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Sholan Alliance #6
Stronghold Rising
The sixth book in Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance long-running science fiction series of alien contact and interspecies conflict
The Primes are the upper class of the original Valtegan home world, pacifistic intellectuals who are unable to defend themselves from either their own warrior class—the Valtegans who have been making war on the entire galaxy—or any other species. To protect themselves, the Primes have made secret alliances with other races while concealing their own true identities and the location of their home world.
Now, after an ill-advised, accidental kidnapping of the vessel carrying Kusac, Carrie, and Kaid, the Primes have been forced to reveal themselves to the members of the Sholan Alliance. But in the midst of delicate diplomatic negotiations to create a new pact between the Sholan Alliance and the Primes, power struggles on both Shola and the Prime world threaten to jeopardize the treaty.
Still recovering from being tortured by a rogue Prime group, Kusac is about to set out on a secret mission of his own, a mission which could see him branded as a traitor to his own kind. And what he discovers could well lead to the overthrow of the Prime leadership and to the destruction of the delicate balance that is the only thing staving off interstellar war....
The Primes are the upper class of the original Valtegan home world, pacifistic intellectuals who are unable to defend themselves from either their own warrior class—the Valtegans who have been making war on the entire galaxy—or any other species. To protect themselves, the Primes have made secret alliances with other races while concealing their own true identities and the location of their home world.
Now, after an ill-advised, accidental kidnapping of the vessel carrying Kusac, Carrie, and Kaid, the Primes have been forced to reveal themselves to the members of the Sholan Alliance. But in the midst of delicate diplomatic negotiations to create a new pact between the Sholan Alliance and the Primes, power struggles on both Shola and the Prime world threaten to jeopardize the treaty.
Still recovering from being tortured by a rogue Prime group, Kusac is about to set out on a secret mission of his own, a mission which could see him branded as a traitor to his own kind. And what he discovers could well lead to the overthrow of the Prime leadership and to the destruction of the delicate balance that is the only thing staving off interstellar war....
722 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
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180 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 27, 2025
Lisanne Norman continues her journey in revolutionising the cross-genre practice, throwing in several layers of complexity with font formatting and non-linear storytelling.
This blend of literary presentation and mature themes of self-sabotage, burning bridges as a result of trauma and healing from it; presented disarmingly as an internal affairs soap opera, makes Stronghold Rising the best in the series since Fortune's Wheel in my opinion.
Everything is brought into focus here, a relief since I found the side character stories struggling for their relevancy in previous entries. Norman's choice to draw the main focus to Kusac here, while treating previous main characters as supporting cast, creates a new lens on the ever growing conflicts the series has to offer. Especially given the new twists concerning the various Valtegan factions, the plot here is executed perfectly by unfolding a densely packed, character driven narrative that spans as many subgenres as it does planets in as satisfying a way as possible.
Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance universe has held my unwavering attention from the start, and I'm certain it will continue to do so until the final entry. It is without a doubt my favourite science fiction series to read since Dune.
This blend of literary presentation and mature themes of self-sabotage, burning bridges as a result of trauma and healing from it; presented disarmingly as an internal affairs soap opera, makes Stronghold Rising the best in the series since Fortune's Wheel in my opinion.
Everything is brought into focus here, a relief since I found the side character stories struggling for their relevancy in previous entries. Norman's choice to draw the main focus to Kusac here, while treating previous main characters as supporting cast, creates a new lens on the ever growing conflicts the series has to offer. Especially given the new twists concerning the various Valtegan factions, the plot here is executed perfectly by unfolding a densely packed, character driven narrative that spans as many subgenres as it does planets in as satisfying a way as possible.
Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance universe has held my unwavering attention from the start, and I'm certain it will continue to do so until the final entry. It is without a doubt my favourite science fiction series to read since Dune.
May 31, 2017
Can't wait for the next one!!!
September 28, 2017
Kusac was damaged and continues to have problems finding himself. Carrie and Kaid try to support him in everything. The danger continue to influence Shola.
April 25, 2018
Another great addition to the series.
October 19, 2008
This book was a little different then the other books in the series. It was the first one to jump forward in time, by about 6 months. But then the bulk of the book was in flashbacks. Different typeface helped to tell the reader they were "in the future" or "back on the original timeline". At first that was a bit confusing, but by mid-book the two timelines were starting to come together, and by the end they were fully integrated.
The style matched Kusac's mental state for most of the book. He was still recovering from the mistreatment under the Primes. By the end of the book he's finished the initial stage of recovery, but still has a lot of obstacles still to get around.
On the positive side, we finally got a M-F-M scene between Kusac, Carrie, and Kaid. Short, and bittersweet considering Kusac's need to pull away from them immediately afterward. I hope he can complete his journey in this final book, and the three of them can find a true balance, a true family between them.
The style matched Kusac's mental state for most of the book. He was still recovering from the mistreatment under the Primes. By the end of the book he's finished the initial stage of recovery, but still has a lot of obstacles still to get around.
On the positive side, we finally got a M-F-M scene between Kusac, Carrie, and Kaid. Short, and bittersweet considering Kusac's need to pull away from them immediately afterward. I hope he can complete his journey in this final book, and the three of them can find a true balance, a true family between them.
December 11, 2007
Yet another book in the Sholan Alliance series by Lisanne Norman, this book is quite unlike any of the other books. The book, while quite long, feels at times like nothing really huge is occuring. It flashes forward and back in time and really is just one super long way to fill in the gaps between the prior book and the next. For this reason, I gave it a 3. You still have to read it to get some information for the last book written in the series, but it just isn't as good as any of the other ones.
September 19, 2012
I tried. I really did. Half way through I realized this book was not like any of the others. It jumps back and forth through time. The relationships between the characters is sorely lacking. There's so much stuff going on that I don't care about that I just can't keep it up. Now I know why I quit reading this series. The author gets so caught up in the stuff that there's no relationship between the characters anymore. There's no emotions here, just endless politics and squabbling. It's overpowered everything to the point that I can't even care anymore what happens.
February 11, 2014
I will write an review soon but right now I'm still reeling from the threesome that just transpired and the rest of that caused me to not quite finish it because it was just thrown at me like an unexpected curve ball. I was already emotionally invested with Kusac and Carrie but omg...
Probably didn't help that I haven't read books 2- whatever to get to this one but still...Will be right back to update.
Probably didn't help that I haven't read books 2- whatever to get to this one but still...Will be right back to update.
April 11, 2011
I can't say that I was a big fan of the jumping back and forth in time, but it worked out in the end. I was disappointed that Carrie didn't appear to have as big a role in this story. But I did enjoy reading this one.
December 6, 2015
Detailed involved story with multiple life forms. Took an interesting jump in this story. All species have conflicting groups so there are several story lines. Still enjoying it and plan to read to the end of the series.
January 10, 2016
Once again Lisanne Norman came through. Her strong characters faced some of the most difficult, degrading, and damaging torture that they could have faced, and survived. But they did survive, because they had each other.
January 12, 2017
Continuation of 50 Shades of Kaid. Good writing, good Story, but darker than I expected given the positive note early in the Series.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews