Review by Dilettante -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga bo...
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Dilettante
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- Latest Review: "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty
Review by Dilettante -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga bo...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Solaris Seethes is, at its core, a story that likes to toy with its reader’s emotions, though whether or not it does so with the best of intentions is up for debate. Its description is somewhat deceptive; I got the idea that it would be more serious and grim than it truly was. I dug in, bracing for a nerve-racking, tense struggle, but only halfway through had I realized the direction in which the story was headed. Personally, I’m a great fan of Battlestar Galactica, and while Solaris claims to draw inspiration from the aforementioned series, it is unable to rise up to its own built-up expectations. It feels as if it attempts to build a sense of pressure and coercion for its characters, but all of it is immediately deflated by generous amounts of stereotypes and narrow escapes.
Simply put, Solaris is not a story that takes itself seriously in its entirety, thought that’s not to say it is poorly written or uninspired, it certainly has moments worthy of appreciation. If you dive in expecting to find a dark, deep plot, with its characters shadowed by inescapable constraints, then you’ll be let down. Solaris is less a battle for survival and more a journey of discovery around the Cosmos, with a blend of very mild seriousness and risible atmosphere, courtesy of its colorful characters and events.
The series starts off on a strong note, its bombastic introduction grabs you by the proverbial throat, before forcefully throwing you into a foreign Universe that only resembles our own, yet it bears little similarity in terms of its inner workings. The sudden approach took me by surprise and tried very hard to leave a long-lasting impression, but I had trouble developing any kind of emotional attachment to the sudden tragedy that shook this freshly-built world. Perhaps it was simply the shock or desensitization, or perhaps I couldn’t cling to any particular aspect of such a tragic loss due to its lightning fast presentation. It wasn’t until later that I’ve come to emphasize with the situation. Thankfully, the shroud of confusion has slowly been cleared away as the story progressed.
Just like a roller-coaster, Solaris starts off quickly, but then it slows down, before picking up again. This up and down can be seen in all aspects of the writing: one moment you’re fighting for your life on an alien world, the next you’re dealing with the antics of a young millennial girl. The general structure and pacing does indeed remind me of the Star Trek series, albeit without its deep roots, but with similar elements and ambitions. This time, humanity is taken out of the spotlight, yet traces of its emotional identity can be seen in all of the characters, alien or otherwise. The environments and descriptions give way to imagination, from lush jungles to harsh, frozen wastelands and deserts, the atmosphere never grows stale; the action is expansive rather than concentrated.
Janet McNulty throws both science and fiction into the pot of creativity, with a copious sprinkle of mythology. What I saw was an Indiana Jones in space (a time traveling Indiana Jones at that!). I got the opportunity to explore a rich Universe with a heterogeneous – if unlikely – band of characters, that for all intents and purposes, are out of their league, save for them serving as prophetic catalysts, which obviously gives one the right to be as unsuitable and seemingly as inappropriate as one wishes, essentially “forcing” them into relevance. When you take time travel and teleportation into account, you can do away with the complex bridging of character backgrounds and intertwining their lives. Why craft eccentric explanations and risk them being subjected to criticism, when you can just as well throw in classic cards of science-fiction? I would say that, despite being instrumental, these elements feel and act more like crutches, detracting from the experience more than they append. The fact that they appeared so suddenly doesn’t help. The absurdity of the circumstances scrape off a good deal of seriousness, while the inclusion of stereotypes and narrow escapes limits any potential tension.
In terms of its development, Solaris Seethes throws you into an ocean, before teaching you how to swim. It rises many questions, but for the most part, it maintains a commendable degree of integrity, if we ignore the aforementioned science-fiction tropes (I’m willing to excuse a typo or two, though a slight inconsistency did give me pause, but mind you, it’s barely noticeable).
The story and characters are akin to a puzzle box that is violently shaken before its pieces are thrown out before you, so that you may assemble them with each chapter. It takes time and some effort to relate to the characters, but they manage to distinguish themselves over time with strong personalities, ranging from sheepish to bold, offering both their brains and brawn to the story. Ultimately, their differences bring them together, as each of them are given the opportunity to prove themselves in unique circumstances; their cooperation and synergy is vital to their success, despite their curious "temporal" differences. It still surprises me how quickly they adapted to their new setting. I felt that their short backstories didn’t do them enough justice, and I found myself craving more interaction between them.
The ending was, in my opinion, mildly displeasing, as Janet McNulty once again managed to deflate the gravity of the situation with – what I’d call – an unnecessary, untimely disclosure that would have been better left to each one of her readers’ imagination, at least until the sequel.
Despite the slight confusion regarding the story’s direction, Solaris Seethes still managed to steal both a tear and a laughter from me. A journey through both space and time that blends the ancient past with the contemporary present and the probable future, before flinging the entire package through the wormhole that is the author’s adventurous imagination. It’s certainly worth reading if you don’t intend to scrutinize it too carefully.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, thanks to its characters and Universe, which I thought were its strongest points. However, I cannot give it a perfect score due to the manner in which the story was presented, especially with the use of common fiction stereotypes. In other words, I expected a more intricate, grimy and unforgiving foundation, but either way, I'm certainly not disappointed with the experience.
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Like Dilettante's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
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Solaris Seethes is, at its core, a story that likes to toy with its reader’s emotions, though whether or not it does so with the best of intentions is up for debate. Its description is somewhat deceptive; I got the idea that it would be more serious and grim than it truly was. I dug in, bracing for a nerve-racking, tense struggle, but only halfway through had I realized the direction in which the story was headed. Personally, I’m a great fan of Battlestar Galactica, and while Solaris claims to draw inspiration from the aforementioned series, it is unable to rise up to its own built-up expectations. It feels as if it attempts to build a sense of pressure and coercion for its characters, but all of it is immediately deflated by generous amounts of stereotypes and narrow escapes.
Simply put, Solaris is not a story that takes itself seriously in its entirety, thought that’s not to say it is poorly written or uninspired, it certainly has moments worthy of appreciation. If you dive in expecting to find a dark, deep plot, with its characters shadowed by inescapable constraints, then you’ll be let down. Solaris is less a battle for survival and more a journey of discovery around the Cosmos, with a blend of very mild seriousness and risible atmosphere, courtesy of its colorful characters and events.
The series starts off on a strong note, its bombastic introduction grabs you by the proverbial throat, before forcefully throwing you into a foreign Universe that only resembles our own, yet it bears little similarity in terms of its inner workings. The sudden approach took me by surprise and tried very hard to leave a long-lasting impression, but I had trouble developing any kind of emotional attachment to the sudden tragedy that shook this freshly-built world. Perhaps it was simply the shock or desensitization, or perhaps I couldn’t cling to any particular aspect of such a tragic loss due to its lightning fast presentation. It wasn’t until later that I’ve come to emphasize with the situation. Thankfully, the shroud of confusion has slowly been cleared away as the story progressed.
Just like a roller-coaster, Solaris starts off quickly, but then it slows down, before picking up again. This up and down can be seen in all aspects of the writing: one moment you’re fighting for your life on an alien world, the next you’re dealing with the antics of a young millennial girl. The general structure and pacing does indeed remind me of the Star Trek series, albeit without its deep roots, but with similar elements and ambitions. This time, humanity is taken out of the spotlight, yet traces of its emotional identity can be seen in all of the characters, alien or otherwise. The environments and descriptions give way to imagination, from lush jungles to harsh, frozen wastelands and deserts, the atmosphere never grows stale; the action is expansive rather than concentrated.
Janet McNulty throws both science and fiction into the pot of creativity, with a copious sprinkle of mythology. What I saw was an Indiana Jones in space (a time traveling Indiana Jones at that!). I got the opportunity to explore a rich Universe with a heterogeneous – if unlikely – band of characters, that for all intents and purposes, are out of their league, save for them serving as prophetic catalysts, which obviously gives one the right to be as unsuitable and seemingly as inappropriate as one wishes, essentially “forcing” them into relevance. When you take time travel and teleportation into account, you can do away with the complex bridging of character backgrounds and intertwining their lives. Why craft eccentric explanations and risk them being subjected to criticism, when you can just as well throw in classic cards of science-fiction? I would say that, despite being instrumental, these elements feel and act more like crutches, detracting from the experience more than they append. The fact that they appeared so suddenly doesn’t help. The absurdity of the circumstances scrape off a good deal of seriousness, while the inclusion of stereotypes and narrow escapes limits any potential tension.
In terms of its development, Solaris Seethes throws you into an ocean, before teaching you how to swim. It rises many questions, but for the most part, it maintains a commendable degree of integrity, if we ignore the aforementioned science-fiction tropes (I’m willing to excuse a typo or two, though a slight inconsistency did give me pause, but mind you, it’s barely noticeable).
The story and characters are akin to a puzzle box that is violently shaken before its pieces are thrown out before you, so that you may assemble them with each chapter. It takes time and some effort to relate to the characters, but they manage to distinguish themselves over time with strong personalities, ranging from sheepish to bold, offering both their brains and brawn to the story. Ultimately, their differences bring them together, as each of them are given the opportunity to prove themselves in unique circumstances; their cooperation and synergy is vital to their success, despite their curious "temporal" differences. It still surprises me how quickly they adapted to their new setting. I felt that their short backstories didn’t do them enough justice, and I found myself craving more interaction between them.
The ending was, in my opinion, mildly displeasing, as Janet McNulty once again managed to deflate the gravity of the situation with – what I’d call – an unnecessary, untimely disclosure that would have been better left to each one of her readers’ imagination, at least until the sequel.
Despite the slight confusion regarding the story’s direction, Solaris Seethes still managed to steal both a tear and a laughter from me. A journey through both space and time that blends the ancient past with the contemporary present and the probable future, before flinging the entire package through the wormhole that is the author’s adventurous imagination. It’s certainly worth reading if you don’t intend to scrutinize it too carefully.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, thanks to its characters and Universe, which I thought were its strongest points. However, I cannot give it a perfect score due to the manner in which the story was presented, especially with the use of common fiction stereotypes. In other words, I expected a more intricate, grimy and unforgiving foundation, but either way, I'm certainly not disappointed with the experience.
******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Like Dilettante's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)" by Janet McNulty
