4 out of 4 stars
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Solaris Seethes is the first novel in a series of four written by Janet McNulty. This Sci-fi opens to a young woman, Rynah, rushing into work in her uniform to a command post in a high-tech lab. Today is an important day, as the system is about to be purged: a necessity in order to keep it functioning properly. As the purge begins, there is an unexpected attack on the lab. The attack is strong and destructive. The attackers are after the crystal that allows the planet to stay in orbit. After a major battle, the attackers win, and the planet is destroyed. However, the young woman, Rynah, manages to escape in an old ship that her grandfather built. She and her grandfather had had a falling out years before after it was said that he was insane because of his ideas which ruined the family name. He had based his thoughts on old myths and predicted the future with them. Now that future was beginning to come true. Rynah discovers quickly that her grandfather designed the ship specifically to save Rynah from what was about to happen. The ship was given its own personality and instructions on what to do and how to handle Rynah. Her name is Solaris.
Solaris and Rynah clash when they first meet. Rynah is unpleasant, yet intelligent. Solaris is caring yet strong. Rynah also begins to understand that her grandfather's talk of the six crystals may very well be true. And now, her enemy, had at least one: the one from her planet. Rynah must find the other five before he does. It is said that the power of the six crystals together is formidable. The two realize that they will need help for this battle, so Solaris transports four people from various time periods on Earth. Solon, the scribe, is the thinker and the wonderer. Alric is the Viking Warrior who wears the skin of a bear he fought in his youth. Brie is the modern teen of the 20th century who is afraid of everything and anything that can hurt her. And Tom is the modern day young inventor from the 21st century. The four are given very little time to assimilate when they arrive on Solaris. Instead, the adventure begins immediately, and they will have to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses as the challenges bombard them one after another. The quest to find the six crystals is interrupted by many other challenges and not all of them allow Rynah and her team to go unscathed.
I found the novel to be a quick read: not only because the vocabulary is not difficult, but the adventure of the story is fast paced. I had taken the novel on a vacation and found that it was difficult to put down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The use of a plethora of adjectives and adverbs along with similes and metaphors allows the reader to easily visualize the settings as well as the transportation. It was as though a movie was happening in front of me. For this reason and the fact that the characters become real to the reader, I rate Solaris Seethes a 4 out of 4 stars.
Each of the characters in the novel is fully composed even those that are minor characters. McNulty does a wonderful job creating backgrounds for each of the characters. She delves into their personalities: what makes them tick, their weaknesses and their strengths. McNulty also reveals their motivations which gives the reader great connectivity to them.
I have only one negative comment about this tale. I enjoy a good series, but I don't like to be forced to read the whole series in order to find out what happens to the plot line that is set up in the first book. I prefer each book in a series stand on its own plot line, so I was disappointed to get to the end of Solaris Seethes only to find out that not all of the crystals are accounted for, and I will have to read the next book in the series (and perhaps more) in order to discover the fate of the characters in regards to these six crystals and the crystals themselves.
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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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