Line #20 Literature/SholanAlliance


1	[[quoteright:282:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_turning_point.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:282:Kusac and Carrie, power couple.]]
3
4	''Sholan Alliance'' is a series of science fiction/romance novels written by British-born author [[http://www.sff.net/people/lisanne/ Lisanne Norman]].
5
6	The series begins with humanity having finally colonized a planet around a distant star. However, the colonists soon discover that they are not alone in the universe, with the reptilian Valtegans invading and occupying the colony. That is until the Sholans - a race of intelligent, mostly bipedal [[CatFolk felines]] with advanced technology and {{Telepathy}} - show up on a rescue mission. While assisting the Sholans in driving off the Valtegans, a young human telepath named Carrie forms a psychic bond with a Sholan telepath named Kusac, with the pair becoming a mentally-linked (and soon romantically involved) Leska pair. Now tied to one another for life, Carrie is drawn into the Sholan's alien society, aiding Kusac in his people's long-running fight against the Valtegans.
7
8	The series consists of nine novels:
9
10	* ''Turning Point'' (1993)
11	* ''Fortune's Wheel'' (1995)
12	* ''Fire Margins'' (1996)
13	* ''Razor's Edge'' (1997)
14	* ''Dark Nadir'' (1999)
15	* ''Stronghold Rising'' (2000)
16	* ''Between Darkness and Light'' (2003)
17	* ''Shades Of Gray'' (2010)
18	* ''Circle's End'' (2017)
19
20	----
21	!!This series contains examples of:
22
23	* ActionMom: Carrie FTW.
24	* AerithAndBob: For a pair of aliens, Kusac and Vanna have very Aerith names, while Garras, Kaid, and T'Chebbi are more [[LawOfAlienNames Bob]].
25	* AIIsACrapshoot: Played straight with the Prime [=AI=], Zshadi.
26	* AliensAreBastards: Played straight with the Valtegans and Chemerians.
27	** They even torture the main character's twin sister.
28	** Averted with ''most'' of the other species, though.
29	* AlienInvasion: Happens about a decade before the opening of the first book, with the Valtegans conquering the human colony Keiss. The Sholan later arrive, driving off the Valtegans and liberating the humans, resulting in a BenevolentAlienInvasion.
30	* AlienSky: Shola has two moons. One of them has a very large, recent crater.
31	* AliensSpeakingEnglish:
32	** Justified for some Sholans, as they've been taught English by way of a Telepathic transfer.
33	** Played straight with the vast majority of the dialog simply by applying the TranslationConvention.
34	** Oddly enough, it is mentioned at one point that the main female character is conversing with a fellow human in English after many months of only speaking Sholan.
35	* AlmightyJanitor: K'hedduk starts off as a lowly '''kitchen steward''' then murders his way to the Imperial Throne.
36	* AlternativeCalendar: Shola has more 26-hour days in its year that Earth.
37	* ApocalypseHow:
38	** The M'Zullians visit a Planetary Class 4 variant on 2 planets before the first book opens. They unleash another near the end of the sixth.
39	** Due to an accidental ColonyDrop, a Planet-wide overweight Class 1 / underachieving Class 2 version happens to Shola over 1500 years ago. The Sholans call it ''The Cataclysm''. [[spoiler: Ancient Valtegan dreadnoughts must have been '''HUGE''' to gouge a big enough chunk out of one of Shola's moons to cause the kind of damage attributed to The Cataclysm.]]
40	* ArrangedMarriage:
41	** Kusac '''hates''' Rala, who he was sworn to against his will. [[spoiler: Carrie gets rid of her. ''Permanently''.]]
42	** Another arranged marriage becomes an important plot point in the fifth book.
43	* AuthorAvatar: Carrie basically IS Ms. Norman in her younger days.
44	* AntiHero / AntiVillain: It's been brought up recently in the fan club discussion that General Kezule is all over this.
45	* AnyoneCanDie: Almost. But several major characters have joined their ancestors.
46	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Vartra was once a mere mortal, as shown during the time travel section of ''Fire Margins'', before undergoing this through his psionic powers. By the time the main story takes place, he is considered a god by the Sholans, albeit far from an all-powerful one.
47	* AxCrazy: The M'Zullians get this way when they sense that they are in the presence of Sholans. They make suicide attacks or even go catatonic when they find a Sholan nearby.
48	* BadAssLongRobe: Mainly Kaid, but can apply to any of the Brothers or Sisters. Especially potent example occurs in ''Fire Margins'' when Kaid really [[LetsGetDangerous gets dangerous]] by [[TheCoatsAreOff removing the robe]] to fight Ghezu.
49	* BerserkButton: Do NOT attempt to harm Carrie. You will NOT survive Kusac's wrath.
50	* {{BFS}}: During ''Razor's Edge'', Carrie and Kusac get a matched pair for their mission to Jalna.
51	* BizarreAlienBiology:
52	** Played straight with some of the Valtegans, as they have some strange stuff going on. Especially with the different castes they have been selectively bred into over the millennia. The AlwaysChaoticEvil M'Zullians and ProudScholarRace Primes are so diverged that they almost resemble different species, at least in their behavior and culture.
53	** The Sholan also have some oddities, especially compared to Humans. [[spoiler: Human-Sholan Leska pairs do still manage to have children together, including Carrie and Kusac.]]
54	* BreakTheCutie: The Valtegans do this to everyone they get anywhere near.
55	** Carrie gets this quite a few times for various reasons.
56	** Even Vanna gets a little of this, too.
57	* ButICantBePregnant: Pretty much every mixed Leska pair and/or gene-altered telepath or Brother/Sister experiences this at least once. [[spoiler: Inverted for Mara for... unusual reasons.]]
58	* CallARabbitASmeerp[=/=]CallASmeerpARabbit:
59	** On Keiss, Kusac brings down a long-legged animal that Guynor calls a ''rhakla''. Carrie calls it a deer. As a native of a distant colony planet, it is, aguably, neither.
60	** Jeggets also are frequently described as being like ferrets with bushy tails.
61	* CarnivoreConfusion: Sholans are feline omnivores with a preference for meat.
62	** Averted with the M'Zullians. they seem to prefer their meat freshly killed.
63	** The [=TeLaxaudin=] eat insects.
64	* CasualInterstellarTravel: Lots of trips that cover many light-years in a matter of days or weeks.
65	* CatFolk: Sholans, obviously. With a strong racial proclivity towards PsychicPowers.
66	* CelibateHero: Kaid repeatedly turns down female advances thanks to a problem with a past bedroom scene gone horribly wrong which he does not want to repeat. He does his best to avoid the woman he loves, even after he's had her once, because he does not want this to happen with her, and because he thinks having a relationship will make him weak.
67	* CharmPerson: This series is loaded with these due to the main characters being mostly strong telepaths.
68	** In the second and third books, Ghezu is made of this trope.
69	** Later on, so is Derwent.
70	* TheChessmaster: The Camarilla has, for many centuries, been a manipulative [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness collective version]] of this, resulting in an AncientConspiracy. They had considered adding the Touibans to their assembly at one point.
71	* CoolStarship:
72	** The ''Khalossa'' exemplifies this nicely. Ambassadorial suites, stores, lounges. It's all good. The ''wilderness'' area buried deep inside this '''HUGE''' military ship just makes this ship even more desirable.
73	** After a routine overhaul and a few upgrades, the Couana also seems to qualify.
74	* TheCoup: The Prime Valtegan leadership is couped by a faction aligned with their M'Zullian counterparts, leading to the Sholans helping restore the more sympathetic Prime leaders to power.
75	* CoverDrop: Each and every book's cover is at least ''based'' on a scene from that book. Not all are exact, but the scenes they're based on are all easily identifiable.
76	* CryonicsFailure: Carrie's mother's cryo unit failed during the trip out from Earth. So did about 1/3 of the other colonists' units.
77	* DarkAndTroubledPast:
78	** Kaid, full stop.
79	** T'Chebbi, Rezac, and Zashou as well, but none to the same extent as Kaid.
80	* DataCrystal: Sholan computers make extensive use of removable data crystals. When the lead characters are preparing to return from their [[StableTimeLoop trip to the past]], one of the ancient locals points out the location where they've hidden an important data crystal that is later recovered in the present.
81	* DealWithTheDevil: Only in this series, it's called making a pact with the Liege of Hell.
82	* DesignerBabies: The Valtegans steal samples from our captive heroes and use them to create Human/Sholan hybrid cubs, which they then place in growth tanks to quickly age them to about 10 years old.
83	* DidTheyOrDidntThey: Readers have to frequently speculate as to whether or not a couple of characters have had sex or not. The author cleverly keeps mum about it, leaving it up to the readers to decide for themselves. One big example is Kaid and Kusac.
84	* {{Doorstopper}}: The first book came in at under 300 pages. From the second book on, they average over 650 pages.
85	* DoubleEntendre: There are some instances of this in the series, although not so many you feel overwhelmed by it.
86	* DuelToTheDeath: Sholans still practice this. Barehanded, at that, being 200+ pound felines. Several duels are fought during the series, [[spoiler: with most ending in the death of the challenger one way or another.]]
87	* EarnYourHappyEnding: The heroes in this series go through A LOT. Once in a while the author [[{{ThrowTheDogABone}} throws them a bone]], only to [[{{YankTheDogsChain}} snatch it away again]]. [[spoiler: In the end, the Valtegan threat is gone and the Camarilla defeated, leaving our heroes free to settle down peacefully.]]
88	* EarthThatUsedToBeBetter: Earth is mentioned as suffering from overcrowding and pollution, but it's apparently hanging in there.
89	* EnemyCivilWar: Turns out the Valtegans were really in the middle of one.
90	* TheEmpath: Lots of them. The [[{{Telepathy}} telepaths]] don't count here.
91	* TheEmpire: The above-mentioned EnemyCivilWar turns out to be two of four Valtegan home planets. The occupants of the other two are much less warlike.
92	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt:
93	** Some Sholans believe this will happen with the introduction of the Humans to their society, but a much more drastic version of this trope is hovering over the heads of just about everyone while [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness The Chessmasters]] play their games.
94	** It already happened '''for real''' to two Sholan colony worlds just before the opening of the first book. [[spoiler: It happens again in the sixth book, with all three attacks being courtesy of the AxCrazy M'Zullians and their [[WeaponOfMassDestruction stolen weapon system]].]]
95	* ExpressDelivery:
96	** Human gestational period of 9 months is overruled by the Sholan gestational period of about 6 months. In addition to this, Kashini is born early due to the effects of her parents experiencing time travel.
97	** A couple of babies are born prematurely due to unforeseen and/or natural circumstances.
98	** [[spoiler: The Human/Sholan hybrids that resulted from stolen DNA are created in test tubes and have their growth accelerated in tanks to approximately 10 years of age in a few weeks time.]]
99	* FantasticArousal: Kusac finds himself on the wrong end of this while bathing in a hot spring.
100	* FantasticRacism: The author gives little page time to this, but...
101	** Most Valtegans display this by the trainload.
102	** Guynor goes this direction in the first book.
103	** Brother Dzaou starts off in this direction within minutes of coming out of cryo during the sixth book.
104	* FishOutOfWater: Carrie undergoes a lot of this in the first couple of books as she becomes immersed in Sholan culture, parts of which vary wildly from human mores.
105	* FlatCharacter: With the numerous characters in this series, there are a few who don't get much page time. Character development absolutely requires that lots of page time be devoted to a given character. As such, the above mentioned General Kezule is the polar opposite of flat.
106	* FrothyMugsOfWater:
107	** Thanks to BizarreAlienBiology the Sholans find coffee affects them like alcohol. The stronger it is, the more drunk it makes them. This leads to a sort of ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin effect, as you tend to read the word coffee for so long, with so many characters drinking it casually, you almost forget it's alcoholic for them.
108	** Chocolate has even more ''Interesting'' effects on Sholans. Yet Kusac still offers some to his '''son''' at one point in the eighth book.
109	* GodsHandsAreTied: Played with with Vartra in the seventh book. [[spoiler: The Camarilla are mortals, but they still tie Vartra's hands.]]
110	* GooGooGodlike:
111	** Kashini is born with her telepathic abilities fully awakened after her mother time travels while pregnant.
112	** The Directorate's 8 Human/Sholan hybrids are brought out of growth tanks at approximately the age of 10 with their telepathic abilities fully awake and trained thanks to sleep tape training.
113	* HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster: The Humans living on Keiss don't believe in telepathy, and therefore think Carrie is a freak. This results in people close to her trying to either convince her to act more normal, or act like she can't read minds at all.
114	* HeadTiltinglyKinky: While there are SOME details included in the more intimate scenes, the author has kept them somewhat vague, leaving the nitty gritty details up to the imagination of the reader. Enjoy!
115	* HeelFaceTurn: Kezule, sort of. Nearly the entire fan base still seems to dislike him, although many grudgingly admit he's more of a NobleDemon than a complete [[{{Heel}} meanie]]. He could also be evolving toward being a NobleBigot, which is slightly less evil than the NobleDemon in that he is trying to do good (whereas the NobleDemon does good in spite of himself), but he's still a nasty individual.
116	* HigherTechSpecies: The Sholans and their Alliance partners pull this off perfectly.
117	* HumanAliens:
118	** The Jalnans look almost exactly like Earth-born Humans.
119	** Due to her Sholan eyes, Carrie is able to pass herself off as a ''Solnian'', as opposed to being mistaken for another Jalnan.
120	* HumanlikeHandAnatomy: An interesting variation. The Sholans are a felinoid race with retractable fingers, enabling them to alternately run on all fours or grip things with human-like hands.
121	* HumansAreSpecial: Things really start cookin' in the Alliance when the Sholans discover them on Keiss. Watch out, universe! [[spoiler: Humans are not merely a Loose Cannon, but an entire ''Loose Artillery Battalion'' variable in the Camarilla's schemes and calculations]].
122	* HumansArePsychicInTheFuture: Human telepaths weren't recognized until the Terrans met the Sholans, a certain percentage of which have psi abilities.
123	* HumansNeedAliens: The human colonists on Kiess found themselves under the heel of the overpoweringly aggressive etc etc Valtegans. Without the help of the Sholans, they would have continued to be in that situation even with the arrival of the second wave colony ship, still enroute during the first book.
124	* HumongousMecha: In the eighth book, the Sholan military has recently introduced a mecha called the MUTAC. It's a hulking set of multi-ton quadruped-x-biped powered armor, its design based on the feline Sholan. It even appears on the cover of the eighth book.
125	* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin / AlienCatnip: Both strong '''coffee''' and, apparently, small amounts of ordinary '''chocolate''' will do strange things to Sholans.
126	* IdiotBall: Who's idea was it to make torturer priest J'koshuk the interface between the Primes and the crew and passengers of the Rryuk's Profit?
127	* IKEAErotica: Averted. The handful of sex scenes in each book (starting with the second one; there were none in the first) are either rather well-written and convey a good impression of the characters' emotions; or the act itself is skipped (the literary version of a SexyDiscretionShot), focusing instead on the build-up and aftermath.
128	* InterspeciesRomance: Kusac and Carrie Aldatan get this trope rolling. Others eventually follow.
129	* IntoxicationEnsues: Due to a little bit of BizarreAlienBiology, Sholans get this with too much coffee or chocolate.
130	* JediMindTrick:
131	** Pulled off with style by Carrie and Kusac in ''Turning Point''.
132	** Most of the rest of the main characters can pull this off convincingly for the same reason. Most of them are high-level [[{{Telepathy}} telepaths]], after all.
133	* {{Jerkass}}: Several characters come to mind. Some worse than others, some intermittently, some accidentally.
134	** Best example: Hkairass. Double points for this Telaxaudin. (See Meaningful Name below)
135	*** [[spoiler: He even goes so far as to try and get the DesignatedHero '''shot'''.]]
136	* KarmicDeath: Several of them.
137	** ''Fire Margins'' gives us:
138	*** Fyak at the hands of his angry victims. (NightmareFuel if you think about it [[spoiler: 200+ pound felines]].)
139	*** Ghezu gets his by his own request for personal combat with Kaid. (See Badass Long Robe example above.)
140	** ''Razor's Edge'' gives us Bradogan getting mowed down by one of his victims. (See Fyak above)
141	** ''Dark Nadir'' gives us J'Koshuk on the receiving end of an EnergyBall from an '''Extremely''' angry Kusac.
142	** [[spoiler: ''Shades Of Gray'' gives us two and almost gives us a third.]]
143	* KickTheDog: The Valtegans do this on page 1 of the first book.
144	** Ghezu and Kezule get their moments, too.
145	* LadyOfWar: WordOfGod says that Carrie fits in here.
146	* LaResistance: The human colonists are trying to get rid of tech-superior and more numerous AlienInvaders. They eventually get the help they need.
147	** There's even one on the primitive planet of Jalna. Some local lords trying to improve the fairness of the trade balance.
148	* LawOfAlienNames: Apparently the author simply used a name generating program for the alien names.
149	* LawOfInverseFertility: Most of our heroes can't be bothered with the trouble of being pregnant and/or raising cubs at the moment, usually due to some professional demands on their time. Thanks to ButICantBePregnant, this happens at a couple of inopportune times. Conversely, characters who ''DO'' want to reproduce together seem to occasionally run into snags such as being from different genetically incompatible species.
150	* LittleMissBadass: Do not underestimate the women in these books, they have some serious WaifFu!
151	** Best example: T'Chebbi.
152	** Even Carrie gets her moments.
153	* LukeIAmYourFather: Hooo boy.... Played with and pretty much [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]].
154	** Inverted with Kaid and Dzaka.
155	*** Kaid does everything he can to avoid letting Dzaka know that he is Kaid's son. (There's a '''VERY''' good reason.)
156	** Flipped to a LukeYouAreMyFather with Rezac and Kaid.
157	*** Due to a stasis cube and more than 1500 years worth of time travel issues, Rezac is the 25 year-old father of 50 year-old Kaid. His grandson, Dzaka is 35 or so.
158	*** Kaid decides that Rezac should be listed as his younger brother.
159	** Don't even get me started with Josh and Mara's cub.
160	* MagicPoweredPseudoscience: Turns out that Vartra was using his own telepathic / telikinetic abilities (unwittingly) to mutate DNA, which was why only his experiments resulted in more powerful telepaths.
161	* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: This is Kezule's original goal after being brought to the future. He is a MagnificentBastard in trying to get back to his own time to accomplish it.
162	* MamaBear: Threaten Carrie's loved ones and this is what you get.
163	* MateOrDie: Leska pairs literally live and die by this one.
164	* MeaningfulName: The Telaxaudin, Hkairass. See Jerkass above.
165	* MindLinkMates: Carrie and Kusac, Leska pairs in general.
166	* MindOverManners: While Sholan telepaths have a strict code of ethics they follow when using their Talent, the Humans they hook up with tend to be a bad influence, often breaking the rules and eventually influencing their Leskas to do the same.
167	* MisfitMobilizationMoment: We almost get one in the first book. But we ''DEFINITELY'' get one in the fifth book.
168	* MistakenForPregnant: In the early days, Sholans unfamiliar with Human female anatomy would [[{{MistakenForPregnant}} mistake them for pregnant]] due to the fact that Human women have breasts all the time, whereas Sholan females only have them when pregnant or breastfeeding.
169	* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Who appointed Chy'qui to be the head of medical research anyway?
170	* MutantDraftBoard:
171	** The Telepath Guild is a mild, friendly version of this.
172	** Seems to be getting played straight on Earth eventually, with telepaths being forcibly conscripted.
173	* MutilationInterrogation: By way of {{Fingore}} in ''Fire Margins''.
174	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Hkairass, Kezule, J'koshuk, K'hedduk, M'ezozakk, and more. The Valtegans must ''really'' love their 'K' names.
175	* NaturalWeapon:
176	** Sholans are all about this. Claws, teeth, powerful muscles and real speed.
177	** With their heavier gravity background, the Valtegans get some of this.
178	** The Sumaan get theirs too. Especially gangly, clumsy young Ashay.
179	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Most Sholan females are able to voluntarily control their fertility. Plus or minus male 'Persuasion'.
180	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Played straight with this series.
181	** It is eventually revealed that a group of telepaths have pulled this off against an '''entire empire''' over 1500 years ago.
182	** In the seventh book we have K'hedduk becoming emperor after playing the part of a kitchen steward.
183	* ObfuscatingStupidity:
184	** Carrie is a pro at this as shown in ''Turning Point'', when she avoids Valtegan scrutiny in a bar raid with the trope.
185	** In the same book, Kusac pretends to be a non-sentient feline in order to hide among Keiss' human colonists.
186	* OhMyGods:
187	** Shola has an extensive pantheon. Different versions can be found throughout the series.
188	** Due to Vartra being directly linked to the Telepaths, 'Vartra's Bones!' is said frequently.
189	* OldMaster: Noni is definitely the Old Master of this series, but it looks like she may have some competition for that title in Conner.
190	* OneHitKill: Kusac does this in ''Dark Nadir'', cooking someone from the inside out ... ''[[{{Telepathy}} with his mind.]]''
191	* OnlyOneName: Lots of one-name characters, most notably the Valtegans and Primes, the Telaxaudin, and the Cabbarans. Some Sholans get this as well, though some Sholans start out with one name and acquire a second name in later chapters/books.
192	* PapaWolf: Threaten Kusac or Kaid's loved ones, and this is what you get.
193	* PersonOfMassDestruction: Kusac has the potential for this if three things come together and add up:
194	** 1; He realizes the full extent of his abilities,
195	** 2; He gets angry about how the Camarilla has been manipulating him. [[spoiler: By the end of ''Shades of Gray'', 1 and 2 have pretty much fallen into place.]]
196	** 3; He finds out where they are located. [[spoiler: He does in the final book, and leads the victorious assault against them.]]
197	* PlanetLooters: After applying their [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Ultimate Weapon]] to J'kirtik, The M'Zullians proceed to loot their long-time rivals' planet for any remaining goodies.
198	* PowerLevels: In the second book, Kusac claims to be a grade 5. He is later forced to admit to being a much more powerful grade 1.
199	** [[spoiler: With his "repairs", Kusac is still a grade 1, but the existing scale may need to be adjusted or revised in order to accommodate his abilities vs those of everybody else.]]
200	%%** Kusac is like ... up to eleven or TookALevelInBadass.
201	* ThePowerOfBlood: It seems like a lot of important Sholan rituals are sealed in blood via small cuts on the hand. Some examples include ...
202	** Bonding Contracts.
203	** Sword-Brother Oaths.
204	* PowerTrio: Carrie, Kusac and Kaid.
205	* PregnantBadass: Carrie, full stop. She goes off on various missions, time travel adventures and escapes from captivity while pregnant. [[spoiler: Horribly subverted by her DuelToTheDeath in the second book, though. She wins, but loses the baby due to injuries sustained in the fight.]]
206	* PrehensileTail: Sholans get a weak version. They can wrap it around a leg or wrist, but not do anything truly useful with it.
207	* PsychicPowers: [[{{Telepathy}} Telepaths]] make up most of the major cast.
208	** [[spoiler: Kusac develops more than merely telepathic abilities after his ''repairs''.]]
209	* PsychicRadar: Several different characters have used this for scouting purposes.
210	* PunctuationShaker: Several different characters get saddled with ' names. For example, T'chebbi.
211	* RapeAsDrama: M'Zullian Valtegans will sexually assault women of any species, with the threat of this happening arising on several occasions.
212	* TheReveal: The enigmatic Primes turn out to be Valtegans, who are actually split up into several subspecies based on ancient castes. The Valtegans faced up until then are members of the warrior caste from M'Zull, who the intellectual Primes are more than willing to work with other species against.
213	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Jeggets. Carrie describes them as looking like a cross between a squirrel and a ferret. They can be troublesome. Mostly because they are [[{{Telepathy}} telepathic]] and can sense approaching threats.
214	* RunningOnAllFours: All Sholans will do this when they need to cover a lot of ground in a hurry while they are on foot.
215	* RipVanWinkle / ColdSleepColdFuture: Rezac and Zashou get over 1500 years of this thanks to a strange sort of stasis box.
216	* ScienceFantasy: Aside from the obvious SpaceOpera elements of Carrie integrating into Sholan society and joining their fight against the Valtegans, the psychic powers of the setting quickly become magic in all but name.
217	* SequelHook:
218	** The first book ended ''fairly'' neatly. All subsequent books have arrived with CliffHanger endings.
219	** The eighth book, ''Shades of Gray'', does end ''fairly'' neatly. But there is still some hook.
220	** The final book ends pretty conclusively, however.
221	* SexSlave: The M'Zullians Valtegans are known to keep these, including both their own women and women from other species they have enslaved.
222	* SpaceStation: There's a major station orbiting above Shola that plays a minor part in the series. There are also hollowed out asteroids orbiting distant stars that play vital plot roles in the later books.
223	* SpareAMessenger: The commander of the Khalossa tells his crew to allow one enemy ship to leave the Kiess system to inform their home world that this colony world is now under new management.
224	* SpiderSense: Some members of the Brotherhood of Vartra have this ability. Sister T'Chebbi is a good example.
225	* StayWithTheAliens: Carrie starts to do this in the first book but finishes by flying off to Shola in the second book. More characters join the Sholans later.
226	* SubspaceAnsible: The Sholan Alliance has found one and put it to very good use. Interstellar conversations happen on a number of occasions.
227	* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: The Cabbarans and the Telaxaudin seem to pull this off. And they are trouble anywhere they are seen due to [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness being]] [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]].
228	* SurvivalMantra: The Brotherhood of Vartra's Litanies, which are designed to help one overcome various mental/emotional hurdles. In no particular order, they are the Litanies for Pain, Relaxation, Fear (inspired by the one from Franchise/{{Dune}}), Clear Thought, and Preparation. They're never actually spelled out within the narrative, and in fact weren't more than named/mentioned until the seventh book in the series, where they were included on otherwise blank pages between chapters, spaced throughout the book. Side-note: they were actually written by members of the books' fan club.
229	* {{Technopath}}: Thanks to having been TouchedByVorlons, Kusac develops a little bit of this.
230	* TimeAndRelativeDimensionsInSpace: Three different types.
231	** In ''Fire Margins'', when Carrie, Kusac and Kaid do their time travel thing, their destination winds up being a temple, many miles from where they started for a type 3.
232	** Much later, Vartra drags Kaid into the past and returns him to his bedroom in the present for a type 1.
233	** [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien The Camarilla]] can apparently pull off a type 4, though the energy expenditure and other issues make this troublesome.
234	* TimeTravel: To an almost ludicrously headache-inducing level. Luckily, it's all a StableTimeLoop over 1500 years across, and not a TimeyWimeyBall... [[spoiler: At first.]]
235	* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: "I have a daughter alive in the past!" Unfortunately, someone rather brutally points out that, since she's in the very distant past, she's also been dead for ''millennia'', and there's nothing he can do.
236	* TitleDrop: Usually word-for-word, but occasionally merely ''almost'' exact. Some even TitleDrop the titles of ''other'' books in the series, usually that of the following book...which probably counts as some degree of {{Foreshadowing}}.
237	* TooDumbToLive: The Valtegan Empire (InNameOnly) suffers from a coup; the new leader wishes to return his species to power and subjugate all the other "slave races". Unfortunately, those same slave races had just signed treaties with his predecessor (whose legitimate heir is off-world), and they're ''not happy''.
238	* TookALevelInBadass: Telepaths can't fight. So why, during the '''First''' book, does Kusac challenge someone? Apparently, his Link with Carrie gave him a boost and some incentive.
239	* TouchedByVorlons:
240	** Kusac gets some of this in ''Stronghold Rising'' and it finally surfaces in ''Between Darkness and Light''.
241	** [[spoiler: Vartra himself seems to have gotten a little of this. Or maybe it's because he IS a God.]]
242	* TouchTelepathy: Sholans have a strict "No Contact" policy in place to protect their Telepaths. This is because physical contact creates an unblockable link between the telepath and anybody touching them.
243	* TrainingFromHell: Kaid is an expert at this, and applies it to friends (Kusac) and enemies (under duress) quite expertly.
244	* TransformationSequence: [[spoiler: Happens to Kusac more than once in ''Shades of Gray''.]]
245	* TwinTelepathy: Carrie and her twin Elise are twins linked to the point of Synchronization, with Carrie experiencing all pain and illness of either of them. It is theorized that Elise's death caused Carrie and Kusac to become Leska Linked to begin with.
246	* {{Tykebomb}}:
247	** Shaidan has the potential for this as he is close to his father's psi talent power level.
248	** Due to being born with her psi talents fully active, Kashini might count as this as well.
249	* {{Uncoffee}}: C'shar. Carrie compares it to tea in the first book. It doesn't seem to measure up.
250	* UnstoppableRage: Happens to a number of characters throughout the series. The Sholans call this state Kzu-Shu, the red mist.
251	* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: T'Chebbi held a flame for Kaid after he saved her from the Packs, but never felt comfortable staking any claim on him until much later. He was not opposed to her advances and they are a legitimate item, even though he is part of a Triad.
252	* VisionaryVillain: To varying degrees.
253	** Kezule seeks to rebuild the fractured Valtegan Empire, albeit in a less tyrannical form (especially when it comes to foreign policy) and without the old biological caste system.
254	** Khedduk coups the Prime Valtegan leadership with the intention of aligning the Primes with the M'Zullians.
255	** The Camarilla also have their own shadowy plans.
256	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Kusac plays the part of an ordinary forest feline in order to get medical attention for his crash-related injury. His cover holds up surprisingly well, thanks to his ObfuscatingStupidity.
257	* YouCantFightFate: Although all our main characters, especially Kaid, try to at some point or another.
258	* ZigZaggingTrope: Related to LukeIAmYourFather above with Josh and Mara's cub. She's pregnant but won't reveal the father's identity.
259

Context Literature / SholanAlliance