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

[CZCampbell]

[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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With her planet destroyed by the treachery of her lover, Rynah is on a mission to stop the villainous group attempting to steal the geo-stones to create the ultimate weapon. In a stroke of luck during her escape from the unstable planet of Lanyr, she finds her grandfather's ship, the Solaris. This highly technological ship is more than it seems, it is an intelligent ship that can interact with it's crew on a personal and emotional level. Most importantly, Solaris knows about the prophecy that Rynah's grandfather always spoke about and knows how Rynah can save the universe! Once their team of Earthlings is assembled, will they be able to stop Klanor and his crew of thugs? Will this be the ultimate battle of good versus evil?

Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty is the first installment in the Solaris Saga. It is an action-packed, fast-paced, science-fiction story that includes an essence of time-travel and cultural exploration. In this story we are taken to many different planets and time lines, all of which are as different as the last and wonderfully described. McNulty's creativity is evident in her original and unique story-line and choice of character background. The development of the individual characters and their relationships is perfectly paced and not so easily predictable. The ending was a fantastic cliff-hanger that will leave you begging for an intro to the next installment.

However, given the vastly different backgrounds and cultures of the main characters, it does seem that they would have more trouble in the beginning in adjusting to life on a space ship, and even speaking the same language. Science-fiction and fantasy stories, while fantastical, are best served with touches of realism throughout so that a reader can connect in some ways with the characters. By not addressing this learning curve early in the story, it made a fantastical story a bit too unrealistic. I found myself feeling there were pages missing where futuristic technology and culture would have been explained to them.

There was a positive shift in McNulty's writing style towards the last half of the book where she does include more details and addresses the learning curve in greater detail in some situations which gave me a bit of closure about the issue. However, this would have been better to include in the beginning of the book as it was something that bothered me as a reader throughout the story.

All of that being said, I give Solaris Seethes a 2 out of 4 stars. The issue I described with the learning curve of the characters did not ruin the story and I thoroughly enjoyed the book as a whole and really appreciate the way McNulty ended it on a fantastic cliff-hanger. Also, her writing style thoroughly improved about half-way through the story and I am hoping that will carry over into the rest of the series. The author's creative and original story definitely deserves attention. I am greatly looking forward to reading the second installment of the Solaris Saga.

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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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