3 out of 4 stars
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Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty is not your standards science fiction adventure novel. While reading, I could not help but notice these wonderful references to the legend of Hercules. Instead of having to complete tasks similar to that of Hercules, Rynah must instead recover the data crystals and reunite them in order to save her ailing planet.
Having no other choice but to board the antiquated, decommissioned warship Solaris to escape her dying planet, Rynah narrowly escapes death to seek refuge in a neighboring nebula. While camped out in the nebula, Solaris, the ship’s artificial intelligence informs Rynah that she has been tasked with helping her recover the stolen data crystal and finding the remaining six from a local legend. Solaris was created by Rynah’s grandfather, Marlow, to help her on this mission. Solaris not only pilots the ship, but also monitors the conditions of the ship’s occupants and can sometimes display quite the attitude for an artificial intelligence.
This tale that Solaris recalls for Rynah describes four individuals from an unexplored sector that each display a special characteristic to make them valuable. Thus, Solaris, at the request of Rynah helps retrieve these individuals from across time and history. Once all these individuals have been brought to the ship from across time and space, they each agree to help Rynah on her mission in order to save her world.
These unlikely allies must first overcome a lot of difficulties to achieve their goal. This motley crew manages to outsmart space pirates, defeat a giant wolf on a barren icy planet, and even escape carnivorous plants just to name a few. As impossible as it sounds, they become close in a relatively short amount of time and can identify how their individual strengths can be used to the advantage of the whole team.
Will they succeed? I surely hope so, only the next installment(s) in the series will tell.
I rate Solaris Seethes 3 out of 4 stars. While I found the story to be fun and entertaining, I also noticed a significant amount of repetition in some of the scenes of the book. This took away from some of the importance of the scenes. The camaraderie from this group was quite refreshing and helped make the characters enjoyable. However, I found it hard to believe that these individuals would not experience more discord. Each person came from a different time with different ideologies. While I understand that they have all agreed to work together, I still expected more tension and unease between them initially. Despite all this, the series is off to a great beginning. I recommend this book to young adults, science fiction fanatics, and anyone that enjoys an easy read.
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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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