Review by seeker19 -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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seeker19
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- Latest Review: "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty
Review by seeker19 -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
[Following is a volunteer review of "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty.]
2 out of 4 stars
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This is a review for Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga #1) by Janet McNulty.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. (2.5 if it were possible)
Solaris Seethes is a science fiction adventure novel with a very interesting premise.
The story follows Rynah, who has to flee her planet Lanyr after her fiancé, Klanor, steals a crystal that was keeping the planet’s magnetic field stable. Her method of travel? A sentient ship named Solaris, who, she learns, was instructed by her grandfather to keep her safe. A ship that has a mission. With Lanyr in ruins, and a yearning for revenge against Klanor who only used her for the crystal, Rynah learns of the prophecy that her grandfather was studying. A prophecy of 6 powerful crystals that, united, could form a weapon of mass destruction, or a tool of creation. A prophecy that seems to be predicting her current situation. To fulfill the prophecy, Solaris pulls four heroes out of their time: Tom (the inventor), Solon (the philosopher), Alfric (the warrior), and Brie (the lover). Rynah, Solaris, and the other must search for these powerful crystals and keep them from Klanor’s clutches.
There were a few things I enjoyed about this book, and a lot more that I didn’t. Let’s start with the positive. The first thing I liked was the originality of the plot and premise of the book. The idea of a sentient ship with actual feelings and sarcasm was interesting. The character sort of reminded me of Iko from the Lunar Chronicles, but not as developed or well written. It was interesting to see how Earth and humans were portrayed in this novel and the way in which the solar system was structured into districts. The pacing of the novel in terms of when to have down time and when the adventure and action scenes happen was very well timed. In fact, the adventure scenes were one of the few plus points in the writing itself, with a good amount of suspense and intrigue. It was the only thing that kept me reading on, just out of curiosity of how the novel would end. It’s why I added the 0.5 points in my rating.
This brings me to the negatives, and the reason the rating is only 2.5 out of 4. Firstly, the writing itself was very awkward and clunky to me. The phrasing and description in the sentences felt very unnatural, which made it very difficult for me to really get into the novel. Secondly, there was literally no character depth or development. We get a general idea of the personalities of the different characters in the sense that Solon is smart, and Tom is funny, but there is nothing beyond that. There isn’t any description of the team dynamic. I mean, 6 total strangers have just been thrust together on a mission in space, and there wasn’t enough relationship building for us to see how the team was dealing with working together. There isn’t much insight on how the characters themselves feel, having just been pulled off their planet and out of their time. There are slight glimpses of the characters stated in a few sentences, but there is nothing beyond that. There is potential for us to feel the relationship, but it never happens. It seemed to me as if the author had an idea of what she wanted the characters and relationships to be like, but didn’t follow through. There were even emotions that a character felt that took me by surprise. For example, a character was leaving the ship and Rynah suddenly felt angry and betrayed, when before there had been nothing to indicate the Rynah felt anything for the character.
As a result of the lack of depth and the awkward descriptions, I felt no attachment whatsoever to the fates of any of the characters. The book didn’t ignite any emotion within me for the characters to succeed in their mission. I only continued reading because of the suspense in the action scenes, and out of curiosity for the ending.
All in all, this book had the potential to be very interesting, but didn’t live up to the mark. It isn’t a novel I would re-read and I probably won’t read the next book of the series. Even though disliked the book, if the story sounds like something you are interested in, you should definitely read it and create an opinion for yourself. My dislike of the book may be due to the fact that I’ve read so many adventure books like these, that it takes more to impress me (read: The Lunar Chronicles). If you are new to reading sci-fi adventure novels, I think you will enjoy this book much more.
Thank you for reading my review! Please comment if you agree (or even disagree) with my opinion. Also, this is my very first review so please feel free to give me any feedback as well (I take criticism well
).
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
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2 out of 4 stars
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This is a review for Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga #1) by Janet McNulty.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. (2.5 if it were possible)
Solaris Seethes is a science fiction adventure novel with a very interesting premise.
The story follows Rynah, who has to flee her planet Lanyr after her fiancé, Klanor, steals a crystal that was keeping the planet’s magnetic field stable. Her method of travel? A sentient ship named Solaris, who, she learns, was instructed by her grandfather to keep her safe. A ship that has a mission. With Lanyr in ruins, and a yearning for revenge against Klanor who only used her for the crystal, Rynah learns of the prophecy that her grandfather was studying. A prophecy of 6 powerful crystals that, united, could form a weapon of mass destruction, or a tool of creation. A prophecy that seems to be predicting her current situation. To fulfill the prophecy, Solaris pulls four heroes out of their time: Tom (the inventor), Solon (the philosopher), Alfric (the warrior), and Brie (the lover). Rynah, Solaris, and the other must search for these powerful crystals and keep them from Klanor’s clutches.
There were a few things I enjoyed about this book, and a lot more that I didn’t. Let’s start with the positive. The first thing I liked was the originality of the plot and premise of the book. The idea of a sentient ship with actual feelings and sarcasm was interesting. The character sort of reminded me of Iko from the Lunar Chronicles, but not as developed or well written. It was interesting to see how Earth and humans were portrayed in this novel and the way in which the solar system was structured into districts. The pacing of the novel in terms of when to have down time and when the adventure and action scenes happen was very well timed. In fact, the adventure scenes were one of the few plus points in the writing itself, with a good amount of suspense and intrigue. It was the only thing that kept me reading on, just out of curiosity of how the novel would end. It’s why I added the 0.5 points in my rating.
This brings me to the negatives, and the reason the rating is only 2.5 out of 4. Firstly, the writing itself was very awkward and clunky to me. The phrasing and description in the sentences felt very unnatural, which made it very difficult for me to really get into the novel. Secondly, there was literally no character depth or development. We get a general idea of the personalities of the different characters in the sense that Solon is smart, and Tom is funny, but there is nothing beyond that. There isn’t any description of the team dynamic. I mean, 6 total strangers have just been thrust together on a mission in space, and there wasn’t enough relationship building for us to see how the team was dealing with working together. There isn’t much insight on how the characters themselves feel, having just been pulled off their planet and out of their time. There are slight glimpses of the characters stated in a few sentences, but there is nothing beyond that. There is potential for us to feel the relationship, but it never happens. It seemed to me as if the author had an idea of what she wanted the characters and relationships to be like, but didn’t follow through. There were even emotions that a character felt that took me by surprise. For example, a character was leaving the ship and Rynah suddenly felt angry and betrayed, when before there had been nothing to indicate the Rynah felt anything for the character.
As a result of the lack of depth and the awkward descriptions, I felt no attachment whatsoever to the fates of any of the characters. The book didn’t ignite any emotion within me for the characters to succeed in their mission. I only continued reading because of the suspense in the action scenes, and out of curiosity for the ending.
All in all, this book had the potential to be very interesting, but didn’t live up to the mark. It isn’t a novel I would re-read and I probably won’t read the next book of the series. Even though disliked the book, if the story sounds like something you are interested in, you should definitely read it and create an opinion for yourself. My dislike of the book may be due to the fact that I’ve read so many adventure books like these, that it takes more to impress me (read: The Lunar Chronicles). If you are new to reading sci-fi adventure novels, I think you will enjoy this book much more.
Thank you for reading my review! Please comment if you agree (or even disagree) with my opinion. Also, this is my very first review so please feel free to give me any feedback as well (I take criticism well
).******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
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Latest Review: "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty
