Review by Mandy01 -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)

[Mandy01]

[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 Science Fiction/Fantasy story that would capture the attention of younger readers. It is an action packed drama with little down time between fight scenes. Rynah, a young woman from the Planet Lanyr, follows an ancient prophecy to save her planet from being destroyed by a man stealing the planet’s crystal. Listening to her ship, Solaris, Rynah finds four heroes from the prophecy. She lets nothing stop her from her quest, not even time or space. Each hero brings a worthy personality trait that defines the way they look at life, and the way they come together as a team. On their quest, Solaris, Rynah, and the four heroes come across a multitude of adverse situations that they must overcome together. Only together will they be able to defeat their enemies. However, with Rynah’s antagonistic attitude it makes the reader question if they will come together or asked to be sent home.

Due to Ms. McNulty’s writing style, I found it difficult to dive into the story. The over emphasizing of details that were not of import dragged me away from the core storyline. For example:

“Memories flooded her mind, such as afternoon walks (and most of them with Klanor when her heart had been full of love and possibilities) on the silky, emerald grass of her home, the field near her apartment complex that teamed with wildlife (rabbits, squirrels, and bagoons- a cross between a badger and a raccoon), the melodic churning of the Wesyr Brooke, and her most favorite place of all, Sesir Cliff, a precipice in the wilds of Lanyr that Rynah had explored on numerous occasions with her grandfather.”

This type of sentence was constant throughout the book. They were long and filled with extra descriptions that were not relevant. These long-winded sentences made this reader wish for simpler less complex descriptions. The sentence structure was also a trial for me as I didn’t like all the added parenthesis that were found in the book.

While one always has to expand the mind on what is believable when it comes to Sci-Fi and Fantasy, the constant action and foes the heroes faced, from not only other characters but the planets as well, made the suspension of disbelief hard to swallow. This reader would have preferred a development of personality over another action sequence. The fighting of life forms on the different planets could have been exchanged for moments of team bonding or an exploration of the planets.

In regards to the main characters, I found Brie to be the only one to begin developing a more enhanced character. Ms. McNulty kept Solon, Tom, and Alfric in their prescribed character trait from the prophecy. They didn’t deviate from the philosopher, inventer, and warrior; the lack of growth made them very one-dimensional. Brie, on the other hand, showed an expansion of her character when her friends were threatened; it made her a more likeable character. This growth starts manifesting itself about a third of the way through the book, and then it keeps appearing and disappearing depending on whether anyone on her team is in harms' way.

I did find the author answering questions I had developed in the beginning of the story. I questioned what the crystals did, what fight Rynah had with her grandfather, and what did her grandfather do? Thankfully, later in the story the author did a fine job of answering those questions. I did enjoy the premise of the story and think the idea of using a prophecy to find the four heroes was a good one. I also liked how each hero came from a different time. The author did a good job of shocking me at the end of the story and made me wonder if a certain character will be back. I hope in the coming books of the series Ms. McNulty lessens the descriptions and instead gives the characters more growth.

I give Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty 2 out of 4 stars. While I didn’t enjoy it, I believe there may be some readers out there who enjoy her style of writing, and they may be drawn to whatever happens next.

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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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Like Mandy01's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Mallory Whitaker]

This sounds like it has a really interesting premise but man, what a bummer that you only thought one of the characters really developed. That's definitely a turn-off. The over-emphasizing of details is too. I've been considering reading this one due to some other positive reviews but now I'm not so sure. Thank you for the great review!

[Mandy01]

This sounds like it has a really interesting premise but man, what a bummer that you only thought one of the characters really developed. That's definitely a turn-off. The over-emphasizing of details is too. I've been considering reading this one due to some other positive reviews but now I'm not so sure. Thank you for the great review!

I'm hopeful the future books in the series will add more character depth and give readers a greater understanding of their personalities. Thank you for checking out my review!

[Mallory Whitaker]

That is the beautiful part about series, isn't it? Hopefully it's all part of their master plan!