Review by Ambaldridge23 -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga...

Ambaldridge23 · Post by **Ambaldridge23** » 31 Jan 2018, 15:01

[Following is a volunteer review of "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty.]

1 out of 4 stars

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Solaris Seethes tells the story of Rynah, a young security officer, who is set on a mission to avenge her own destroyed home planet of Lanyr while also saving other planets from meeting the same fate at the hands of someone who was once dear to her heart. With the aid of her grandfather’s spaceship, Solaris, and four dubious heroes from various points in history, Rynah must find a way to stop her enemies from obtaining an ancient power once thought to be nothing more than myth.

At first glance of the description of the novel I was excited to read it as I usually love science fiction novels and epic stories. This excitement was short lived and fleeted from my senses before even finishing the first chapter. The reader is lunged into an unknown world when first introduced to Rynah’s home planet, Lanyr, and unfortunately it remains unknown. McNulty fails to paint even a glimpse of the environment, leaving the reader confused and unable to develop any sort of image of the location. Due to this lack of any true description, I immediately felt disconnected from Lanyr, unable to feel any remorse for its destruction. If it is so bland as to not merit any sort of representation, maybe it was better off obliterated. Since Lanyr was already destined to meet its demise, I tried to excuse McNulty’s lack of follow through and chalk it up to its short-lived existence in the story; however, this theme seemed persistent throughout the entire novel. All settings were insufficiently described, and I continually felt the absence of detail, preventing me from ever truly placing the characters in their current whereabouts.

I am honestly not sure that more imagery could have helped to make this book better, as the characters themselves were horribly underdeveloped. Vague references to Rynah’s appearance are given throughout the first third of the book, but never enough to paint a complete picture. The supporting characters are given even less regard in this respect with McNulty only allowing the reader hair and eye color, complexion, and general body build. The spaceship Solaris seems to constantly sway back and forth between being an advanced and sophisticated artificial intelligence and a moody, quick tempered disciplinarian. A true biography of any character is never allotted. Sometimes small details are gifted in the form of a single sentence later in the book and always told in a nonchalant manner, as if the reader should have already been privy to this knowledge.

The plot and themes were poorly conceived when present at all. The journey is erratically depicted—and not with an appreciated spontaneity that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat; instead, it seems that McNulty took no time or care to research her themes or develop her plot. The characters are haphazardly flung into scenarios which seem to have no real impact on the progression of the storyline. After all of this became an expected disappointment, I placed my hopes in finding interest in the action scenes that would surely present themselves. I found no relief here as well. There was not one truly climactic scene in the entire novel! It dragged on and on until finally I found solace in the fact that I was on the last page and could be free of the burden of reading this book. My only lament was for the lost hours of my life I would never get back. I continued to read this book solely to save others from similar torment.

I gave this book 1 out of 4 stars. My score was not only impacted by the lack of plot or character development, but also the lack of description and detail. The few times descriptions were given it was almost always an afterthought. McNulty’s constant use of parenthesis to plug in an overload of aimless information was very annoying and pulled me even further from the story from which I was already detached. I’d like to say that I might have given the book 2 stars, thinking that maybe it would be suitable for a much younger audience; alas, I’m not sure that a younger reader could have followed along with the plethora of run-on sentences. In trying to derive an audience for this novel, I came up empty handed every time. Although I am sure McNulty had the intention to create a well-crafted and riveting science fiction novel, she too came up empty handed.

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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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nfdaniel85 · Post by **nfdaniel85** » 13 Feb 2018, 13:45

I had the same issues with the characters and story. I could not connect to anyone. There's potential, so many ideas, and opportunities in this book. Sometimes, the let down is worse than the story. I hate being disappointed!