Stronghold Rising

Sholan Alliance #6

by Lisanne Norman

The catlike aliens return--in the sixth exciting novel in Lisanne Norman's best-selling Sholan Alliance series.... Delicate negotiations for an alliance are underway with the Primes, a previously unknown faction of the hated Valytegan race. But the Sholans and Humans must avert a full-fledged rebellion--begun in a laboratory engaged in illegal breeding experiments...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Polyamory, Aliens

722 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2000

Reviews

[Al Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Barbara Ghylin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait for the next one!!!

[Coral Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great addition to the series.

[David Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

This book, and the entire series is very engaging. Intriguing captivating writing. Fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking an excellent story arc.

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jay Hendricks · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Sui Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Cathleen Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sandra Munger · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Sarah Chupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuation of 50 Shades of Kaid. Good writing, good Story, but darker than I expected given the positive note early in the Series.