressed with the last two than they were with the earlier books. I believe many of them will find "Stronghold Rising" to be at least as good as anything so far in the series.

This book focuses mainly on Kusac -- the first male to form a Leska pairing with a human. The author uses an interesting device -- descriptions by Kusac of the events in the immediate past as he is struggling to regain his Talent(s).

The major drawback is the large number of unidentified alien species that keep popping up -- and the "deus ex machina" devices to keep the plot humming along. Since the aliens all seem to speak the same pidgon language -- it's hard to keep straight which species -- and which individual -- is acting.

There are numerous cryptic references to the "entities" leaving Shola -- possibly only Vartra will remain. The concept of Guardians (like Noni) is touched on in passing -- but we never really know who is a guardian or what s/he is guarding.

The general, Kezule, emerges as a dominant personality both in Valtegan society and in the universe as a whole.

A list of characters (which is available on the web site) would be most helpful, since many of the names are similar and the cast is growing exponentially.

The first novels in this series were self-contained. Each new novel is longer and denser -- and depends on the previous books. It is no longer possible to jump into this series with any of the novels.

If you have read and enjoyed any of the previous books in the series, this one is a keeper. If you haven't read the previous novels, read them first.

Thank you, Ms. Norman!

Unlike many authors when they have reached their sixth book, Norman can still add innovating ideas, twists, concepts, and turns. As an avid reader, most serial books seem uneventful and formulaic after their fourth or fifth installment. This book was not as predicable as most and contained a complex enough core to keep me reading for more than one day. Normally, books of this size that are this far along in a series are only good for a quick one night's read like Robert Jordan's Path of Daggers or Jean Auel's Plains of Passage.

Stronghold Rising is the sixth novel in the Sholan Alliance series, following Dark Nadir. The initial work in this series is Turning Point.

In the previous volume, the U'Churian ship, Rryuk's Profit, has been captured by the Valtegan ship M,ijikk, commanded by the former Overlord of Keiss, M'ezozakk, and the M,ijikk has been captured in turn by the Prime ship Kz'adul.

On the Kz'adul, the Profit group have awakened to find themselves confined in a suite of rooms guarded by Primes concealed in armored suits. Periodically, the telepaths in the group are taken while the others are asleep and subjected to medical examination and sampling. Both Carrie and Kusac have been taken aboard the Kz'adul, but hidden from their friends. Kusac has been awakened, implanted with a telepathic suppression device, and interrogated, even tortured, by J'koshuk, a Valtegan priest. Shortly thereafter, Carrie has been returned to the others, but Kusac has been retained for more testing and conditioning. Eventually Kaid has initiated an escape to Haven, a Brotherhood asteroid base, with the Kz'adul in pursuit. During the escape, they have discovered that the Primes are also Valtegans, although a different breed than those on Keiss, and have taken an important hostage, Prince Zsurtul, who they have interrogated while enroute to learn much new information about the Valtegan situation.

On Shola, Brynne has been having vivid dreams and found an unexpected lifemate. Konis has survived a political crisis in the Clan Council regarding Kitra's betrothal. Ruth and the kids have been invited to the Touiban home for a meal. General Kezule has drugged Kirta with la'quo and tried to force her to send him to the past, but she used the power of the drug to overload his mind into unconsciousness; moreover, the drug has also induced a leska link between Kitra and Dzaka. The recaptured Kezule has been taken to Haven by Carrie and Kaid. There the Prince and General have been exchanged for Kusac, but not without violence.

In this novel, Kusac returns home, but has only a small fraction of his telepathic skills remaining. The TeLaxaudins, Cabarrans and Touibans combine their skills to remove the implant and damaged tissues, to restore the nerves, and to provide feedback to allow control of the restored abilities. However, the la'quo present in his body has caused loss of memory which only gradually is being restored through vivid flashbacks and dreams. While his memories are incomplete, Kusac cannot use his abilities. He does not want to be near Carrie or Kaid, especially when they link, for fear they will share his pain and bad dreams.

About six months later, the Sholans have learned more about the Primes, who have not lost their technology in the Cataclysm, and have had long standing contacts with the Free Traders through the spaceport on Jalna. The Primes have readily agreed to a treaty with the Sholan Alliance and have freely ceded ownership of the four asteroid bases used by the Brotherhood.

On K'oiosh'ik, Kezule is extremely popular at court, but the crusty General isn't happy being a courtier. His genes have been used to produce 100 sons and 20 daughters in growth tanks, where their development has been forced to the equivalent of 10 years old; since this was done without his consent, he isn't very happy about this either, but somehow he is comfortable with the results. He encounters a group who are plotting to overthrow the Emperor and would like him to be their figurehead, but he doesn't want to be Emperor. He strings them along, but promptly puts his sons on the case, checking out names and positions. When he gets enough information, he attacks their facilities and personnel, then reports the matter to the Emperor. Shortly thereafter, he takes some of his children, together with about a number of associates, and sneaks off to a large asteroid base, which he finds partially restored. There, he experiments with a more balanced Prime society, but has little success.

The Brotherhood have started training some of their allies at Stronghold, including some Valtegan Warriors, with fair success. Kezule sends a message requesting Kusac to come to the base, hoping to add the Sholan training techniques to his efforts. The Brotherhood asks Kusac to head a secret mission to find out what the General is doing.

This novel is somewhat more difficult to read since it combines flashbacks to a previous period to the multi-threaded storyline, dreams, visions, divine visits, and other plot devices. Nevertheless, it is harder to describe than to comprehend; just go with the flow.

Recommended for all Norman fans and anyone who enjoys tales of personal and interpersonal development in a SF setting.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I have read the entire series from start to end of STRONGHOLD RISING. I am hooked by the characters and events. Such depth of detail and culture of the aliens involved is my cup of tea. Such complexity and sweeping panorama of settings and characters sucks the reader into that world in which one is reluctant to immerge! Unlike many readers who find this confusing, the cast of many characters and pov changes does not bother me. I find it involving. As a writer I appreciate the difficulty in keeping all this real, and consistant, and aaplaud this author for a job well done. One note to author. . if Kaid, Kusac and Carrie don't form a three way Leska link upon Kusac's return (if he returns), I will be severly disapponted!!!!! I eagerly await the next installment in this series. . . Ria

Ms. Norman's done it again- another wonderful escape into the world of Shola.

Stronghold Rising is a continiation of what Carrie's Triad lives with after her mate's return from the Valtegan ships; how their lives were torn apart as Kusac strives to deal with his memories of torture, his sight of his former Leska now Linked to his Swordbrother and living without the Talent he's never been without. She brings out emotions in the characters which are so vivid, carrying empathy for the pain they share clearly to the reader.

The only thing that kept me from rating this a full five star book was that for the first section it was a bit difficult to dig into the story line. Ms. Norman is trying some storytelling techniques that the first of her books didn't use, delving into the present time, then into a past, then even further into the past while also changing locations between the three timelines. Into the second part of the book (clearly marked as Part II), I couldn't get enough of the story.

She provides another good piece which I really enjoyed.. until the final page when I realized that there was going to be another wait... it left enough ties open that another book must be in the works. I'm waiting quite anxiously.

Yet again Lisanne Norman has captivated the reader with another masterpiece! I'd suggest reading the entire series to anyone. The only downside to this novel was that the author left us hanging at the end wanting more! Guess we have to wait for the next one.

As always it was a great read, but the sequence of events was a-bit confusing. If this is your first time reading Ms. Norman, start with another book, because this one assumes you know what is going on in the series.

P.S. The next book, "Between Darkness and Light", is due out sometime toward the end of this year(01), November or so.

I loved this book!! After reading this installment, I often wondered when the next book was coming out. It has taken forever, but I have GOOD NEWS. I finally found the answer: "Between the Darkness and the Light" will come out in January 2003. This info came directly from the publisher's website.

I just discovered this series a few months ago, and so had the good fortune of reading all six of the books one right after the other. I rarely am interested in a series beyond the third book. Yet, this series has me completely hooked - I cannot wait for the next book. The characters have depth, their worlds are complex, the story lines are carried through and make sense. There are so many characters with so much happening that it does take some effort to follow everyone and everything - but the effort is more than rewarded.