Rating: 
Summary: Looking Forward To The 5th Book In The Series.
Review: Lisanne Norman's books are a recent discovery. Luckily, I began with "The Turning Point", the first book in the series. It's the typical theme of "boy meets girl" handled with imagination. The boy is a handsome alien feline who crash lands on the human girl's newly colonized world; a world that has been recently conquered by a race of alien reptiles. I could hardly put the book down and was eager to see how Carrie and Kusac would handle the challanges that awaited them on Kusac's home world of Shola in "Fortune's Wheel", the sequel. I was not disappointed. "Fire Margins" and now "Razor's Edge" were even better than the first two books. With each new book, Ms. Norman continues to develop believable characters who show personal growth in complex situations. Add to that the detailed descriptions of the Sholan world in which they live combined with an epic story line and you have a great adventure series. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Looking Forward To The 5th Book In The Series.
Review: Lisanne Norman's books are a recent discovery. Luckily, I began with "The Turning Point", the first book in the series. It's the typical theme of "boy meets girl" handled with imagination. The boy is a handsome alien feline who crash lands on the human girl's newly colonized world; a world that has been recently conquered by a race of alien reptiles. I could hardly put the book down and was eager to see how Carrie and Kusac would handle the challanges that awaited them on Kusac's home world of Shola in "Fortune's Wheel", the sequel. I was not disappointed. "Fire Margins" and now "Razor's Edge" were even better than the first two books. With each new book, Ms. Norman continues to develop believable characters who show personal growth in complex situations. Add to that the detailed descriptions of the Sholan world in which they live combined with an epic story line and you have a great adventure series. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: The fire died out-I couldn't finish this book.
Review: Lisanne Norman's series had a high and a low point for me. Somehow I treaded past the first book Turning point and went on to the more interesting book after that, Fortune's Wheel. But, about 3/4ths of the way through Razor's Edge, I put the book down and never picked it back up. I was kind of sick of Leskas and when 3 person Leskas began appearing that was it for me. I guess I'm just a two-person traditonalist. Plus, the abilities of the telepaths are kind of hazy-you don't really know what they can do, exactly. I know that even they don't know all they can do, but still...Was it me or did Norman's writing get a bit mechanical? Carrie seemed to lose most of her personality. Overall, the series died out, going from interesting to tiring. Maybe her next book will lift it out of the dredge.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant book in a cross-genre series
Review: Only the strongest of the strong can survive the taboos of a cross-species relationship. Carrie (a human telepath) and Kusac (a Sholan telepath) are getting the opportunity to test this resolve as they must stand up to both of their people, who try to manipulate or destroy them. The other member of their unique Triad is Kaid. The trio are struggling to come to grips with their unique arrangement, but also with what they have learned from their travel through the FIRE MARGINS. However, rest and absorption are not on the menu for this intrepid threesome. They travel to the planet Jalna in an effort to rescue Sholans and humans being held prisoner. None of the trio are prepared to meet the dangerously insane people who have incarcerated members of their races. Unknown to any of them is that the natives are long time plants from their enemy, the Valtegans. The fourth novel in Lisanne Norman's "Sholan alliance" is a fascinating science fiction work that provides in-deptg insight into various species inhabiting the universe. To Ms. Norman's credit, all the species seem very authentic and the story line is fast-paced and fun to read. Fans of cultural exploration of otther worlds will enjoy this entire series. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Finally the Mission
Review: Razor's Edge is the fourth novel in the Sholan Alliance series, following Fire Margins. In the previous volume, Kiad formed a Triad with Carrie and Kusac and they have walked the Fire Margins. This trance state has taken them back in time to just before the Cataclysm, where they have met ancient Sholans, including one who will become the god Vartra. They have also sent Tallinu, a young cub who will become Kaid, forward in time to be raised as a foundling and have brought back the Valtegan General, Kezule, and his dupe Kyak to Khezi'ipik, the ancient Valtegan hatching grounds. Kyak has been faced with the Valtegan who had pretended to be his god and caused him to raise a jihad, the Elders have declared Kyak a false prophet, and the desert tribes have repudiated the Kezule worshippers. Kaid has Challenged Ghezu, Guildmaster of the Brotherhood, for his treasonous acts. The Fire Margins have advanced Carrie's pregnancy, so Kaid and Kusac have delivered the cub in an aircar on the way home from the desert. On Jalna, a Keissan team, with Sholan support, has penetrated Lord Killian's castle to find the contents of a wrecked Valtegan shuttle. There they accidentally release two Sholans, Rezac and Zashou, from a stasis capsule where they have been trapped since the time of the Cataclysm. Before they could escape, the team was detected and held captive by the Jalnians. In this novel, the recon team on Jalna pretends to rebuild the shuttle laser system while awaiting rescue and Rezac has vivid dreams of his life prior to the Cataclysm. On Shola, the Brotherhood interrogates General Kezule and plants an agent, Keeza Lassah, in his cell. The En'shalla Clan is formally recognized by the Clan Council and is ceded the long abandoned Valsgarth estate; Kusac and Carrie are the Clan Lords and the clan members include all current and future mixed Leska pairs as well as the Vartra Brothers previously assigned as guardians for such pairs. Kusac formally registers Kaid as the third of their Triad and the three of them start planning for a rescue operation on Jalna. Kiad is troubled as his early childhood memories resurface and, having more visions of Vartra as both the man and the god, he moves to Stronghold to resolve his conflicts. A human archaeological team moves onto the estate and supervises the monastery dig. This novel bridges the transition from the personal problems of the En'shalla clan members to the interstellar problems of the Sholan Alliance. Now that the immediate problems are solved, or at least being managed, the En'shalla Clan begins to fulfill their function as special operatives for Alien Relations. Obviously, their first mission will be to Jalna. A reviewer has noted that story lines start in one book and are resolved in a later volume. First, this is a technique used by accomplished writers to ease the readers into situations instead of dropping them -- kerplunk -- into a new complication without warning. Second, this technique mirrors real life, where most problems start small and are only solved -- assuming that they are solved -- after a great deal of hand-waving, finger-pointing, head-scratching, and so forth. Another reviewer has questioned the term "gestalt". It is a German world used by the Gestalt School of perceptual psychology to refer to "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" phenomena in pattern recognition; for example, a smiley face is recognizable as a face even by very young infants, yet it lacks many of the characteristics of a human face. Thus, Carrie and Kusac can form a relationship that is much stronger together than as individuals. Recommended for all Norman fans and anyone who enjoys tales of interpersonal relationships and problem solving in a SF setting.
Rating:
Summary: Finally the Mission
Review: Razor's Edge is the fourth novel in the Sholan Alliance series, following Fire Margins. In the previous volume, Kiad formed a Triad with Carrie and Kusac and they have walked the Fire Margins. This trance state has taken them back in time to just before the Cataclysm, where they have met ancient Sholans, including one who will become the god Vartra. They have also sent Tallinu, a young cub who will become Kaid, forward in time to be raised as a foundling and have brought back the Valtegan General, Kezule, and his dupe Kyak to Khezi'ipik, the ancient Valtegan hatching grounds. Kyak has been faced with the Valtegan who had pretended to be his god and caused him to raise a jihad, the Elders have declared Kyak a false prophet, and the desert tribes have repudiated the Kezule worshippers. Kaid has Challenged Ghezu, Guildmaster of the Brotherhood, for his treasonous acts. The Fire Margins have advanced Carrie's pregnancy, so Kaid and Kusac have delivered the cub in an aircar on the way home from the desert. On Jalna, a Keissan team, with Sholan support, has penetrated Lord Killian's castle to find the contents of a wrecked Valtegan shuttle. There they accidentally release two Sholans, Rezac and Zashou, from a stasis capsule where they have been trapped since the time of the Cataclysm. Before they could escape, the team was detected and held captive by the Jalnians. In this novel, the recon team on Jalna pretends to rebuild the shuttle laser system while awaiting rescue and Rezac has vivid dreams of his life prior to the Cataclysm. On Shola, the Brotherhood interrogates General Kezule and plants an agent, Keeza Lassah, in his cell. The En'shalla Clan is formally recognized by the Clan Council and is ceded the long abandoned Valsgarth estate; Kusac and Carrie are the Clan Lords and the clan members include all current and future mixed Leska pairs as well as the Vartra Brothers previously assigned as guardians for such pairs. Kusac formally registers Kaid as the third of their Triad and the three of them start planning for a rescue operation on Jalna. Kiad is troubled as his early childhood memories resurface and, having more visions of Vartra as both the man and the god, he moves to Stronghold to resolve his conflicts. A human archaeological team moves onto the estate and supervises the monastery dig. This novel bridges the transition from the personal problems of the En'shalla clan members to the interstellar problems of the Sholan Alliance. Now that the immediate problems are solved, or at least being managed, the En'shalla Clan begins to fulfill their function as special operatives for Alien Relations. Obviously, their first mission will be to Jalna. A reviewer has noted that story lines start in one book and are resolved in a later volume. First, this is a technique used by accomplished writers to ease the readers into situations instead of dropping them -- kerplunk -- into a new complication without warning. Second, this technique mirrors real life, where most problems start small and are only solved -- assuming that they are solved -- after a great deal of hand-waving, finger-pointing, head-scratching, and so forth. Another reviewer has questioned the term "gestalt". It is a German world used by the Gestalt School of perceptual psychology to refer to "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" phenomena in pattern recognition; for example, a smiley face is recognizable as a face even by very young infants, yet it lacks many of the characteristics of a human face. Thus, Carrie and Kusac can form a relationship that is much stronger together than as individuals. Recommended for all Norman fans and anyone who enjoys tales of interpersonal relationships and problem solving in a SF setting.
Rating: 
Summary: Not beliveable, what so ever.
Review: Romance and science fiction are fine together to a certain point, but I found that every one of Norman's books were pointless and stupid. It was like she was looking for length and got nothing but a bunch of loose ends and mundane plots. Human telepaths are not real, this "Carrie" chic was even less real. There was a war going on, but I saw no fighting. There was no science, just a bunch of bloody romance! The "Turning Point" was alright, it should have ended there though. I suggest for Norman to give it up! Somebody has to tell her that her writing stinks!
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