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Sholan Alliance #4
Razor's Edge
The fourth book in Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance long-running science fiction series of alien contact and interspecies conflict
Carrie and Kusac—she a human telepath, he a Sholan one—have together formed a bond stronger than all the differences between their two races. They have survived the political manipulations of both their peoples, as well as successfully walking the Fire Margins, journeying into the past with Kaid, the third member of their Triad, and returning with shocking revelations about the Valtegan enemy and the ancient Cataclysm that transformed Sholan society.
But the price of breaking with tradition comes high, as does the ongoing protection offered by the military. And now Carrie, Kusac, Kaid, and T’Chebbi must undertake a rescue mission to the distant world of Jalna to save present-day Sholans and humans who have been trapped there, as well as a Sholan pair from the age of the Cataclysm.
What they can’t foresee is that the Valtegans planted the seeds of destruction on Jalna long ago, transforming the locals into a dangerously unstable race and threatening the telepathic powers of Sholans and humans alike.
Carrie and Kusac—she a human telepath, he a Sholan one—have together formed a bond stronger than all the differences between their two races. They have survived the political manipulations of both their peoples, as well as successfully walking the Fire Margins, journeying into the past with Kaid, the third member of their Triad, and returning with shocking revelations about the Valtegan enemy and the ancient Cataclysm that transformed Sholan society.
But the price of breaking with tradition comes high, as does the ongoing protection offered by the military. And now Carrie, Kusac, Kaid, and T’Chebbi must undertake a rescue mission to the distant world of Jalna to save present-day Sholans and humans who have been trapped there, as well as a Sholan pair from the age of the Cataclysm.
What they can’t foresee is that the Valtegans planted the seeds of destruction on Jalna long ago, transforming the locals into a dangerously unstable race and threatening the telepathic powers of Sholans and humans alike.
656 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
20 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 19, 2017
3.5 stars. I am not really into the Kezule thread in this one. And as I glance ahead in the series I see he is here to stay and a big player in the future. Meh.
I'm way more drawn to Rezac and Jo's story at this point. I'm curious about Nadir and the young leska pair.
I'm annoyed with Kaid's treatment of Carrie. And with Kusac's upcoming mistreatment to her for whatever reason, since I haven't actually gotten to that book, it all annoys me. I'm just not into authors using relationship drama like that to create emotion in their storytelling. Because, of course, Kusac has to treat her that way to protect her (you can insert eye roll here) just as in this book Kaid had to see if his feelings were real and forget how that makes everyone else feel in the mean time. I am way more into stories with fiercely loyal couples and not a lot of relationship angst. I much prefer an adult grasp of emotions in the main characters and if you've gotten this far you know we've already seen a huge amount of childishness from Carrie. I've about had my fill of relationship angst.
I also want to know more about the other characters and the other races in this series. I know that they all take a back burner and I'm not sure I'm up to hanging around for it. I like this series. Obviously, as I've devoured the first 4 books in just a couple weeks, but I'm not thrilled with where I see this all going. I started the 5th book, Dark Nadir, and am 10% in. I am loosing interest in the story as I see where the author is going with it on top of the series STILL not being finished. You know it's bad when you're starting to care more about all the subplots than you do about the main plot. With 4 more books in the series to go and the final one not even written... Meh I'm not sure I can hang.
I'm way more drawn to Rezac and Jo's story at this point. I'm curious about Nadir and the young leska pair.
I'm annoyed with Kaid's treatment of Carrie. And with Kusac's upcoming mistreatment to her for whatever reason, since I haven't actually gotten to that book, it all annoys me. I'm just not into authors using relationship drama like that to create emotion in their storytelling. Because, of course, Kusac has to treat her that way to protect her (you can insert eye roll here) just as in this book Kaid had to see if his feelings were real and forget how that makes everyone else feel in the mean time. I am way more into stories with fiercely loyal couples and not a lot of relationship angst. I much prefer an adult grasp of emotions in the main characters and if you've gotten this far you know we've already seen a huge amount of childishness from Carrie. I've about had my fill of relationship angst.
I also want to know more about the other characters and the other races in this series. I know that they all take a back burner and I'm not sure I'm up to hanging around for it. I like this series. Obviously, as I've devoured the first 4 books in just a couple weeks, but I'm not thrilled with where I see this all going. I started the 5th book, Dark Nadir, and am 10% in. I am loosing interest in the story as I see where the author is going with it on top of the series STILL not being finished. You know it's bad when you're starting to care more about all the subplots than you do about the main plot. With 4 more books in the series to go and the final one not even written... Meh I'm not sure I can hang.
October 7, 2008
Needed to sneak back and review this book. Since I just finished the 5th book in this series, you know I'm still quite entranced by the books. Starting with the end of the fourth book, the transitions between books move from minor resolution to more of a cliffhanger style "to be continued". Since I'm reading the books back to back, I don't mind. If I was waiting for the next book to be published, I'd have been a bit hyper.
Love the series as a whole, and this book in particular.
Love the series as a whole, and this book in particular.
September 21, 2024
Claustrophobic escape story to political potboiler to adventure quest and now to steamy spy thriller in volume 4, this series seems to have it all in the subgenre department.
With the main plot taking a back seat to some welcome development of Jo's group, the narrative soon lives up to its namesake: running a razor's edge between action packed flashbacks and the gradually ramping tension of the present day segments. The dual story, as always, is perfectly formatted by the author to lend a purely visual tale without the need for immersion-breaking asides or footnotes.
The new setting of the Jalna spaceport is also a breath of fresh air, right when I was starting to think planet Shola was getting a bit stale. The refocusing on the Valtegan conflict, now with a whole plethora of cultural context behind it, means the chips are down for what I'm sure will be another high stakes ride in the next book.
The ending feels a tad rushed but aside from this, it's evident that Razor's Edge is another gleaming spark struck from Lisanne Norman's whetstone of cross-genre chronicles.
With the main plot taking a back seat to some welcome development of Jo's group, the narrative soon lives up to its namesake: running a razor's edge between action packed flashbacks and the gradually ramping tension of the present day segments. The dual story, as always, is perfectly formatted by the author to lend a purely visual tale without the need for immersion-breaking asides or footnotes.
The new setting of the Jalna spaceport is also a breath of fresh air, right when I was starting to think planet Shola was getting a bit stale. The refocusing on the Valtegan conflict, now with a whole plethora of cultural context behind it, means the chips are down for what I'm sure will be another high stakes ride in the next book.
The ending feels a tad rushed but aside from this, it's evident that Razor's Edge is another gleaming spark struck from Lisanne Norman's whetstone of cross-genre chronicles.
September 28, 2017
Must be read in order to understand the characters and the story. Carrie, Kusac, and Kaid find them called to the planet Jalna on a rescue mission. Rezac and Zashou are rediscovered. Konis is having continuing problems with the leaders of the other clans with his forward ideas.
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May 17, 2023I don’t want to DNF this so close to the end but I’ve already picked it up five times, tried to finish it, ended up skimming large sections of it, and then setting it down again, so I guess I’m calling it quits for now.
April 9, 2024
World and culture building continues…
Book 4 answers questions about characters’ pasts, fleshes out the Sholan culture and introduces us to three other alien cultures and outlooks. Lots of action scenes and statements on morality and cooperation, but continues upbeat and positive.
Book 4 answers questions about characters’ pasts, fleshes out the Sholan culture and introduces us to three other alien cultures and outlooks. Lots of action scenes and statements on morality and cooperation, but continues upbeat and positive.
March 12, 2018
Another great addition to the series.
July 1, 2024
3.5 Solid episode in Kusac and Carrie's adventures.
June 17, 2010
Still reeling for the knowledge revealed by their successful trip through the Fire Margins, Carrie, Kusac and company travel to Jalna to mount a rescue mission. New enemies arise but with the help of new allies, they will discover even more shocking secrets of the past.
The religious side of the Sholan universe is a big portion of this book. So much so that the subtitle could be 'Dreamwalking with the Gods' LOL. But the epic adventure is also very present here. We have a definite reason as to why the Cataclysm which I thought was actually quite cool.
The cast of thousands continue, as does the adventures of MarySue...err, Carrie. But again, just because there is so much going on, especially some very dark experiments done by the 'good guys', that it really didn't bother me. It's great to see such complexity of characters. There is no clear black and white in this universe just various shades of gray. (LOL)
The series for me is definitely still worth reading. It is still a mega serial of epic soapy proportions and I'm totally hooked.
The religious side of the Sholan universe is a big portion of this book. So much so that the subtitle could be 'Dreamwalking with the Gods' LOL. But the epic adventure is also very present here. We have a definite reason as to why the Cataclysm which I thought was actually quite cool.
The cast of thousands continue, as does the adventures of MarySue...err, Carrie. But again, just because there is so much going on, especially some very dark experiments done by the 'good guys', that it really didn't bother me. It's great to see such complexity of characters. There is no clear black and white in this universe just various shades of gray. (LOL)
The series for me is definitely still worth reading. It is still a mega serial of epic soapy proportions and I'm totally hooked.
September 3, 2012
Okay liked this book better than the last. You get more of the relationship between Kaid's father and his Leska link as well as their third Jo. There's still a lot of political stuff going on that drags the story down, but things are starting to heat up and towards the end events are really rolling. Things have gotten better between Carrie and Kaid (wanted to shake that boy for awhile). And I would have liked to see more of the relationship between Kaid and Kusak. I felt a bit short changed there as even though they could be lovers, the author shied away from it at the last minute. Shame on you author for not following through with what sword brothers really are.
All and all, it was a good book with a cliff hanger ending. The beginning drags a bit but pics up speed and interest towards the end.
All and all, it was a good book with a cliff hanger ending. The beginning drags a bit but pics up speed and interest towards the end.
November 16, 2009
This series keeps getting better and better! There was so much going on in the book, that I can't just pinpoint a few to comment on. So in short, it was marvelous, attention-grabbing, and ended with just as much action as the other books. Good thing I have the next one already!
Want to read
June 30, 2016On my Kindle
June 28, 2015
Continuation in the series. Love, war, personal conflict, huge societal changes. A cornucopia of stories. Enjoyed
January 12, 2017
It is this book you realize the Author has a love of the letter K in names. Darker than previously. Ending leads into what I call 50 Shades of Kaid(Improperly Named Sequal Dark Nadir.).
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews