Review by Pilar Guerrero -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Sag...

[Pilar Guerrero]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Solaris Seethes is the first of four books of the “Solaris Saga”. It is a science fiction novel based on the adventures of five heroes and the spaceship Solaris. The story begins with the destruction of the planet Lanyr and Rynah, the protagonist, trying to save as many people as she can. Klanor, her fiancé, causes the destruction of the planet by removing the crystal that maintains it stable. Rynah manages to escape in the spaceship called Solaris, that her grandfather built for her before dying. Solaris is a ship with an attitude, feelings and self-awareness that protects and guides Rynah. After the destruction, she has the mission to recover the crystal to save her planet, plus five other crystals, which are hidden in different planets in the universe. Klanor also plans to gather the crystals in order to create a powerful weapon capable of destroying this and other universes.

In order to accomplish her mission, Rynah checks old legends written in ancient texts that Solaris contains in her database. According to the legends, she needs four heroes with different qualities, so Solaris brings four people from the Earth, from different periods of history and places: a Viking, a Greek philosopher, a teenager from 2014 and an inventor from 2099. The four heroes, Rynah and Solaris will follow the hints that the legends contain in order to find the crystals before Klanor does.

There are two aspects that I thoroughly enjoyed in this book. The first one was the balance between action-adventures and the development of the characters. The author shows each one of the heroes and the ship in circumstances and dialogues that allow the reader understand their feelings and motivations. I could relate to one of the characters from the beginning and along the book I could remember my own experiences and felt deeply what the characters were going through.

The second aspect is related to the values of honor, friendship, patience and courage that the characters portray through their actions, decisions and conversations. In my opinion, the story praises human diversity and cooperation, an example of how we can help a cause bigger than us with our capacities and talents. For this reason, I think this novel can be appealing to teenagers and young adults.

One aspect that was difficult for me was the use of very specific words to describe the action scenes, I was distracted and had to check the exact meaning of words several times. I have read words with specific vocabulary, many times unknown to me, but in sections that describe the setting, or the story background. However, this aspect may also be a good point in the book if taken as a way to increase one’s knowledge of specific words.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, it is well written, professionally edited, the plot moves at a steady pace and the characters are remarkable, especially Solaris. I recommend this book to young adults and anyone who enjoys sci-fi space stories. It is adequate for all ages as it does not contain violent or graphic scenes.

Solaris Seethes

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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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Like Pilar Guerrero's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Toria Mason]

I just finished reading and reviewing this as well, and I think you have a great point with your second aspect!

Also, I do personally like when I have to look words up, since, as you said, it builds knowledge and vocabulary, but I can understand how it can disrupt the flow of a book. I've personally been annoyed with the fact that my Kindle dictionary keeps messing up because I like the ability to quickly click and see the description without having to physically look it up. I suppose that's a bit part of the spoiled era though. haha

[va2016]

Thank you for the great review! I intend to check this book out sometime!

Best Regards,

[Jaime Lync]

Great review! I read and reviewed this and felt that the characters could have been better developed but they were not bad at all. Thanks for your honest review.

[DDunstock]

I just finished this book and wrote a review.
I appreciate reading your review! Have you read the next book in the series?