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Between Darkness and Light - Sholan Alliance 7 - Lisanne Norman Book Review

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Review Summary
Kusac, a 'feline-like' sholan, has to cope with the loss of his special telepathic link to Carrie, a human, as well as hide the fact that the sholan kit he's trying to rescue from the Valtegan General, Kezule, is his son. Kezule, meanwhile, needs Kusac's grudging help to whip his fledgling colony into the general's idea of an ideal Valtegan society. Valtegan's and Sholans are normally enemies, so this alliance is fraught with problems. Then there's the traitor in the sholan contingency who could ruin everything. And why is Kusac so attracted to General Kezule's wife, especially since he doesn't want to be! Needless to say, there's lots of intrigue in this story.
Philip Eggerding, Resident Scholar



Daw, Jan 2003, 6.99, 752 pp.
ISBN: 0756400155

The triad of Kusac, Carrie, and Kaid know that the unrest on Shola will keep them very busy. However, suddenly everything changes when Kusac does the unthinkable and leaves the planet without a word to his two partners. They even wonder if he has turned traitor.

Instead the ruling Brotherhood has assigned Kusac the mission to rescue a Sholan cub held hostage by Valtegan General Kezule. However, instead of success in rescuing the cub, Kusac is captured and his link to his triad partners severed. This makes his people except for loyal Carrie believe he has switched sides but Kusac makes a pact with his deadliest enemy Kezule in an attempt to buy time so he can save his life and that of the child. For behind the scenes orchestrating all the species are the Watchers who do more than idly observe.

The seventh Sholan Alliance tale, BETWEEN DARKNESS AND LIGHT, is an exciting thriller that never slows down yet insures the audience believes in the various species populating these novels. The story line is action-packed yet provides deep insight into Kusac and Kezule. Especially intriguing is the loyalty of Carrie, who in spite of overwhelming evidence believes that her triad mate will one day reveal a greater truth. Series fans will have a field day (or two) reading this delightful, but complex tale with multiple subplots that ultimately tie back to the main theme. Newcomers can read this as a satisfying stand alone, but will find it even better if they start at the beginning with book one (see TURNING POINT).

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of Between Darkness and Light - Sholan Alliance 7
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%




Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Romance Yes
Romance plotlets: - love triangle/polygon
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Family relations Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male - Male Alien
Profession/status: - champion of justice - accused criminal
Age: - 20's-30's - 40's-50's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male Alien
Age: - 20's-30's - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Domed/Underground City - Asteroid
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society - inhabited by friendly aliens - unfriendly aliens - very controlled society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation - a fair amount of scientific explanation
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - descript of touching personal anatomy - actual description of sex - descript. of non-breast female anat.
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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