Review by lwilker8224 -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga b...
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- Latest Review: Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1) by Janet McNulty
Review by lwilker8224 -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga b...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Imagine this. You are going about your everyday live and zap! You have just been transported along with three other humans from different eras on Earth onto a spaceship in some unknown galaxy in some unknown period of time and the captain is an alien with purple skin and emerald green hair. The captain Rynah asks if you and the other earthlings will help her save her world. Of course you say yes, and the five of you form a team working to save the planet Lanyr. That is the premise of the book Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1) by Janet McNulty.
Lanyr is destroyed when the crystal that serves as the planet’s energy source is stolen. The thief is Klanor, the man that Rynah loves and to whom she had just become engaged. Rynah, who was working security at the lab when the crystal was stolen, escapes on a spaceship that was built by her grandfather. The spaceship, Solaris, has an artificial intelligence that gives her an almost human personality. The book is the first in the Solaris series telling the story of how Rynah works to save her planet (and the entire universe).
In order to save her planet, Rynah must trust that the ancient legends of her home planet are all true, including the legend that says four heroes from an unknown planet must help. Solaris uses her artificial intelligence and knowledge of the ancient legends to calculate exactly who these people are and transports them to Rynah. They are the philosopher (Solon), the lover (Brie), the warrior (Alfric), and the inventor (Tom). Together, the team searches for six crystals that are the key to saving the Lanyrian people. The search will not be easy, because Klanor is searching for the same crystals and is determined not only to find them first but also to destroy Rynah and her team.
Solaris Seethes is a SciFi/Fantasy story aimed at a young adult audience. The story line itself is decent and the author attempts to develop her characters throughout the book. Each of the characters is flawed in their own way, attempting to make them more relatable. I found myself somewhat captivated by the story and really wanting to like the book, but it just fell short somewhere. On one hand, I wanted to know more about the characters, and on the other hand, I found them somewhat cliché.
My first issue with the story was that all four characters from Earth just seemed to jump on the bandwagon to save Lanyr without any fight. In the short background we get on each character, we learn that Brie lives with her mother and sister, and she is the primary caregiver for her younger sister while her mother works just to try to make ends meet. So why wouldn’t she fight to be returned to earth and why isn’t she more concerned about how her family will move forward without her? Alfric, the warrior, is the king of his land in the middle of leading a battle when he is transported to Solaris. Not only does he consent to leave his people in the middle of a war, but he also accepts Rynah as the leader of this new team without any fight. I believe that these characters would not have acquiesced so readily.
McNulty attempts to develop each of the characters as the book progresses, but I wanted her to go further. We know that Rynah had a troubled relationship with her grandfather, but we know very little about her deceased parents and her relationship with them. We learn the most about Brie who is scared of everything and constantly needing to be saved. How would this character have been different if Brie were not a teenage girl? We learn a little about Alfric and the almost brother-like bond he quickly develops with Brie. We learn almost nothing about Tom and Solon. Maybe their characters will be developed more fully in future books?
Overall, I give Solaris Seethes a 3 out of 4 stars. The story line was good but the characters could have been developed more. The cliffhanger at the end of the story made me want to read the next book in the series.
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
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3 out of 4 stars
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Imagine this. You are going about your everyday live and zap! You have just been transported along with three other humans from different eras on Earth onto a spaceship in some unknown galaxy in some unknown period of time and the captain is an alien with purple skin and emerald green hair. The captain Rynah asks if you and the other earthlings will help her save her world. Of course you say yes, and the five of you form a team working to save the planet Lanyr. That is the premise of the book Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1) by Janet McNulty.
Lanyr is destroyed when the crystal that serves as the planet’s energy source is stolen. The thief is Klanor, the man that Rynah loves and to whom she had just become engaged. Rynah, who was working security at the lab when the crystal was stolen, escapes on a spaceship that was built by her grandfather. The spaceship, Solaris, has an artificial intelligence that gives her an almost human personality. The book is the first in the Solaris series telling the story of how Rynah works to save her planet (and the entire universe).
In order to save her planet, Rynah must trust that the ancient legends of her home planet are all true, including the legend that says four heroes from an unknown planet must help. Solaris uses her artificial intelligence and knowledge of the ancient legends to calculate exactly who these people are and transports them to Rynah. They are the philosopher (Solon), the lover (Brie), the warrior (Alfric), and the inventor (Tom). Together, the team searches for six crystals that are the key to saving the Lanyrian people. The search will not be easy, because Klanor is searching for the same crystals and is determined not only to find them first but also to destroy Rynah and her team.
Solaris Seethes is a SciFi/Fantasy story aimed at a young adult audience. The story line itself is decent and the author attempts to develop her characters throughout the book. Each of the characters is flawed in their own way, attempting to make them more relatable. I found myself somewhat captivated by the story and really wanting to like the book, but it just fell short somewhere. On one hand, I wanted to know more about the characters, and on the other hand, I found them somewhat cliché.
My first issue with the story was that all four characters from Earth just seemed to jump on the bandwagon to save Lanyr without any fight. In the short background we get on each character, we learn that Brie lives with her mother and sister, and she is the primary caregiver for her younger sister while her mother works just to try to make ends meet. So why wouldn’t she fight to be returned to earth and why isn’t she more concerned about how her family will move forward without her? Alfric, the warrior, is the king of his land in the middle of leading a battle when he is transported to Solaris. Not only does he consent to leave his people in the middle of a war, but he also accepts Rynah as the leader of this new team without any fight. I believe that these characters would not have acquiesced so readily.
McNulty attempts to develop each of the characters as the book progresses, but I wanted her to go further. We know that Rynah had a troubled relationship with her grandfather, but we know very little about her deceased parents and her relationship with them. We learn the most about Brie who is scared of everything and constantly needing to be saved. How would this character have been different if Brie were not a teenage girl? We learn a little about Alfric and the almost brother-like bond he quickly develops with Brie. We learn almost nothing about Tom and Solon. Maybe their characters will be developed more fully in future books?
Overall, I give Solaris Seethes a 3 out of 4 stars. The story line was good but the characters could have been developed more. The cliffhanger at the end of the story made me want to read the next book in the series.
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Like lwilker8224's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1) by Janet McNulty
