Review by Randomgold -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga bo...

[Randomgold]

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

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2 out of 4 stars

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Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty is a story about a woman scorned. The woman in question, Rynah, must call on help from several sources, none of whom she expects. Her goal in calling for help is to stop her ex’s plans. And probably save a few solar systems as well, but mainly stopping her ex. She has to learn how to deal with people who do not hold the same values as her, and that there might be a few things more important than revenge.

This book has many things done right and many more done wrong. McNulty does an excellent job establishing her characters in a very short amount of time. Each one gets a brief chapter to establish basic character traits, and then she builds upon those traits as the story progresses. There are some times when a character trait is not presented in the correct area, or seems to come out of left field, but those are very rare instances. Likewise, the characters are consistent and well developed throughout the story. The world is presented fairly well with short but potent descriptions that make the world seem both vibrant and oddly commonplace, in a good way. In addition, important world building and details can be given quickly and effectively, often with as little as a single sentence. This makes it so the story is not bogged down by unimportant conversations or lengthy exposition. The pace is timed very well, and knows when to be fast and when to be slow.

Like all things though, this book is not perfect. The biggest issue is that the author sometimes seems to forget her own setting. With the exceptions of a few early chapters, the entire book takes place on board a spaceship or on alien planets. However, there are many details that do not seem to fit with this setting. Alien characters eat and drink Earth foods, many plants and animals are from Earth, and some aspects of space travel and ship movement are inconsistent with the setting. It is as if McNulty originally wrote the story in a future Earth setting, and then decided to change it into a space setting a few drafts in. This makes it so there are many things that fit the setting—alien species, planets, spaceships, etc.—but also many things held over from the Earth based story—drinking tea, for instance. There are some times when this is forgivable. When talking about alien animals, for instance, comparing something to a more familiar animal is often necessary. However, this goes beyond simply grounding the story in the familiar, and can harm the reader’s suspension of disbelief.

There are also a few other minor issues with the book. The first is the fact that many details are given in parentheses, rather than organically with the rest of the story. This does serve to make some details stand out more in the reader's mind but it also can be distracting and difficult to get used to. These are mainly a problem in the beginning of the book though. Not because this type of formatting goes away, but because the reader will eventually get used to this style. The book also opens far too quickly. In the very first chapter, the action and main plot begin. This makes it so the reader is forced into the thick of things with no sympathy towards the plight of the main character, and without any knowledge of the setting or characters.

Janet McNulty’s Solaris Seethes is a decently written sci-fi story. It gets much about the genre right. It paints vivid alien worlds within a fairly small space, and delivers compelling characters with the minimum amount of exposition necessary. The story is well paced and effective. However, the jarring inconsistencies with the setting detract from the story enough that I have to give it 2 out of 4 stars.

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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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