Review by DDunstock -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga boo...
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DDunstock
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- Latest Review: Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1) by Janet McNulty
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Review by DDunstock -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga boo...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty is an epic space adventure that is reminiscent of stories like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and perhaps even a bit of Battlestar Galactica. The story is centered on Rynah, a female from the planet Lanyr that is forced to delve into the ancient myths of her people in order to save her planet. Her grandfather was known for his belief in the ancient myths and he built Solaris, a highly-intelligent AI system living in the walls of an old spaceship, created to help with the adventure.
Solaris Seethes quickly turns into a space adventure when Solaris summons four Earthlings, all from different time periods to the ship to help Rynah on her quest. The crew travels through space in search of six ancient crystals to save Lanyr, and an epic journey ensues! They encounter space pirates, man-eating plants, and several other surprises that all promise imminent doom for the crew.
I enjoyed the quick-pace of this read, and that is what mainly held my interest. McNulty did a nice job creating attention-grabbing. What I mostly liked was how all four of the humans that come to Solaris are from different time periods on Earth. You have a man that lives in B.C. times, a Viking warrior, a teenage girl from 2014, and an inventor from 2080. This certainly made the book more unique and adds some depth to the story. In addition, the “character” Solaris adds a comedic undertone to a somewhat serious book. Solaris is downright sassy, and although she is simply an AI system, she seems to have thoughts, feelings, and intuition; the same as any human.
There are some loose ends in the book as well as typos. The readability of this book could vastly improve with an additional edit session. There were a few times where I needed to re-read to make sure I had comprehended what the author was intending. In addition, some of the elements of the plot just did not make sense. In the beginning, the crystal that protects the entire planet of Lanyr was very easily stolen, leading me to question why such a precious artifact was not better protected. In addition, the protagonist Rynah was an unbelievable character. Her moods did not make sense to me; at one moment she is strong and determined, and the other moment she is crying over a boy. I just did not understand her character and could not relate. More backstory on Rynah and her villainous ex-fiancé, Klanor would add to characterization and understanding of what motivates Rynah.
While I liked the quick pace, some of the story was rushed. One moment the crew is on an all-water planet, the next moment they are back in Solaris flying to get a crystal. It was easy to miss the transition from one action to another, which only confused me. In addition, character dialogue was a bit lacking. It seemed that the humans who had just met suddenly had very strong connections to one another, and I just did not feel that the author took the time needed to establish these connections in a natural way.
Overall, Solaris Seethes did hold my attention and I am interested in reading the remaining books in the series. I would award this book 3 out of 4 stars. There is a lot of room for improvement, but the general ideas are very good. With grammar and spelling edits, this book would have been 3/4 stars. Based on the characters introduced in this book, there are a lot of plot avenues to explore and stories that can be told. If you like science fiction, this is very worth the read!
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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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2 out of 4 stars
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Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty is an epic space adventure that is reminiscent of stories like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and perhaps even a bit of Battlestar Galactica. The story is centered on Rynah, a female from the planet Lanyr that is forced to delve into the ancient myths of her people in order to save her planet. Her grandfather was known for his belief in the ancient myths and he built Solaris, a highly-intelligent AI system living in the walls of an old spaceship, created to help with the adventure.
Solaris Seethes quickly turns into a space adventure when Solaris summons four Earthlings, all from different time periods to the ship to help Rynah on her quest. The crew travels through space in search of six ancient crystals to save Lanyr, and an epic journey ensues! They encounter space pirates, man-eating plants, and several other surprises that all promise imminent doom for the crew.
I enjoyed the quick-pace of this read, and that is what mainly held my interest. McNulty did a nice job creating attention-grabbing. What I mostly liked was how all four of the humans that come to Solaris are from different time periods on Earth. You have a man that lives in B.C. times, a Viking warrior, a teenage girl from 2014, and an inventor from 2080. This certainly made the book more unique and adds some depth to the story. In addition, the “character” Solaris adds a comedic undertone to a somewhat serious book. Solaris is downright sassy, and although she is simply an AI system, she seems to have thoughts, feelings, and intuition; the same as any human.
There are some loose ends in the book as well as typos. The readability of this book could vastly improve with an additional edit session. There were a few times where I needed to re-read to make sure I had comprehended what the author was intending. In addition, some of the elements of the plot just did not make sense. In the beginning, the crystal that protects the entire planet of Lanyr was very easily stolen, leading me to question why such a precious artifact was not better protected. In addition, the protagonist Rynah was an unbelievable character. Her moods did not make sense to me; at one moment she is strong and determined, and the other moment she is crying over a boy. I just did not understand her character and could not relate. More backstory on Rynah and her villainous ex-fiancé, Klanor would add to characterization and understanding of what motivates Rynah.
While I liked the quick pace, some of the story was rushed. One moment the crew is on an all-water planet, the next moment they are back in Solaris flying to get a crystal. It was easy to miss the transition from one action to another, which only confused me. In addition, character dialogue was a bit lacking. It seemed that the humans who had just met suddenly had very strong connections to one another, and I just did not feel that the author took the time needed to establish these connections in a natural way.
Overall, Solaris Seethes did hold my attention and I am interested in reading the remaining books in the series. I would award this book 3 out of 4 stars. There is a lot of room for improvement, but the general ideas are very good. With grammar and spelling edits, this book would have been 3/4 stars. Based on the characters introduced in this book, there are a lot of plot avenues to explore and stories that can be told. If you like science fiction, this is very worth the read!
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Like DDunstock's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1) by Janet McNulty
