3 out of 4 stars
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Solaris Seethes, a novel by Janet McNulty, is a science fiction adventure that takes the reader on a wild ride across an unknown galaxy. Rhynah, the main character of the book, loses her fiancé and her home planet in one fell swoop. With the help of an unlikely ally, her grandfather’s aged ship, she embarks on a race against her beau-turned-arch-nemesis to find the crystals that might save her planet, and indeed, the galaxy.
The name of the ship that Rynah’s grandfather built is Solaris, and she is much more than a ship. She is an improbably, but wonderfully, self-aware entity, and one of the book’s more endearing characters. She relays to Rynah the prophecy that her grandfather studied, as well as Solaris’s own deductions thereof. Next, Solaris takes a journey through time and space to assemble Rynah’s crew of ragtag heroes from the distant Terra sector, known to the reader as Earth.
The plot of Solaris Seethes was interesting, if one was willing to suspend logic for the sake of entertainment. The action was fast-paced at times, drawn out at others. There were several instances where a great deal of attention was paid to something seemingly insignificant to the story. These details might be significant in a future book, though, since this book is the beginning of the series.
The writing in this book was not as smooth as I would expect from a seasoned author. From the preface to the chapters introducing the crew, the book seemed to be pieced together awkwardly. The characters of the book were difficult to become invested in. They were introduced as one type of person, then they acted the exact opposite. There was no character in the book, apart from the ship, Solaris, that I did not get angry with at least once.
My biggest issue when reading this book was that the author used parentheses to the point of distraction. I counted seven instances just in the first chapter of the book, and the trend continued throughout. Additionally, the structure and flow of the sentences in the book was often jerky and unnatural.
The awkward use of the English language by a professional author led me to give this book three out of four stars. Despite the distractions and the unusual character development, McNulty told an engaging story. Her vivid descriptions made a far-fetched story seem almost plausible. This is not my favorite book by any means. That said, I will probably finish the series to see what happens.
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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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