Fortune's Wheel (Sholan Alliance) (ISBN 0886776759)

The Sholan Side:
Fortune's Wheel is the second novel in the Sholan Alliance series, following Turning Point. In the previous volume, Kusac uses illusion to get Carrie and himself into the Valtegan base to use their transmitter to alert the Khalossa, the Sholan mothership. After Carrie and Kusac enter the base, his Sholan shipmates and the Keissan resistance attack the Valtegan base as a distraction. Once the message is sent, the attackers destroy as much of the base as possible, including the main antennas, to preclude the Valtegans from detecting the approach of the Khalossa. In this novel, the Khalossa and other Sholan warships attack the Valtegan bases on Keiss and free the colony. The Sholans then initiate first contact negotiations with the humans on Keiss and on Terra itself. Carrie and Kusac have become a Leska Link couple, the first such pairing between different species. A Leska Link forms a deep telepathic bond between telepaths, but the link between Carrie and Kusac is much deeper than normal, allowing them to be constantly aware of each other's thoughts and capable of forming a gestalt with amazing powers. Moreover, both Carrie and Kusac can fight and kill, normally an impossibility for Sholan telepaths. The Leska Link must be consummated by sexual intercourse and the bond must be reinforced by sexual intimacy about every five days so that Contact Deprivation does not cause them to fall into a coma and die. Carry is unaware of the needs of a Leska Link couple, is intimidated by the strength of the lust aroused by the bond, and is shamed by the contempt of her fellow humans. She tries to avoid contact with Kusac and he just waits for nature to take its course. They both are close to death before their friends become aware of the problem and bring them together. The news of the mixed species Leska bond causes a furor on the Khalossa. When Kusac attacks a human taunting Carrie, the Captain informs Alien Relations, who discover that Kusac is the son of their head, Konis Aldatan, and heir to Clan Aldatan. This novel dwells on the conflicts that occur between Carrie and Kusac despite the strong attraction of their link and the ability to perceive each others deepest thoughts. Carrie has the most problems with their relationship, but Kusac is also prone to misunderstandings; after all, they are alien to each other. Recommended for Norman fans and anyone who enjoys stories with strong characterization and interpersonal development.

Pretty good, much better than the first:
This follow up to "Turning Point" shows dramatic improvement in Norman's writing ability. But she still needs to improve on pacing and character development. First of all, this is not hard core sci-fi, which is nice for a change. This is light sci-fi with a heavy emphasis on romance. A lot of people say this isn't for guys, but I'm a guy and I got into it. I actually apreciate a book that develops a good love story. Kusac and Carrie are really the only reason to read these books. But here's my problem. Have you ever known a couple that you genuenly liked, but you got tired of them always arguing over stupid things and knew that all of their problems would be solved if they would just TALK about it? That's this story. Carrie and Kusac get into three major arguments and it gets tiresome. Carrie's character seems to have become a lot weaker than in the first book and she reeally isn't developed all that much. There's also about ten thousand characters who have similar sounding names, as well as a dozen story lines, yet none of them are really interesting. Several times Vanna's subplot threatens to take over the book and you just get tired of all the extra characters. Not only that, but the pacing is pretty slow. Lot's of things are repeated, and there's tons of unnessecary scenes that could be trimmed down. There really isn't one main story line, this is more like a soap opera that just goes from one event to another with no end in site. The "climax" is based on an event that happens in the last 100 pages and has nothing to do with the beginning of the book. That's actually when the book really starts to come together. The first 500 pages are real tedious and slow. Another reviewer for one of Norman's books hit it right on the head - we never get to see what the characters think. All we here is dialogue, and tons of it. The specific feelings, emotions, and thoughts of the characters are never really revieled, and this is frustrating. Just when you think you're getting somewhere, the scene shifts to another character and you start all over. So why give it three stars? Like I said, the relationship between Kusac and Carrie is the reason to read this, and they are very interesting characters. Most of their scenes are very touching. The story lights up whenever they are together. The same goes for Kusac's family. Early on they aren't too likable, but by the end they're very noble and endeering. Bottem line: the book was too long winded, and too many characters almost derail the rather small story. I'm not sure if I like where the series is going and will give at least the third book a try.

better but much, much worse:
WARNING: PLOT EXPOSURE. While it is true that Norman's writing ability increased from the first, her characters are poorly developed - neither Kusak or Carrie, the two main characters, experience any growth throughout the book. The plot is also extremely contrived. I knew the moment it said she was pregnant that the fact she would lose the child was as much a certainty that she would survive for the next installment of Norman's series. Norman didn't disappoint - or did, by showing that she wasn't below using lame plot devices and contrived events to make sure Carrie isn't "burdened" by a child. Other events within the book carry (pun not intended) a similar quality.

Fortune's Wheel:
My attention was seized from the first pages. Read it through in one sitting. Found the other 5 books in this series equal in entertainment. Really - really want to see the 7th book in this series which is "in preparation" according to Ms Norman.

A novel that just spins in place.:
After reading Lisanne Norman's first novel, Turning Point, I was very intrigued by her view of a spacefaring, feline race called the Shola. Certainly they were unusual, and if a touch too close to CJ Cherryh's Chanur novels, well, I was in the mood for some gritty science fiction that had some unusual twists to it, and if there's a little romance between the human girl and the Sholan boy, well, why not? The story starts right off where Turning Point left off. The Sholan relief ships have arrived and driven off the alien Valtegan invaders, and a tenuous alliance between the humans on Keiss and the Sholans has started. Carrie Hamilton, the daughter of the governer on Keiss and her Sholan companion, Kusac, now look forward to a new life together, one that includes romance and Carrie's ever growing telepathic abilities. Along with them will go the other Sholan crew from Kusac's ship, each with their own part to play in the unfolding drama. Vanna, another Sholan, has become Carrie's friend, and her interest in Garras is growing along with her medical skills, has several pivotal points in the novel. There are also a host of new characters to be introduced as well, from Kusac's parents; Kaid, a mysterious stranger who seems to be everywhere at once, and a host of secondary characters, who appear briefly, and then vanish just as quickly. The first half of the novel takes place aboard the Khalossa, the warship that had originally sent out Kusac's mission, and the second occurs on Shola, where Carrie and Kusac begin training together to strengthen their leska bond, that links them psychically together. Unlike the previous novel, which was a well-crafted, and thought out adventure story of being marooned on an alien world, this time, the plot meanders and skids about. It's hard to tell if this is a story about political intrigue, assimmilation into an alien society by a human, a romance, or a murder mystery. While Norman is adept at coming up with new ideas, she relies on tired old cliches to tell them -- Carrie, for example, is a perpetual damsel-in-distress, needing to be rescued every fifty pages or so from assassination attempts, weird medical problems, and so forth, while Kusac is constantly in a defiant mode, trying to keep Carrie happy, and dealing with his conservative parents. To keep the stereotypes rolling, he's not only a handsome sort for a Sholan, he's also some sort of minor princeling with highly placed parents. Sigh. Why, do authors keep doing this to science fiction readers? Yes, of course you're going to get more descriptive colour with people with power and influence, but this takes some work on the writer's part to keep things from being a tired old device to be found in any historical romance. To make things worse there are endless pages of dialog that go on and on and on, without really adding to the plot. Characters react to attacks, nasty aliens, prejudice and so forth, or do amazingly stupid things that should get them killed, but of course, they are saved at the last possible minute. In short, this is a novel that is screaming for a good edit job. Scenes and conversations drag on and on, the heroine is in constant need of rescuing, the male hero rarely steps up to the plate, and the end of the novel has one of the more sappy, silly endings around -- it's more suited to a pulp romance novel than a science fiction story. Oh well. I seriously doubt that I will reread this novel but as I already have the rest of the series on my shelves, I'll give the next one a try, in the faint hope that it will improve and go back to the quality of the first story. In any case, the editors at DAW were asleep at the wheel when they approved this 650 page clunker that goes nowhere, and rarely gets above the lukewarm stage.