The Touchstone Trilogy

Medair #1-2

by Andrea K. Höst

The complete Touchstone Trilogy, containing "Stray", "Lab Rat One" and "Caszandra". Rescue is only the beginning...

On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive.

The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people? What is the intoxicating mist which drifts off the buildings in the moonlight? And why does she feel like she's being watched?

Increasingly unnerved, Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people's skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a 'stray', a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow.

Can Cass ever find her way home? And after the people of her new world discover her unexpected value, will they be willing to let her leave?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Aliens, Fiction, Paranormal

796 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Born in Sweden and raised in Australia, Andrea K Höst currently lives in Sydney. She writes fantasy, but wanders occasionally into science fantasy.

Her novel "The Silence of Medair" was a finalist for the 2010 Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Her novella "Forfeit" won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novella.

She also occasionally publishes romance under the name Karan K Anders.

Reviews

[Andrea]

Re-read this thinking over, among other things, the strangenesses caused by part of the initial concept (of writing a diary exactly as it would be written rather than with all the things that usually go into story construction [ie. not so many characters).

In the process I got very distracted by The Hidden War - the tv series in the story is named that because the fight is 'right in front of' the population of Tare, and yet hidden behind the wall of the Ena. But there's another hidden war going on in Touchstone, one barely visible thanks to the tight focus on Cass' POV. It's the war in KOTIS to solve the problem, while remaining moral.

Cass only glimpses this occasionally - and it long pre-dates her, given that the Setari Program involves conscripting children. There's this endless list of moral decisions that go along with that. How far are you willing to push these children to make them into effective weapons? How easy do you make it for them to leave, if they really can't stand it? What do you do with these increasingly powerful psychics if they're bullies like Kajal? Or so traumatised by their experiences that they're liable to lash out blindly? When everything becomes urgent and overwhelming, do you start to send out Kalrani - not even legally adults?

KOTIS/Tare would have lost their worlds if they'd lost this hidden war. Cass, coming into a Setari Program that was clearly inhumane - or chose to clone her and failed to hide it from her increasing abilities - would have lost her. Her desire to Not Be There would have sent her out into the Ena again and again until she died or escaped, and all the critical unlockings she achieved (for Cass' role in this story is to allow the heroes access so they can save the day) would not have occurred.

The galaxy was saved because, for all the hard decisions being made, there was a constant attempt to make moral choices, not merely expedient ones.

These days, I think that's a point that needs to be emphasised.

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! 796 pages. That took me a couple of days and a few late nights to read and I do not want to see another book in diary format for a very long time! Let's just say I really enjoyed the story but got very bored with the "Today I woke early and had breakfast" style. Of course lots of other stuff happened but much of the book was slightly monotonous in tone and really needed an editor's red pen.
However the story was good as was the world building. I liked all the different 'talents' everyone had and there were many fun, well written characters. The author was good at humorous dialogue too and frequently made me laugh out loud.
I should mention that this is three books in one which of course explains the number of pages. I found books 1 and 2 much more interesting than the third, but the last one did at least wrap up all the details except Ghost. Did I miss what happened to her or was she just overlooked at the end?
Worth a read for YA science fiction fans in particular.

[Sherwood Smith]

Reread, while my head and chest are busy producing disgusting guk.

Normally I am not a fan of 'survival in the wilderness' stories--I like stories about people, preferably in lovely surroundings. But from the first page, when teenager Cassandra Devlin walks around a corner and finds herself in a deserted landscape, I was riveted, entirely due to the terrific voice, which I found engaging and witty as well as vivid.

Cass is one of my favorite Höst heroines. I love her voice, funny, passionate, upfront about everything, from developing powers to feeling incredibly awkward. I love the other characters, and on this read the balance between character development and interaction and the gosh wow factor in the third book worked a lot better for me than on the first read.

The diary format is a difficult choice these days, but Cass's voice is strong enough to make it work. I did still get tripped up by the occasional grammar/spellos (a problem that can dog traditionally published books as well) but overall the pacing kept ratcheting up the tension line, even though I knew how it ended.

If I had to complain about anything, I guess it would be that sometimes Cass seemed a lot older than late teens, but I liked her insights so much that it really doesn't stand as a drawback. Altogether this one has made the shift to my reread shelf.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 2023: This is probably about my fifth re-read of the series. Its become a comfort read. (Or listen)

October 2015 re-read:
I just love this trilogy. Its like revisiting old friends. I think I've finally got the details of the world building straight because there is a lot of complexity there but I mostly enjoy the characters. The reviews for the individual books can be found further down.
*****


April 2014 re-read. I really enjoyed re-reading this set of books. I had a better understanding of the world building and the history as well as the conflict. There is a lot there to get your head around. Overall a 5 star read. Since the first time I read this series I have read several more books by this author. She is consistent at making believable young people who are competent and admirable. I really like her female characters.

(I copied my individual reviews into this 'trilogy' review)
*****
Stray (Touchstone 1):

4/5; 4 stars; A-

I really enjoyed this book. It was slow going to get into it but I'm glad I stuck it out. The story picks up momentum almost imperceptibly and after about 100 pages becomes 'unputdownable'. The main character of the story, Cassandra, is portrayed as this quietly courageous girl with astonishing ingenuity and moxie.

The author tells the story via Cassandra's entries into her diary and does a great job of sticking to that POV. She makes the situation believable and the reader can really empathize with how mindboggling and terrifying it is to walk out of one world and find yourself in another world completely. Cassandra's discovery of an abandoned city and then 'rescue' by high tech humanoid aliens and subsequent processing as an 'intergalactic stray' would be enough to make anyone fall to pieces but she copes and finds ways to fit in.

A large part of the book is about Cassandra coming to terms with maybe never going home and the discovery of her newly emerging psychic talents. At the end of this story I was dying to get into the second book and find out how many more talents Cassandra had and how she was going to be able to help fight the 'monsters' cropping up everywhere.
****

Lab Rat One (Touchstone 2):

5/5; 5 stars; A+

This was a great installment in the Touchstone Trilogy. We learned more about Cassandra's psychic talents and the ongoing war against the lonoth and massives. The mystery of the planet Muina and various evil goings on was expanded. I really enjoyed the further development of Cassandra's character as well as those around her. I found her obsessing over her love interest really annoying but the context of an 18 year old it was probably a pretty accurate representation of what she would put in her diary! Even after reading it the second time I still found the obsessing annoying but it took a back seat to the great world building and action.
****

Caszandra (Touchstone 3):


4.5/5; 5 stars; A

There was a lot going on in this book. It was pretty exciting to learn more of the story of the original Muinans and to resolve the main conflict/mystery that carried through all three books.
****

Original review of the trilogy:

4.5/5; 5 stars; A

This was a great trilogy. I'm so happy I saw it on the bookshelf of one of my Goodreads friends. Thanks Estara!

[Kalin]

I'm definitely Team Character Relationships rather than Team Worldbuilding and/or Plot. As the trilogy progressed, I found myself skimming more and more passages and zeroing in on the dialogues.

Favorite moments:

https://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtop...

[Estara · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no way I can even begin to review this objectively because the book hit so many of my personal kink buttons ^^ - if I were in my teens or twenties I would have started hogging the author's back-list as obsessively as I did Mercedes Lackey when I discovered Arrows of the Queen for the first time. For me this book is a 4.5 stars on first read. It might become a favourite reread.

In some way this trilogy reminded me of that experience. First of all you need to like quiet and shy heroines who haven't really got a plan for their own future. Compared to Talia, Cass is not repressed, she is simply fairly bookish and not massively attractive and so she has had a best girlfriend and she has had some experience with boys, but her main emotional stay and stumble-block is her mother (divorced) and in some ways her younger brother - at least when I consider the number of times they are mentioned.

You NEED to like Cass in the first 100 pages - first of all because they are mostly her alone, dealing with the situation she finds herself in, trying to survive and second because this is a diary entry book in first person. If you don't like her voice and herself you won't like the rest of the trilogy either. When she gets found and taken to the other planet, she reports on her conversations as well, but it is always pre-selected according to what she remembers or wants to remember or when she has time to write it down.

I really enjoyed the situation that rescuing Cass was just a side-effect of a regular exploration by the Tare Setari (the psychic space ninjas that are mentioned in the description ^^ - quite correctly) on their old homeworld of Muina, which has been deserted for thousands of years (and why that is so and how that will change is a major part of the plot).

She is also not the only stray that has ever wandered through the tears in space into a different part of the universe, so the Tare bureaucratic machinery originally treats her like they treat all strays.

It is only when she shows reactions that are quite different from other strays - and which threaten her health more than once, that the Setari decide to keep more of an eye on her. And I thought this was another strong point, if hard to read: Cass regularly gets used as an experimental tool, even as she does it in controlled environments.

Because the Tare Setari find that they have no precedent with her powers in their knowledge, the experiments regularly get too dangerous and she finds herself in sickbay a lot. Even if it isn't for injuries, they observe and examine her there. She is under constant level two monitoring of her vital signs and sight - the Tare use nanites to create a virtual reality network that every Tare has integrated into their body.

They seem to be fairly democratic, but when they can't judge a potential threat, the monitoring isn't optional. This is why Cass keeps her diary writing, because English remains the language no one else understands - no one from Earth has become a stray before.

The virtual network which works like a computer-enhanced network and does NOT work to make you telepathic - none of the Setari have telepathy although they have telekinesis and elemental powers for fire, lightning - allows for people having at least private space to think, I liked that.

So Lab Rat One shows how Cass finds her own place in Tare and Setari life, how she manages to balance cooperation and communication of her own needs so that the Setari have an interest in accommodating her wishes - as a matter of fact she cooperates a whole lot because she has common sense enough to know that she wouldn't have survived long on Muina on her own (although she can be annoyed at the testing and exasperated, going as far as decorating her clothes with a drawing of a lab rat), and while the tests and the inclusion into Setari work are dangerous, they are dangerous for the Setari, too. Some of them start building a personal relationship with Cass.

There's this one guy - very repressed to everyone, not just Cass, very perfectionist - who was one of the two Setari who found her and who saves Cass from making a mistake and letting the memory/dream space monsters -the Ionoth, which the Setari fight - into Earth space when she dreams herself into her old home. After that he starts being someone she is very aware of and grows to long to be with, but Cass is shy and she's starting to be empathetic (I think she NEEDs to become so, because her life now depends on interpreting what others want from her): she realizes that he is NOT interested, and that his powers make him aware of her longing and he avoids her.

This is one of my kink buttons, because that's exactly what I did as a teenager: fall in love with one guy and only getting my nerve together to confess to him after knowing him for roughly two and a half years. And when he wasn't interested, trying and succeeding in elegantly fading into the background (I don't believe in forcing your love onto people who aren't interested). I would have been as mortified about Cass's dream powers, as she was.

So Cass slowly develops various personal friendships, the Setari and Tare slowly realise how important her powers are and the stakes get higher with the work she does, which leads to more recuperation in sickbay. Her increased skill in the development of her powers and the outward threat of the Ionoth led by the self-aware Crutzach (who don't seem to be memories or dreams) eventually lead to her kidnapping, to Cass accidentally paving the way to opening Muina for resettlement and discovery of major bits of the problematic past for Tare, their fellow former Muinans Kolar and Nura. This will become another fascinating strand of the story: discovery, research and resettlement of Muina.

During that time there is this subtle giving of more agency to Cass, of her not feeling so totally at the mercy of her rescuers, but being of value. Of being able to speak the language well enough that she can back up her complaints about certain ways she is treated with explanations and of another really quite nice Setari becoming interested in her.

At the end of Lab Rat One - at the end of half a year of Cass living on Tare - the boy she has fallen so deeply for finally changes his mind about what he wants - he had fallen for her much later, but very deeply and he never had that deep a relationship before and his exacting standards didn't really like what his emotions did to him (it reminded me a bit of the idea of the original Spock being in love ^^, very uncomfortable feeling).

I like the fact that neither Cass nor Kaoren Ruuel change a lot for the other, really. They just find to their surprise that they fit far better than either of them thought, that the other can give them a level of emotional support that they haven't had before. Cass powers seem to lighten the load that Ruuel's sight powers give him, and for Cass the total devotion that the single-mindedness of Ruuel brings into their love removes most of her loneliness.

She really comes first with him (which his teenage sister can't handle at all, really) Also, he may be arrogant of nature, but time has tempered that even before he met Cass, and she doesn't mind his willingness to excel as long as he doesn't force her to do the same.

The final part of the trilogy, Caszandra , has the big resolution of the outside plot: what to do about the increasing Ionoth, what about the Crutzach, what about Muina's past? Cass in her Touchstone role again has a lot to do with it. There's a huge amount of drama involved in the death of an entire planet(moon?) and what to do with its survivors (mostly children - only about 8000 survivors in all).

I admire Cass for deciding that - just as she was given a place and eventually made herself a home among the Setari (to the extent that she would like her Earth family to come to Tare and Muina, but not go back herself) - she would personally give a home to three orphans who, because of their problematic role in their own society, are unlikely to get the support they need, whatever happens to the survivors.

So Cass and Ruuel end up as the guardians of two ten-year-olds and a four-year-old. And when the big plot with the Crutzach and the true past of Muina comes to a climax - she even ends up with another 11-year-old ward ^^. And sends her diaries via the next gate to Earth back to her mum in Sydney.

Weaknesses I still remember: when Elii(sp?) was introduced, by her very nature, I could see she would be destined to not make it. And she didn't. I liked Mara and Lorn a whole lot, but it would have been so much more devastating and surprising if one of them - or Maze - hadn't survived.

The cool little tip-of-the-hats towards current geek and fandom were fun and not overdone - like in the 2nd Gale family book by Tanya Huff - but I do think they'll date the book very fast - and ebooks have a long tail life.

Also, whatever happened to Ghost - she seems like a convenient plot cat when Cass needed one, was kept up with in book 2 and then basically forgotten in book 3. I thought she deserved better, I'd have liked a mention in the gratuitous epilogue. there are actually two mentions in it which I must have overread :P

ETA: A 150 page novella of more detailed happy ending (not that the one we have here isn't satisfying, but if you want to know who marries whom and who lives where and who has babies, now that the main war is over - this is the freebie for you) is free to download as Gratuitous Epilogue at Smashwords!
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Yes, the third read was just as satisfying ^^ - I seem to average a read every two or three months - clearly a comfort reread. (August 2012)
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Fourth read (Jan. 2013) - consistenly captivates me and takes me away *sigh* Now I no longer devour it, I can see more of what the side characters do, lovely interweaving.
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[Chachic · Rating 5 out of 5]

January reread because bes Ben has been reading this series too, and also I've felt like rereading this after I finished the Eferum books. We need more Andrea K. Host books in our lives!
_____________________

November 2014: Reread most of this over the weekend because I've been itching to revisit this world. Just as good as I remembered.

_____________________

February 2014 review:
Originally posted at Chachic's Book Nook.

I really liked Andrea K. Host’s And All the Stars last year and even included it in my best of 2013 list. I have been meaning to read the rest of her books since then. I know that several friends (namely Rachel, Estara and Li) have loved the Touchstone trilogy so I requested a review copy from the author and started reading it as soon as I was in the mood for sci-fi. I used to say that I’m not much of a sci-fi reader but given how much I enjoy reading Andrea K. Höst’s novels, it seems like I should read more from that genre. I read the omnibus version of the trilogy so this is a review for all three books - Stray, Lab Rat One and Caszandra - although I wouldn't be mentioning any spoilers.

Aussie teen Cass tells her story in diary format, so a big factor of the reader’s enjoyment of the Touchstone trilogy is based on how well you can relate and connect with her character. At first I thought it wasn’t going to work for me since I’m not a big fan of stories where the main character is stranded somewhere by herself. However, I found it easy to like Cass and the pace picked up considerably once she was rescued and brought to the alien planet Tare. Cass is smart, funny and has realistic reactions to finding herself suddenly stuck in an unfamiliar world. I know from personal experience how difficult it is to adjust to living in a foreign country, finding yourself in another planet with a drastically different civilization and language is probably a thousand times worse. I could definitely understand her homesickness and loneliness. I also feel like Cass handles herself quite well in spite of the physical and emotional obstacles in her path. Plus, I always think it's a good thing when the main character of any novel is a book lover. Some excerpts:

"I've spent my life with stories of people who don't walk away, who go back for their friends, who make that last stand. I've been brainwashed by Samwise Gamgee."

_____________________________

"I've spent my whole life reading books. I vaguely remember Mum reading to me in our own bedtime sessions, and our house is practically a library. The way I think, the way I act, most of that's because of the books I've read."

How can I not like someone who says things like that? I was also fascinated with the technologically advanced world that Andrea K. Höst created - with nanotechnology and tiny computer interface that can be injected in human brains. You can do all sorts of amazing things with the interface like record what you're seeing, watch movies, read books and play interactive games. In this world, there are also psychic space ninjas called Setari who are specially trained military personnel tasked with keeping the known planets and the space around them safe. Setari have special talents like telekinesis and enhanced sight/senses. Due to certain developments, Cass spends most of her time with the Setari and even befriends some of them. To be honest, I was a little confused with the number of Setari and their talents but I didn't let that bother me and just kept reading.

One of the aspects of the story that I truly loved was the romance. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what will happen with Cass having such a big crush on someone. I thought she was destined to have “On My Own” as her theme song but fortunately, that wasn't the case. Slowest burn romance that I’ve read in a while! It reminded me a little of the romance in Crown Duel, with a male character who’s all stoic and unreadable, skilled in combat and also a great leader. I was so absorbed by this series that I kept squeezing in time to read it even though I was supposed to do other things - like pack for a trip home or get some sleep. I even read bits and pieces of this in the car, which I don't normally do because it makes me dizzy. I hope that gives the rest of you an idea of how engrossed I was. The story lingered in my mind days after I finished reading it, giving me one heck of a book hangover. I devoured the Gratuitous Epilogue, which features the events after the trilogy, right after I finished the three books. What's interesting is that I think Touchstone will even be better as a reread because I wouldn't be confused by some of the things that initially bugged me and can pay attention to other details instead. I can now safely say that I've become an Andrea K. Höst fangirl. Seriously, more of my reader friends should be introduced to her work. If you haven't read any of her books, consider this a push in the right direction. I already have Medair in my Kindle and I'm looking forward to reading it.


"All these planets, and none of them have chocolate. Severe oversight in world creation."

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh she did it again! I mean I have been in a real reading slump the past year. Nothing but craptastic crap out there, such as Beautiful Disaster and Fifty Shades. You know what I hate about Insta-love? Everything. But our most brilliant author Höst has jerked (I mean jerked) me out of that slump of never finding anything good! I hit the jackpot!

I haven't been this obsessed with something since the Fever series and as my tastes change I can tell I find the Fever series just a tad cheesy now (a new development due to the utter crapness of the books I've been reading). It's just been impossible to find something that moves me, that makes me love the characters past the ending.

This trilogy did that! Oh did it do that! I began re-reading before I was even finished reading (a lot of that was due to major skimming over some plot points to find out about the two main characters!)and the re-reading was as fantastic as the reading. It's been a long time since I had that slightly achy depressioney feeling because I know something I love is about to be over and this trilogy gave me that.

Read it. That's not a request!

[ala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I really, really love this author -- her characters are fresh and compelling, her writing is witty, her story ideas are original and her worlds are creative. That being said, I wish she wasn't a self-pub, because I think a good editor could help tighten up her plot-lines, suggest cuts to scenes that slow down the story and catch loose ends... I really enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, but in my opinion the third book dragged and suffered from the first person narrative.

The Touchstone Trilogy is the story of Cassandra Devlin who falls through a wormhole/gate from Australia to another planet where she gets rescued by the Setari, or in Cass' words "psychic space-ninjas". Cass gradually finds out she has capabilities which will make her an important player in the Setari's fight the dangerous creatures that come out of the gates between worlds and the struggle to find what is causing the gates to rip in the first place.

First of all I want to gush unreservedly about the first two books. Cass' survivor story, then rescue, then adaptation on new planet to new culture was fascinating. Even though parts of the story tended towards episodic -- for instance, in a chunk of the book Cass accompanies setari squads on patrol where they fight one monster after another -- each situation is so creative and different from other things I've read, that I remained thoroughly engaged. Also, I should add that as with other Andrea Host books, the love story is amazingly well done. Damn, does this author know how to write romantic tension! And did I mention that this author was witty? A number of sections had me laughing out loud. Here are a few I enjoyed:

Cass is still learning the language on her new planet:
""Everyone's really competitive?"  I asked.  "Or just no manners?"  Except, given my grammar and how slow I say stuff, it was more like "Compete all much?  Manners no?"  I really hate sounding so stupid.  Yoda with a lobotomy."

Her "interface/dictionary" that helps her understand the language doesn't do curse words specifically and only translates them as "profanity" as in:
"Then Tenth reached the top and someone cursed, my interface telling me "(Profanity) (profanity).""
or
"This is your special assignment?  The reason we're all on downtime is you're playing with some profanity stray?"

On a mission Cass is asked to try to talk to monster that only she can seem to hear and sounds to her like a really loud humpback whale:
"It's a communication device," came in text through the interface.  "Communicate."
The logs attached to the mission report have twenty different views of the look I gave him in response.  An "Are you high?" caption would fit it well.  I was actually thinking "In whale song?" 

Also, did I mention that I think this author does romantic tension/unrequited love like nobody's business? Here I think the first-person diary-entry narrative really shines as Cass gets to talk about herself hopelessly and obsessively crushing on forth squad captain Kaoren Ruuel (who is one of the most amazingly psychic and space-ninja-y of all the Setari -- has many psychic special site abilities). Yet her comments are both relate-able and self-deprecating such that it is engaging and charming. For instance:

"I wasn't expecting Ruuel, and reacted all out of proportion, stiffening so that [my cat] stopped purring, and probably going pink beneath my bruises. What Mr. I-Have-Every-Kind-Of-Sight-But-No-Visible-Sense-of-Humour made of my expression I couldn't tell, but he took the [cat box and shut the door]."

Or on how Cass started to feel less nervous working with the 4th squad:
"It was obvious they were as totally professional as First Squad, and that Ruuel hadn't allotted himself enough time to study me for signs of awkward lust."

Or
"I've written all of this entry so far without mentioning Ruuel, mainly because I hadn't seen much of him. But he was just a little way down the shore from me then, and said: "No sense of threat," and sometimes I wonder if he goes around deliberately striking dramatic poses, because whenever I let myself look at him he seems to be being particularly photogenic.  Though I guess gazing intently into the distance is part of his job description."

Anyway, the first two books utterly enchanted me. In comparison, I found the third book slightly disappointing. I think the main problem for was that since the romantic element resolved at the end of the second book there just wasn't enough of an emotional driver to the action. I don't think it necessarily had to be another romance, but Cass was practically living happily-ever-after before most the other action of the novel resolved, and it was kind of a let-down. Also, as other reviewers have noted, the sudden adoption of 3 kids was kind of hard to swallow -- while Cass until then had seemed somewhat a normal teen, albeit amazingly brave, selfless, cool, and with special powers, it kind of pushed things over the edge of probable impossibility... And ended up slowing things down and diluting the focus of the final book. (An editor might have helped here!)

The first person narrative also became a hindrance in the third novel. By this time the reader has been introduced to 12 Setari squads each with 6 members, as well other important characters. I actually think that Host does a good job of creating realistic secondary characters and interesting interaction with them. But there were just so many, we really needed a few more POV's to have any hope of making sense of so many of them.

My final gripe is that in the last novel Cass got too powerful. I love a strong heroine, but I am wary of the "Anita Blake" syndrome -- aka your's truly can get out of any impossible situation by developing a brand new, super powerful, magic power at exactly the right time. Cass was no where this bad, but her powers got to be so special, that you knew there was no way in hell anyone but her was going to be able to save the world. I personally like a story better when a unique, but not super-powerful, individual, through ingenuity, perseverance and other valuable but otherwise ordinary character traits, saves the world (or helps save the world). Cass had the character traits -- there was no need to make her superwoman, in my opinion.

Anyway, despite my disappointment with the third book, I would recommend this series anyone looking for a creative, well-written, soft sci-fi story with some enjoyable characters, some interesting world-building, a cute love story and a little adventure.

[Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea Höst’s books have been the sort that lingered in my mind for days afterwards, with the characters and their world feeling almost real. There’s been passages I’ve re-read several times because, well, just because. And what I love is that each and every one of her stories has been refreshingly different from other books out there.

The Touchstone books would probably be shelved under YA SF, methinks – the protagonist, an Australian teen named Cass, stumbles into a portal to another universe and rapidly finds herself entangled in a battle to save the world…

The story is told via Cass’s diary, a narrative device I did find somewhat forced in the first chapter or so – I mean, you’re stumbling half-starved and terrified through a strange forest, and you have time to record your thoughts in a diary? Having said that, this did end up working for me once it became more realistic for Cass to be keeping a diary. I thought Cass had a great voice – sort of snarky, self-deprecating, and honest – and I liked how we got to know her, the other characters and the world via the diary.

Basically the story is about Cass making a space for herself in this very different world, helping to beat the bad guys, and oh yes, falling in love. Ha – of course there’s romance. It’s the sort of romance that sneaks up on you – from a slight impression (and not a necessarily favourable one at that) in the first book to an “actually, you’re pretty central in my world” feeling*. That kind of organically growing attraction works so much better for me than a love/lust at first sight thing. And I could not put my Kindle down until Cass’s romance reached its conclusion (second book, if you’re wondering).

Another part of the appeal of this book, I think, somewhat plays into the wish-fulfillment fantasy – who wouldn’t want to be the one special person who could save the world with a crack team of psychic space ninjas dedicated to keeping you safe. This aspect could so have easily moved the story into pure Mary Sue territory, but for a couple of things: firstly, Cass’s pragmatic nature, she herself admits to how this could so easily be wish-fulfillment (yay for self-awareness) and secondly, it’s not easy for Cass. Cass feels homesick, she struggles to adapt to the new world with language and cultural barriers, she’s not as physically fit as the Setari – so no, she’s not always having the time of her life. Yet I think that’s what makes it easier to identify with Cass and root for her to win through.

I also love the world-building in this one – in fact, having read a couple of other Höst stories, I think that’s one of her strengths. Creating unique worlds without masses of info-dumping, instead sneaking in bits and pieces of information until the reader gets it – that, and just being able to come up with something different.

There were some things that bothered me slightly – the first being more thematic, while the others were less important. On the first, Cass ends up playing guardian to a couple of refugees and essentially setting up home – I did think Cass was a bit on the young side to take on that responsibility, but on the other hand, she (and the Setari) was in the process of saving their world, so I suspect age does not come into it that much. Forever-type HEAs are problematic when the protagonists are teenagers**.

Other minor niggles: a few repetitious character descriptions throughout the books, though I give this a pass as I fell in love with the characters anyway, and also the numerous names. Ms Höst gives her characters gender-neutral names which added to the sense of “otherness”, but it didn’t help me in keeping them straight, and this was made worse by the fact that the Setari tend to use different names on and off-duty. I got the main characters straight, but ended up confusing the secondary ones. I also will say that the second and third book pretty much dive straight into the story without much background. I normally expect more of a “story so far”-type recap in sequels – this particular quirk didn’t bother me as I was reading the omnibus version anyway, but be warned if you pick them up separately.

All in all though, this book – flaws and all – had that indefinable magic that puts it firmly on my keeper shelf. I am now (happily) exploring Ms Höst’s backlist – which has veered more towards traditional high fantasy than Touchstone – but with the same storytelling flair evident in Touchstone***. And oh, her Medair duology may even be better than Touchstone.

**********
* Slight spoiler: The relationship in this one reminds me of the sigh-inducing romance in Diana Peterfreund‘s Secret Society Girl series (which just happens to be one of my favourite ever relationships).

** Though having said that, I recently reread Sherwood Smith‘s A Posse of Princesses and thought that had a perfect yet realistic ending for a YA romance.

*** I should also note that there is a Touchstone epilogue titled Gratuitous Epilogue, which is just that – a freebie the author offers on her blog for those who want to know what happens after the trilogy’s conclusion. The description sums it up perfectly. I could have not read it, but well, I dare you to finish the Touchstone trilogy and not cave in. And the tongue-in-cheek title works – gratuitious is the perfect description for this.


A version originally posted on my blog: http://bookdaze.wordpress.com/2012/03...

[Hélène Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touchestone trilogy is a favourite read of mine, and I was very happy to be able to purchase its hard cover version after rereading my ebooks for the second time.
The series is the story of a young girl, quite average if clearly clever, who suddenly finds herself...elsewhere.
Very afraid as she progresses in a beautiful but alien landscape, she decides to write a diary, using a present she had in her school bag.
The first part is about surviving alone, with nearly nothing, then about discovering alternative humans, other planets and slowly adapting, first to this brand new reality, then to the incredible powers she's inexplicably showing.

The story is enthralling and the writing addictive. Cassandra's voice is admirable; she's courageous, funny and wise, but never too perfect. Her reactions are exceedingly credible, her thoughts exactly what we could have in this so strange context.
As a result the read is one of the strongest sense of reality in fiction I've ever felt while reading a SF or Fantasy book. And the first time ever that I felt like living in an alternate world! (usually it's more thanks but no thanks, I rather stay behind my book if you don't mind -_- )

I also loved that the story never plummets into stereotypes and keeps a scientifical even if the "talents", in another context, would have been called powers or magic. I don't know what would think of it a physics specialist, but the hypothesis were totally credible for me, never over explained (with pseudo scientifical explanations) just credible and matter of fact.

An incredible story, which I'll love rereading very often!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, while not perfect, always makes me feel all the feelings, and I always struggle to put it down, even though I've read it many times now.

--
Finished what is becoming my yearly reread. Perfect for when I was sick in bed because I always want to read it straight through. Comforting to me now because I've read it many times. Love how competent the characters are. Running off to read the Gratuitous Epilogue now :)

--
2025 reread

Still love the book, though felt some snags at how quickly Cass gets engaged and how quickly they adopt children. I understand they were unusual circumstances, but it just feels like a lot, especially for an 18 year old character. Though I will say the time minimum for the engagement until they can get married (they have to wait 2 years or so?) does help with that a bit.

[Kara-karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series made me lose quite a few nights of sleep, folks, but it was well worth it. Gripping and alien world, hot space samurai and amazing adventures of one girl from our world in a universe far, far away. It was an incredibly absorbing and wonderful read, and I'm resolved to go through everything that Andrea has ever written, because I adore her unique style of writing.

[Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I LOVED this series so much and I have read it over and over again so many time, but I always wanted to know what happened next, then I stumbled upon... Gratuitous Epilogue.... this is what it sounds like it is the real epilogue to the whole story and series and I loved that this tied all the loose ends up.

Gratuitous Epilogue...

is a bonus freebi written by the author and can be found at:

https://sites.google.com/a/andreakhos...

so enjoy finding out how it ends, I know I did!

"What happens when the plot ends? A relentless barrage of weddings, babies, and planetary colonisation! Meandering through the two years following the conclusion of the Touchstone Trilogy, this self-indulgent collection of family reminiscence is more saccharine than dramatic, with the most action to be found in snowball fights.

For those who truly just want to know what happens next, no matter how mundane, read on for the everyday, ordinary lives of psychic space ninjas playing house"

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really amazing. Highly recommended! Warning in the style of a journal (which segues into "normal" style first person during action scenes) but is not at all off putting.

[Suralxiong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touchstone Trilogy by Andrea K Host.

I began reading the Stray which hooked me because it reminded me of some of Robert Heinlein's later works where people could take a a left turn in just the right way and end up in another dimension. Maybe even get lost as his character JOB did. And Cassandra is such a dear character- reminding me of one of my favorite book critics whose not afraid to use the f**k word.

I could see her as this character when she discovers she's lost F**Kity F**K. Sort of jarring as an opening sentence.

This novel is done from a first person perspective and that works well for this story. Contrary to what many believe, first person is not what makes this YA its the YA in the story that does that.

This is a sort of Young Adult story so it throws one that it starts right way with this type of language-or at least it does us older folk.

Her full name is Cassandra Eloise Devlin. She's been living a sheltered life in Australia and the last thing she wanted today was to get lost on the way home. Well at that age it's a bit embarrassing to get lost. But with this the wrong left turn thing going here it's going to take a while for Cassandra to figure out that she's not just lost. She's LOST.

The good news is she has her wilderness survival kit. The bad news is it has everything she might need if she's lost in Sydney. Not much use for where she's at. At one point she's speculating New Zealand- she's still thinking just a bit on the shallow side of the galactic pool.

In the next few pages I have sympathy for Cassandra because she's going to do a lot of camping. I hate camping. And she's being forced to do it while still rather lost all the way around. Of course this camping becomes survivalist pretty soon, which is totally different from camping- not that I like it any more.(at least camping usually has the full range from survival roughing it to places that have electricity so you can charge your gadgets and stuff.) No there's not hope for that.

Things have gotten real by this time when Cassandra has found all sorts of mysterious flora and fauna. They look almost familiar but very much strange and unfamiliar. And very much wild and dangerous. After wearing down her few useful tools and walking endlessly she comes across a settlement. Unfortunately it seems to be abandoned.

Having some time to relax a little and become frustrated by her lack of survival skills Cassandra also has a chance to check out the new world to make some few observations about things. (These become handy later but for now its mostly her own curiosity.) She tries unsuccessfully to make her own materials for bedding and clothing and other house items.

Thankfully there are others who know of this world and settlement and who also seem aware of the openings between dimensions and worlds through which Cassandra has stumbled. A team of these people show up at her settlement and a couple of them scare the daylights out of her when she wakes up to them hovering over her. At this point though she's sick and feverish so she's more relieved than frightened.

Taken to a hospital like environment she is poked prodded and injected. She doesn't understand the language right away but there seems to be a technology that helps her with this. Once she starts to learn things she realizes that she's considered a savage and that she possibly will never reach their level. When it finally dawns on her that they're treating the savage like a lab rat she begins to balk and that's when her true character kicks in. They say that they will try to return her to her home, but they don't have a clue yet where that is, though they seem to know how to do it once they find it.

Later we find its not so easy to do that.

Of course at this time Cassandra also begins conflict with the people who saved her and it interferes with whats up for her future. This is a sort of Science Fiction fantasy and almost Paranormal romance, which will contain some romance for Cassandra down the road. But with the speed bumps she creates for herself in the first two books it's going to take a while.

I loved this story as Science Fiction. The characters were every much as engaging as I hope for. I'm a character driven story lover and don't much care that all the science is believable nor do I demand a long explanation of the science for validity. It's a bonus that there's a cute romance story that comes out eventually and of course one whole underlying thread that's resolved at the end of the trilogy.

I think YA and Sci-Fi and fantasy and paranormal romance lovers will not only love this book but whatever else Ms Host has in that great mind of hers.

Keep it coming Andrea.



Sural

[Paradoxical · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent a good chunk of my life this past week reading this book. In between my classes and life in general, I was sneaking in pages and sometimes clutching the book to me going "Eeeee~" in a soft little voice. Sometimes in public. It is only mildly embarrassing.

The Touchstone Trilogy is, as is fairly obvious, three books in one. It's in diary format, which isn't my preferred sort of format, but it works here and I didn't mind it so much (well, until the end, where I thought that any sense of immediacy is lost when you know that the main character is writing the entry so obviously she is all right). It takes Cassandra, a girl from Australia, and lands her right dab in the middle of an alien world. Why? How? She has no idea. One second she was on earth, the next she was... well, somewhere else. These books detail her adventures, how she acclimates to her new environment and the people she finds herself with, and the looming threat of creatures that the people around her fight against.

Cassandra is a special person, and I happen to like her. She's brave and tries her best. She's not very strong and she can't fight her way out of a wet paper bag, really, but she doesn't need that to be special or to help. And she is, special. Her abilities give her more than a leg up and it gets to the point where it's almost silly, how important she is (I end up loving this anyway, go figure). Not to mention how in danger she is all the time and how hurt she gets. All the time. It kind of gets rather predictable. Cassandra discovers power! She gets hurt using said power! Cue angst and people panicking! Rinse and repeat. It does get a little old after a while, but she somehow manages to endear herself to you anyway. She is, however, a Mary Sue. No matter how much she gets scratched up you can't really escape this fact.

There's a fantastic amount of characters in the books. Each one is given their own little spin and circumstances that you may or may not find out completely. They're all just fun and you feel that as you read.

The plot is... well, a bit confusing. It might be because I sped along in reading it, but it's rather slow going and the entire premise is rather fantastical. In the end, I didn't get a few answers that I wanted to know, and I had to be content with that, because the scale of the plot made it so that getting answers right away would be impossible. It doesn't mean that I didn't wish for all the answers to fall right in my lap though, aha.

I would have to say that the second book is my favorite, for all that it concentrated a lot on Cassandra pining (eh heh). I apparently ate that up with a spoon because the middle made me race along like a greyhound after a mechanical rabbit. My least favorite would have to be the third book, which is a pity because I would want the ending to make me happiest. But, unfortunately, my love of the book waned at that point mostly due to Cassandra and Kaoren adopting some kids. I just. Don't like kids in books popping up like that. Cass and Kaoren are barely together and then BAM KIDS. Just. Bleh. They were cute, but that didn't make me like them any, which just kind of put a damper on my mood throughout the entire third book.

They were solid books. There were a few things I thought suspect. There were other things I found suspect but I liked anyway (the romance, for example. It developed at a snail pace and suddenly it hurtled forward like a meteor). The plot is fairly slow, though, and the end just kind of seemed anti climatic, which is a pity. The books are more an evolution of Cassandra and her finding her own place in this brand new world than anything else. Overall, I did enjoy reading this. 4 stars.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a compelling story, but there were some flaws.

The story is told via diary entries, and I didn't think that conceit was entirely successful. It inserts another step between the reader and the story and makes it less immediate. I became really frustrated when there actually was a way around it built into the story. Cass can record what she sees, and why some of her entries - some of the important scenes - weren't transcripts rather than retelling, I don't know. So I docked a star for that.

Cass, the protagonist, also increasingly annoyed me. She is such a passive character. Initially this is quite natural as she is completely new to the world, but even later she only ever does what people tell her to do. Her entire life is scheduled by a nebulous 'they' and she only questions who they are late in the third book, and even then she just goes 'okay'. She just blindly accepts any order she gets and what she is and isn't allowed to do. Got very frustrating.

The world-building is great, a huge part of why this is such a compelling read. But I was routinely left slightly confused by different aspects of it. Some things I never really understood, even if they were very central to the stories. The spaces, exactly how they traveled between planets, sometimes even what had happened and why. There was a lack of clarity, which was really annoying because the ideas were so great. I think that because the pacing of the story wasn't really something the author seems to have paid attention to, the clarity also suffered in trying to sort out exactly the importance and relevance of events.

For most of the book I thought it was a four star read - compelling enough to keep reading and enjoying, but not without flaws. But given how passive Cass continued to be, and being a slightly confused and wobbly read due to pacing and lack of clarity, I ended up reading the last half of the third book mostly because I had already come that far and wanted to see how it ended.

[Elizabeth Saltmarsh Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this immediately. It's that good. I've read the series twice now and both times found myself completely absorbed into this world. Cass is a great character, whose humor is really the thing that made me fall in love with her and with all the other characters viewed through her lens. Though she manages to pull the same zero to hero transformation that is so popular with hero(ine)s, in this series it feels fresh and un-formulaic, since she never loses the self-deprecation that reminds us she is human.
I also really love that this series pulls so much from different forms of pop culture - anime, gaming, books, celebrity culture, and others that I'm probably forgetting - to create this new fictional world. It makes it that much more tangible.
Finally, though I started with the superficial (that this is an amazingly fun adventure story), I have to say as well that this book holds up as good sci-fi: i.e., like the best sci-fi it's a fascinating look at aspects of our world through the lens of an imaginary one. One of the major themes is how important communication is to being seen as intelligent and capable of making decisions for yourself. In this way Cass's experiences are comparable to those of indigenous people or even immigrants trying to make their way in an unfamiliar culture. There are others in this vein, but I think I'll let you have the fun of discovering them for yourself.

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I blew through these books in three days, if that says enough in itself. The book though, probably deserves more of three stars, but I fell in love with the characters so much that I gave it four stars.

The biggest problem is that Cass is a passive character. She doesn't go out and do things, or poke things, or anything, she mainly allows the people to test whatever they want. The first book, I was okay with having her be passive, I mean she's put on AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PLANET so I totally understand being a little passive in the beginning. But as the series dragged on, Cass wasn't allowed to happen to the plot, so instead the plot happened to Cass.

But, I fell in love with her and everybody else, so I can't say it bothered me much. The book is just jam packed with information - from world building to each character to emotion - and it's all so interesting that I didn't mind her passiveness. If anything, at least try the first book and you'll know if you won't like the rest.

Also: a little anticlimactic, and somewhat out of nowhere? Maybe it's just me, because I'm not usually good at guessing endings unless they're cliche, but the actual climax seemed to come out of nowhere and it was weird.

So in total: characters made up for major flaws, but an awesome series still :)

[Sho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what a fun read this was! It had a very interesting storyline with deep space travel, space ninjas (sort of) and romance as well as the growth of the main character Cassandra whose diary IS the story. She sort of falls into a rabbit hole and comes out in an Alien planet where she meets people very similar to human yet different in how the civilization developed. This is the story of her struggle to find home and family and unravel the mystery of the Alien world and her powers.
The monsters and the Setari being so young reminded me of all kinds of anime especially Evangelion with the mysterious monsters.
I just wish I was in teens when I first read this novel. I know I would have loved it to bits with the enthusiasm it deserves. The adult me enjoyed the story a lot but not the parts with teenage angst as much. (I used to read a lot of angst in Shojo manga but now I can't take it in massive dose anymore, the only exception is Kimi ni todoke.)
Another satisfying read from this author! Thank you!! for the rec!

[Dhian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this trilogy. It's a light young adult science fiction about Cassandra adventure in another world (plane). The main point is the adventure, with some romance along the way. Cassandra stumble accidentally to a new world where later she develop some unknown powers. The books are about understanding Cassandra powers and about Muina exploration.
I think the romance is a bit jumpy...but still love it...can't help to cheer on it. Where nowadays romance novels have a tendency to triangle love etc...this trilogy give me something that I long for...just unwavering one love interest.
Most characters in this trilogy are easy to like and clear defined, though most of them like Cassandra to the point that I find it hard to believe. But I find the enemy not so clear defined and a bit confusing.
But overall I loveee it....

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trilogy took me about 3 days of reading to finish but I loved it so much. Book 3 near the end did feel a little draggy but the story is worth it. I really got invested in Cassandra's life and felt like I was being transported into a different world. There is some sex in the later part of book 2 and in book 3 but it was all very tastefully done and mentioned. I appreciated that so much because it allowed me to focus more on the plot. At first I didn't understand her obsession with Kaoren Ruuel but he definitely grew on me. I think all the characters did. Now I feel a little sad that it has ended. I really like Host's writing style and will be checking out her other books.

[Patricia Grigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the Touchstone Trilogy many times over the years. It is one of the most unique stories and logical stories I've read in a long time. The story builds and builds increasing your understanding of the world it is in without a tremendous amount of technical talk. I highly recommend reading the series. Don't be put off by the beginning. I thought at the beginning I had made a mistake buying the series, but I'm stubborn in a lot of ways and wanted to give the story a change. I am very glad I did. When I am down and need a boost to my spirit I pull out my Kindle and start reading it all over again.

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. I've reread it multiple times and each and every time I don't want to put it down. The writing isn't perfect but the story grabs you so completely it doesn't even matter. I'll gobble up anything and everything Andrea K. Höst writes. She's wonderful at world building and details.

[Jess elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly amazing. I cannot convey my love of this book. The first third was my favourite and Cassandra's thoughts and feelings were so realistic. The last third, while still good was a bit slow- pace wise but still engaging. I loved the way the author shows Cassandra, it was just really realistic. Read the last page while crying- I only do that for the good books. :)

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite series of books. They hold up well to a re-read - there aren't many books that I bother to re-read, but these ones definitely join that club! Convinced my husband to read them too, he isn't really one for YA but he does love Sci-Fi, and he really enjoyed the books too :)

[Kaylin Dawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazballs, simply, amazballs. It's like the inception of books where you need 3-7 viewings for a full grasp of all the awesome that just took place. Series-ious bookhangover. Click link for full review *series summary spoiler included*
http://youtu.be/hoHoVOaANrw

[J.L. Dobias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touchstone Trilogy by Andrea K Host.
I purchased this book after reading a sample of Andrea K Host's -And all the Stars-. I had already put the three books in my wish list prior to that. But after reading that sample I had a feeling I should just buy the whole and totally unrelated trilogy. I read through them in three days.

People have told me that writing in first person is hard to do. They have given various reasons why it does not work and sometimes those reasons are conflicted. Some even suggest that it's this decades fad to write in first person. Because this is written as a diary it's naturally in first person. Andrea nails first person right on the head, and right out of the box.

Cass is such an engaging character in Stray that she sucks you right into her story at the beginning. There is not doubt of Andrea's world building abilities and her strong characterization. But what really got me in this story is in the chapter February when Cass's birthday arrives. And I'm not giving anything away, other than to honestly say I was so into Cass by then that I nearly cried. It's not often a book does that.

And then there was Lab Rat One. And by now this series is peopled with a couple of handfuls of characters that you would think you'd need a score card but there are more to come and Cass has a way of making sure we don't lose track of who is who. Or maybe I should say that Andrea does.

It doesn't take long before Andrea does it to me again. Even though Cass sometimes begins to sound a bit whinny I just get so into her whole dilemma that I can't help but feel what she must be feeling.

So by Caszandra the third installment, you would think I was steeled and ready to handle it. But, Andrea through Cass has a way of now drawing you into her life and the extended family of people around her.

This series of books is one powerhouse. Well told tightly packed. Emotionally charged.

But what really got me was how it all touched me. I would need more stars if I gave a star for every time I was greatly affected by this story.

J.L. Dobias

[Sarahz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reviewing this one as a full trilogy rather than the individual books, since it really is more one story. Since the main character is just finishing up high school at the very beginning, one might label this YA, but it's really more "new adult" - over the course of the story she grows up a lot, even if it's really not over a very long time span. The book is primarily science fiction, as travel between worlds is involved, and the world that Cass eventually finds herself on has a higher level of technology than Earth. But, people have psychic powers, and the mechanism they use for interplanetary travel is more fantastical than scientific (as are the monsters they fight), so it's a bit of both.

When Cass finds herself in a new world, she ends up having abilities that are useful to their military, so she works with their elite soldier squads (which are gender-integrated - yay!). I think it's interesting that there are aspects of this world that could make it into a more dystopian narrative, but in this case the government wielding such extensive powers of surveillance over its citizens is flawed, but generally aware enough of the potentials of misuse that they handle things responsibly. With the way things are lately, it's hard not to think of that view as naive, but I'm deciding to view it as hopeful instead.

There's only the slightest bit of LGBT representation, which I was slightly disappointed by, because it is implied/stated at one point that this is a pretty accepting culture in that regards, but that isn't generally shown in the text.