Crossing the Line

The Wess'har Wars #2

by Karen Traviss

A female cop seeks refuge on another planet after being infected by an alien virus in this science fiction fantasy novel from a New York Times bestseller.Shan Frankland forever abandoned the world she knew to come to the rescue of a lost colony on a distant and dangerous planet—a hostile world coveted by two alien races and fiercely protected by a third. But in the course of her mission, she overstepped a boundary and stumbled into forbidden lands. And she can never go back—to being neutral, to being safe. To being human.War is coming again to Cavanagh’s Star — and this time, the instigators will be the troublesome gethes from the faraway planet Earth. Former Environmental Enforcement Officer Shan Frankland has already crossed a line, and now she is a prize to be captured . . . or a threat to be eliminated. But saving a coveted world and its fragile native population may require of her one unthinkable the destruction of her own ruthless, invading species.“Had me thinking of Le Guin . . . (readers) should find many of the same pleasures and useful discomforts.” —Locus magazine

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Aliens, Science Fiction Fantasy, Novels, Space

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2004

About the author

#1 New York Times best-selling novelist, scriptwriter and comics author Karen Traviss has received critical acclaim for her award-nominated Wess'har series, and her work on Halo, Gears of War, Batman, G.I. Joe, and other major franchises has earned her a broad range of fans. She's best known for military science fiction, but GOING GREY and BLACK RUN, the first books in her new techno-thriller series RINGER, are set in the real world of today. A former defence correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, she lives in Wiltshire, England. She's currently working on SACRIFICIAL RED, the third book in the Ringer series, and HERE WE STAND, book three in the NOMAD series.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 to 4.5 stars. An excellent sequel to the superb City of Pearl. This book has an intricate and tightly woven plot that begins immediately after the end of City of Pearl. In books like these I am always looking for "cool concepts" and "WOW" ideas and the alien "c'naatat" is certainly one of those. Highly Recommended!!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't think I've ever read a book by an author who hated our species more. Excellent stuff initially but it grows tiresome after awhile and everything becomes rather predictable before too long.

[Pancha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel so conflicted about these books. I find the basic premise interesting, but the characters kind of baffle me. They keep swinging between callous disregard for life and a high-vegan environmental protectiveness. In particular, the view on genocide is so weird. All the characters we're supposed to read as good are totally okay with the mass slaughter of a civilian population. None of them seem to have any conflicting feelings about it. I can't understand that.

And in theory I don't have a problem with Mary Sue characters, but Shan is a Mary Sue for a personality type that doesn't resonate with me. She is a bad ass loner who is also a good team leader, but not because she is good at leading or connecting with other people, but because she is so badass and loner-y. Even the aliens thinks so. Again, I don't really have a problem with "most awesome person" tropes, but I find her too off-putting to really see her as all that awesome. I had the same problem with the Honor Harrington books.

Also, this book ruins alien sex. Having to excavate yourself a new vagina with your alien lover's huge and weird alien peen is horrible. Why did that happen.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

City of Pearl was good. Crossing the Line was okay. The series gets worse from here.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Traviss is a solid writer, with great characters who face interesting dilemmas. This series is notable because although there are several humans who you'll root for, the human species, with all of it's paranoia and combativeness, is the villain.

This picks up where City of Pearl left off, with Shan Frankland, a human, and Arras, a Wess'har carrying c'nataat, a virus that makes them pick up opportunistic bits of DNA from any species they encounter. This makes them extremely hard to kill, but unfortunately it also draws the interest of Earth's military and biotech companies. They send Lindsey Neville and Dr. Rayat, still in the same region of space, to capture Frankland.

Shan has moved to the Wess'Har home world F'Nar, where the matriarchs of the Wess'har species make the political decisions. Shan's Wess'Har DNA leads her into a position of influence among the matriarchs, but she and Arras have a hard time adjusting to the new life.

Meanwhile, Eddie Michaillat, the reporter, is shuttling between the world of the isenj, another expansionistic species and the world of F'Nar, trying to make the realities of the two species make sense to people back on Earth so that they won't do anything stupid.

You definitely need to read City of Pearl first, and it takes this book a while to get going, but Traviss closes the deal, completing another satisfying book. I'll definitely continue to The World Before, the third book in this series.

[Jacqueline Langille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent Karen Traviss novel: a 4.5 stars score for #2 in the Wess'har Wars series. This one had more heart-wrenching elements than #1, so I think I'll take a short break before I dive into #3.

[Britt K · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt very much like a recap & constant reminder of the events of book one.

[Stacey Lunsford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing the story begun in City of Pearl, Shan Frankland learns to adjust to her new life as a host to the c'naatat parasite. She creates a home with Aras on Wess'ej with his people while Lindsey Neville plots to destroy Shan and the source of the parasite. Human history informs the worst excesses of violence against non-humans and the environment in the novel. One particular passage that stuck with me: "[Humans] believed other species had no individuality, no sense of self, simply because they couldn't see it, measure it, or experience it; and if they could not conceive of it, it could not exist." Written from back-and-forth perspectives, the story is a great adventure.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continues where City of Pearl left off...a very sobering account of how humans treat aliens, according to how we treat animals and each other. The characters are very well developed, especially the alien Aras. A science fiction/eco-thriller that seems very real. The author has a gift for world-building, and the aliens are very alien, and yet one can't help but feel understanding and wonder. I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

[Nacho · Rating 1 out of 5]

31%. Hasta acá llegué.

Cosas que dice este libro:
* Las corporaciones son malas (hasta acá vamos bien).
* Los políticos son todos corruptos.
* Los militares son valientes y buenos. Si hacen algo malo, no es culpa de ellos, ver puntos anteriores.
* Lo mismo con los policías.
* Las masas de manifestantes son malas y violentas y desestabilizadoras.
* Los únicos civiles mostrados de manera 100% positiva son la colonia ultraconservadora cristiana.
* Un foco enorme en la superpoblación como causa de los problemas ecológicos.
* El uso excesivo de fuerza de manera punitiva está justificado.
* El genocidio, literalmente genocidio de una población civil entera, es justificable.

Esas son las ideas atrás de este libro.

No hay mucha vuelta, básicamente es un libro fascista.

[Ted Van Duyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first book in this series was brilliant. This one, not so much. Major actor character traits are reversed to where actors become behaviorally unrecognizable/unpredictable, angst worthy of adolescent high-school behavior dominates rather than what one would expect from residents of mature civilizations, and the story doesn't move forward much. Two-thirds of the way through, I almost stopped reading, but I wanted to write this review, and I don't like reviewing before a complete reading. So I've given up on the series as I think I can tell what's going to happen, and I fear a glacial pace.

Again great start, but the quality of the story in the second installment suffers greatly.

[Hypatia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and thoroughly enjoyable. The plot was not overly complex (although it's sometimes hard to follow what's going on in Lindsay's mind), but the characters are well developed and show growth and change, which is awesome. This one really leaves you with...not exactly a cliff hanger ending, but a somewhat unsatisfying, want to read the next one NAOW kind of ending. Mostly, I'm just really interested to see where the story goes with everything that happened to the characters in this book.

[Judith Bienvenu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our whole family read the Wess'har series years ago. I started re-reading the whole series in Nov '18, and am getting a lot more out of it. I strongly recommend this series if you're also interested in reading about alien races that have different morals and philosophy, especially about environmental protection.

[Okcrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading the series. Reminds me of just how good Science Fiction can be.

Traviss is clearly one of the very best and this series is her best work. If we do encounter other civilizations we will almost certainly be technologically inferior. What Traviss brings to light is that we could well be morally inferior as well. Hard truths, speculative fiction with teeth.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second time reading this book, and I really liked it.

Political action sci-fi, so there is not a lot in the way of gun fights or physical struggles, but it is well written and the characters really drive the story.

[Russel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy sequel to the City of Pearl. Escapes the stakes set up in the first book and then multiplies them to Earth threatening levels. Brilliant characterisations of both human and aliens. Can't wait to read the third one.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tore through the first 3 books, so I don't remember details. I was worried that the major change away from the setting of book 1 was going to disappoint, but it continued to be very good. Recommended!

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't wait to read the next book

[Val Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read. I rated the first book in this series higher because I had no concept or idea of the world(s), alien species, and human struggles.

[Lionel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less ecolo, more political and not much action until the last act.

[Helen Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sequel as well. Powerful ending.
I love the Berzei.
I'm very glad I discovered this author and excited that there are six books in this series.

[S D Lawrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, and usually, better than the first. Seems book 3 is waiting.

[Avenida DelConchudo · Rating 2 out of 5]

not so good as the first book in the series, and it leaves at a cliffhanger which might be good for a TV series, but not for a book.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great "big ideas" story about human and alien races. Can't wait for the next installment.

[Sharon Grutsch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not impressed. I was so bored with it. Loved the first and I’m hoping the rest of the series is better than book 2

[Adelaide Metzger · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Karen Traviss, why do you use your authorly wiles to get me emotionally connected to your primary characters and then cut me off?! Also, you seem to have a knack for making me very, very angry! But that’s not your fault.”

I don’t even know where to start with this second book of the Wess’Har series. I…loved it, but at the same time I…GUH! I swear to God, I’ve never felt so confused about my emotions than with Traviss--and I think because these are her original characters, I feel like I’m more connected to them than with her franchise adaptations. I feel that way because I know what it’s like to project a good story through original characters with real emotions. But I’m……………………….*sigh*! I just…I just don’t know what to say.

One good thing is after years of looking for a GOOD story with an intimate human/alien relationship, Traviss is the one to give me one--a nice surprise. At the end of the first book I so wanted Shan and Aras to hook up, but I didn’t really know how well Traviss would do that. Well, I got my wish and Traviss handled it pretty well. But it bothered me because of how Aras needed Shan’s affection most of all and she’s not that kind of woman, but she could at least have been more aware of his feelings. As much as I was intrigued with this intimate relationship between Aras and Shan, it’s a bit awkward compared to Darman and Etain’s relationship in Traviss’ Star Wars: Republic Commando. The clone and Jedi actually say that they love each other and there is a tenderness in the relationship so when sh*t starts happening it means all the more to the reader to know that the characters love each other. With the Wess’har couple, Aras is practically desperate to hear Shan say that she loves him even though it’s obvious that she cares for him in her own tough, soldier kind of way--they didn‘t agree to this relationship because of love, they agreed because they needed to release tension. But when sh*t started happening, I was angry that they didn’t get the chance to actually admit that they love each other before Shan killed herself for the greater good. Traviss did something similar in Imperial Commando (Republic Commando #5) when Darman used the only chance to go to his son--who desperately needed him--to stay behind for the greater good even though he knew his son needed him.

The rest of the book was good. Karen-drama all OVER the place in the climax and even afterwards. About Shan killing herself…I just don’t want to keep reading the series now that she’s gone. From what I’ve read in Traviss’ other books, the people who die stay dead and if that’s the case with Shan--the MAIN character--I just don’t really care about the threat to Earth and what-not especially if the main protagonists are three dudes trying to deal with her death. I’m not sexist, I just don’t see the series advancing that far with Shan gone. Unless Traviss brings her back and wows me (which she won’t because I’m expecting that now). I won’t be surprised but I will be happier. I liked this book way more than the first one. I was surprised with a revenge side plot that merged nicely in the end and I almost cried at the end when Aras had to kill Josh Garrod. Yes, I would come back to read it again because Karen Traviss has that way with me but I’m hesitant to get the next one.

[David King · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Crossing The Line" by Karen Traviss is the sequel to "City of Pearl" that I previously read as part of a Women of Sci-Fi book club. As this is a sequel I will warn anyone reading this review that there are some mild spoilers in relation to "City of Pearl" so please make sure that this doesn't bother you.

The novel follows the continuing adventure of Shan Frankland, a former police officer who has been infected with an alien organism that manipulates her DNA to the point that it is almost impossible to kill her. With the Earth's military now after her due to this infection, she has been forced to take refuge amongst an alien race known as the Wess'har. However the military can not let this stand and their meddling pushes the region into instability, increasing the tensions between the various alien species and risking the threat of war between humanity and the Wess'har.

I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while to see where the story would progress from the rather enjoyable cliff hanger of a conclusion seen in "City of Pearl". Therefore it was with a high level of expectation that I had put this novel on my kindle and settled down to read. I was happy to find that it exceeded these expectations and I found it even more enjoyable than "City of Pearl". Whilst I felt that the previous novel could get bogged down in its almost obsessive pushing of the vegan diet and the flaws of humanity etc. I found that this novel toned down these elements and concentrated more on developing the universe, aliens and characters themselves in a vivid and enjoyable manner.

I specifically loved the way in which Traviss has continued to build up and developed the relationships between humanity and the various alien species. There is no glorious flawless species portrayed in this novel, our flaws and some of our strengths conspire against us as we try to interact with species and cultures that are completely different to our own. At the same point however we also get to see the interaction between different individuals that showcased how we could work well with another species. I really enjoyed the exploration of these different levels of interaction and how the choices and actions of an individual can be so different to the way in which a species as a whole grouping would act.

All of this increased development did make the novel a little wordy in areas but I still found that the story moved a decent pace and kept me entertained throughout. Traviss builds up the tension masterfully until the reader is rewarded with a rather surprising but enjoyable climax and a rather intriguing cliff-hanger.

Overall "Crossing The Line" is a superb sequel that builds wonderfully on the previous novel and really develops the characters into people that I am able to find some real affinity for. Traviss does continue the overall portrayal of humanity as bad guys in the novel but this has been toned down a lot which makes it a lot easier to appreciate. Whilst you can probably follow this novel without reading the prequel as it provides all the information needed in the first few chapters, I still think this book will only really be appreciated if you have actually read "City of Pearl".

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crossing the Line, the second book of the Karen Traviss Wess’har series continues much of the quality work that made the first book, City of Pearl, such a unique read. Having first read Ms. Traviss’ work on the Gears of War novels, I was surprised by her writing style in this particular series.

What she ultimately started in City of Pearl and greatly continues in Crossing the Line is ultimate world-building as I’ve heard it described. She shows incredible detail in her people, the creatures and the worlds that she has created. Fortunately she doesn’t tend to stray too far into the ‘hard sci-fi’ nature and keeps her reading far lighter than some of the more scientific oriented fiction. It’s there, but it’s relatively benign and that makes it an easier, lighter read and more enjoyable if you’re looking for lighter sci-fi, although it could be a turn-off if you’re looking for more fact based details.

In the first book, Traviss almost seemed to shy away from violence and sex, the concepts and acts were there in theory, but it was always told about after the fact or hinted at during a cut-away, leading the story to focus on the characters and the world as compared to the action. This second book largely continues that trend, although she does go into the action details a little more in this one, this is still a generally action-light novel series, something that sci-fi fans may not enjoy as much, but it continues the trend of focusing the story on her characters.

And they’re the ones who ultimately carry the series through two books, primarily Shan Frankland and Aras again in this book, as we see the development of their relationship and how each of them is changing personally. Other characters support well, but for the most part are cut-out characters, such as the stoic marines, the typical ship captain, and even the holier-than-thou aliens. In this second book, I thought it was the character Eddie, the reporter, who really steals the show for the second half, as much of the universe is laid out at his feet and we see a great deal through his eyes, including his own moral dilemma’s as a person versus being a reporter.

In the end, it was another great addition to the sci-fi universe and I look forward to continue reading the series, the second half of the book seemed to fly by, and Karen Traviss does an exceptional job of making a fast paced, exciting series with so little action, always leaving you looking for the next development or answer.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second novel of a series can be a tricky thing, especially when the author involved is fairly new to the book industry. Often unsure of later releases, they write the first novel in a series so that it can be enjoyed as a whole, and has a conclusion that is satisfying in its own right. The problem with this, howeve,r can be that when the later volumes in the series do come out, there has to be a re-establishment of the status quo before the author can continue with the series in a satisfying way. This is very much the case with the first half of Crossing The Line, the second novel in Karen Traviss' Wess'Har series.

Luckily, Traviss gets as much of that out of the way as quickly as she can. Shan Frankland, star of the last novel, adjusts to her new life as a warrior living with the c'naatat symbiont, and begins her somewhat inevitable romantic relationship with Aras, the only other c'naatat infectee on the planet that is her new home. As part of this, howwever, we learn more about the wess'har, including insights into their biology, their culture, and how the two intersect. [return]At the same time, however, the governments of Earth cntinue their uneaasy alliance with the isenj, and the two species together try to break the quarantine placed on the planet Bezer'ej, resulting in the unthinkable happening. Well, to be more accurate, several 'unthinkable' things that all happen in quick succession.[return]That remains the greatest strength of Traviss' writing, I think: she does an excellent job of creating characters that are well-developed, and that it's easy to care about, and she then proceeds to torture them in ways that are both inventive and long-lasting. You go through the wringer with these characters, but you end up feeling stronger for it at the end.[return]One of the other strengths of Traviss' work is in her characterization of her alien species - each of the three nonhuman species in the book are well-developed, with a unique cultural outlook and philosophy, and yet each also has room for variation betwteen thee individual members of the society. NOt many authors take the effort to add that individuality to their aliens, and it's greatly appreciated that Traviss has made an effort to.

[Thomas Myers]

The Wess'har Chronicles are unique in a number of ways. They take a more practical approach to how intelligent aliens might react to humans and they also foretell a very real possibility of the future, taking us to an Earth where fruits and vegetables are patented ensuring that owning a garden of any variety is illegal. We see a future where pollution and mass destruction of our habitat is at an all time high, but Karen never takes us to Earth. For the first book, she takes us almost exclusively to Cavanagh's Star. The only planet where humans are known to survive in a colony away from Earth.

In this book, we spend our time on F'nar, the homeworld of a group of brutal and law oriented aliens known as the Wess'har. F'nar is a matriarchal society where strength is determined by scent, and the only human among them is a biohazard. Shan Franklind has been infected by the c'naatat, an organism that grants its host virtual immortality. Shan cannot go home because c'naatat introduced to the human populace would destroy Earth's already strained ecosystem. Unfortunately, the military knows about c'naatat, will do anything to acquire it and have ordered Royal Marine Lindsey Neville, who's willing to do anything to destroy it. Shan's compatriot, Aras, the c'naatat Wess'har, is the only companion that she has.

This book may be wordy, but it is very easy to read, nonetheless. The story moves along very smoothly building up to a brilliant climax and ending nail-biting cliffhanger. The vision of what humans might become is sickeningly realistic but hope survives in people like Superintendent Shan Franklind, whose unfairly black and white view of right and wrong is just the prescription for curing the ills of a diseased society.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who second guesses society, and moreover, to anyone who loves a good story.