Review of Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
-
jazzygirl625
- Posts: 21
- Joined: 11 Sep 2019, 19:34
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 12
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jazzygirl625.html
- Latest Review: Snatched Up to Heaven for Kids by Jemima Paul, Arvind Paul
Review of Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
[Following is a volunteer review of "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty.]
Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty follows a mismatched team comprised of an alien named Rynah and four humans from different time periods. The book begins on Rynah’s home planet, Lanyr, where Rynah works as a security guard for the geo-lab which protects an important crystal. While she is at work, her fiancé Klanor steals the crystal, which triggers a disruption of the planet’s electromagnetic fields. Rynah narrowly escapes the ensuing planet-wide natural disasters on an old spaceship named Solaris and sets off on a quest to stop Klanor from stealing crystals on other planets. Throughout the journey, each character has a weakness they must overcome to complete the quest—for example, Rynah must learn to overcome her stubborn independence and work with her new team.
It is evident when reading this book that McNulty took care in designing the world. The book is rife with details that add originality and help the reader more easily picture the unfamiliar science fiction settings. For example, one planet that Rynah and the humans visit has a green sun, which is the reason for the planet’s lush plant life. These small details help to emphasize the truly alien nature of the humans’ surroundings while drawing the reader into the world of the story.
Unfortunately, the details that are strengths in some parts of the book detract from other parts. The book is filled with parenthetical phrases that should either be worked into the surrounding sentences or be fully deleted—as they stand, the parentheticals are distracting and pull the reader out of the story. The details included in the book are presented in a way that makes the phrase “show, don’t tell” very relevant—many descriptors are merely listed instead of being incorporated into the story. Additionally, a lot of the adjectives used do not fit the reading level of the book (for example, Rynah's cheeks are described as "heliotrope" rather than a simpler word like "purple"), which can be jarring and break up the flow of the writing. Other weaknesses of this book are that the plot draws from many science fiction tropes in a way that feels half-hearted and that the characters lack depth. Overall, the writing is formulaic and amateur, which detracts from the world-building, character development, and plot.
The characters themselves offer some intrigue to the story—the characters are all from different time periods and planets, which should provide inherent tension and places for character growth and development. McNulty did address these differences briefly, but the book overall fails to address them in any substantial way. The same can be said for the plot itself. There is some interesting lore, but the way that this lore is introduced and explained provides neither mystery nor intrigue. The lore and plot are written matter-of-factly, reading much more like a dull explanation of events than an exciting and action-packed story. The tone of the writing does not match the story itself.
Because of the dull tone, the distracting details, and the lacking character and plot development, I give Solaris Seethes one out of four stars. In all honesty, I do believe that I would not have made it past the first few chapters of this book had I not been writing a review. While the writing technically does not have many errors, the writing style and plot development would benefit greatly from revision—as it stands, this book reads like a first draft in which the author was focusing on getting ideas onto the page instead of developing a flushed-out novel. I do think that the story has some potential if it had the right editing team. The story could be enjoyable for pre-teen and young teenage science fiction fans.
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty follows a mismatched team comprised of an alien named Rynah and four humans from different time periods. The book begins on Rynah’s home planet, Lanyr, where Rynah works as a security guard for the geo-lab which protects an important crystal. While she is at work, her fiancé Klanor steals the crystal, which triggers a disruption of the planet’s electromagnetic fields. Rynah narrowly escapes the ensuing planet-wide natural disasters on an old spaceship named Solaris and sets off on a quest to stop Klanor from stealing crystals on other planets. Throughout the journey, each character has a weakness they must overcome to complete the quest—for example, Rynah must learn to overcome her stubborn independence and work with her new team.
It is evident when reading this book that McNulty took care in designing the world. The book is rife with details that add originality and help the reader more easily picture the unfamiliar science fiction settings. For example, one planet that Rynah and the humans visit has a green sun, which is the reason for the planet’s lush plant life. These small details help to emphasize the truly alien nature of the humans’ surroundings while drawing the reader into the world of the story.
Unfortunately, the details that are strengths in some parts of the book detract from other parts. The book is filled with parenthetical phrases that should either be worked into the surrounding sentences or be fully deleted—as they stand, the parentheticals are distracting and pull the reader out of the story. The details included in the book are presented in a way that makes the phrase “show, don’t tell” very relevant—many descriptors are merely listed instead of being incorporated into the story. Additionally, a lot of the adjectives used do not fit the reading level of the book (for example, Rynah's cheeks are described as "heliotrope" rather than a simpler word like "purple"), which can be jarring and break up the flow of the writing. Other weaknesses of this book are that the plot draws from many science fiction tropes in a way that feels half-hearted and that the characters lack depth. Overall, the writing is formulaic and amateur, which detracts from the world-building, character development, and plot.
The characters themselves offer some intrigue to the story—the characters are all from different time periods and planets, which should provide inherent tension and places for character growth and development. McNulty did address these differences briefly, but the book overall fails to address them in any substantial way. The same can be said for the plot itself. There is some interesting lore, but the way that this lore is introduced and explained provides neither mystery nor intrigue. The lore and plot are written matter-of-factly, reading much more like a dull explanation of events than an exciting and action-packed story. The tone of the writing does not match the story itself.
Because of the dull tone, the distracting details, and the lacking character and plot development, I give Solaris Seethes one out of four stars. In all honesty, I do believe that I would not have made it past the first few chapters of this book had I not been writing a review. While the writing technically does not have many errors, the writing style and plot development would benefit greatly from revision—as it stands, this book reads like a first draft in which the author was focusing on getting ideas onto the page instead of developing a flushed-out novel. I do think that the story has some potential if it had the right editing team. The story could be enjoyable for pre-teen and young teenage science fiction fans.
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Latest Review: Snatched Up to Heaven for Kids by Jemima Paul, Arvind Paul
