3 out of 4 stars
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Janet McNulty’s Solaris Seethes is a great foray into the world of space adventure for any young sci-fi, fantasy lover. The universe presented to readers is one teeming with the existence of interplanetary relations, time travel, hyper speed space jumps, teleportation and humanoids of every creed and color. With its team of youthful characters and lightning speed plot changes, this book is a perfect fit for anyone with a lighthearted affection for quests to save the galaxy.
The story follows Rhynah, a lavender skinned, emerald haired geo-security officer thrust into a plot hatched by her long-deceased grandfather, to save the planet. Her once thriving Lanyr was a place of dreams before its destruction. Purple hued grasses, and skies with violet sunsets and orange clouds are all reduced to smoke and grey when the crystal that controls the planet’s magnetic field is stolen. Forced into a course of action to save herself, Rhynah finds her grandfather has left the keys to his work within his old, self-engineered spaceship, Solaris.
Solaris, however, is much more than it seems. Rhynah’s grandfather created the ship with a feminine, artificial intelligence that allows her the capacity to feel and interact with others. Solaris helps Rhynah to unravel the mystery of the stolen crystal by following ancient texts once thought to be mere than children’s stories. The adventure soon finds them working with an interesting batch of humans from Earth as they face the trials presented in their search to find the missing crystal.
The action sequences and scenescapes presented in this story are original and paint whimsical pictures of places we, as readers, can only imagine. A bit more detail developing the story’s background would be a great step towards making this book a must read. McNulty’s quick turns from scene to scene prove jarring and often require one to stop and get bearings on the plot sequence before moving forward. One piece that was particularly underwritten was the progression of the ancient texts and their riddled meanings. There is little storyline based around the texts themselves or how Rhynah and Solaris unlock the clues. Few mentions are made around the connections between the lines of text and how those hints pointed the adventurers toward their next destination. Readers are left to fill in the blanks which makes for pausing to consider, and essentially interrupting the harmony of the story.
Seethes also finds itself wanting in terms of character development. The intriguing list of characters proposed in this story should make for a smash hit! Four different characters each from different places in time lay the groundwork for an amazing story. The execution of their character traits, though, sadly underwhelmed. Hopefully as the series continues, readers will be introduced to more of their cultural norms, accents and quirks.
Encapsulating the underdevelopments was the halting structure of McNulty’s writing which produced a difficult read in and of itself. Many sentences were broken with repeated character asides and modifiers. A bit more attention to sentence structure and flow would make for vast improvements. I am rating this book 3 out of 4 stars. The staccato movement of McNulty’s writing is what proved most notable during the read. A smoother delivery would definitely help successfully paint the pictures attempted in this story. Although there is work to be done in terms of character development and plotline, McNulty’s unique idea and thought-provoking scene descriptions proved so entertaining that it warranted higher than a 2 rating.
If you are able to overlook the guesswork you must do as a reader to get through this story, you will be pleased with a suspenseful ending that leaves you wanting more. As for me, I would like to hear more of Rhynah’s story but hope to find it presented in a more appealing and thought-provoking fashion in the series to come.
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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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