Review by SpeculativeFan -- Solaris Seethes (Solaris Sag...

[SpeculativeFan]

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

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Solaris Seethes is ostensibly a work of science fiction, with AI spaceships and laser weapons, though it also draws on elements of science fantasy, following legend and prophecy as a guiding point. Rynah, a security officer from the planet Lanyr, finds her entire world crashing down around her, quite literally, after her fiance betrays both her personally, and their entire planet, causing widespread chaos and destruction. With the help of Solaris, an AI ship with quite a mind of its own, and a ragtag band of companions snatched from the most unlikely place, she goes out on a mission of equal parts heroism and revenge.

I had some difficulty with this book. There were passages that impressed me with rich description, seamlessly transporting me into alien realms, but there were also passages with confusing syntax and so many embedded clauses and parentheses I could barely make sense of them. The writing felt rushed in places, as if it needed a bit more editing to polish it and create a more cohesive structure. There were no typos, or obvious grammatical errors, but there were quite a few cases of excessively long sentences with confusing or unclear syntax.

The characters in the book fell a bit flat. Rynah, the main character, does not seem to grow or really develop in any way through the entire book; she’s tough, angry, and bitter, and shows no sign of ever changing in any way. Brie, the only other female character, is her perfect foil. Brie is characterized as a cowardly weakling, and though she does at least manage to grow and find some inner strength, she still generally falls flat as a character. The men on board, Solon, Tom, and Alfric, each fill a very specific role, and don’t deviate far from it. Alfric, at least, gets some more character development than the other two, but even so, the three of them remain fairly one dimensional.

The plot of the story also provided both positives and negatives. There were sparks of real originality, like the use of the data crystals to stabilize otherwise unstable planets. However, there were also times the plot felt as though parts of it, like the chase through the asteroid field, were lifted almost straight out of a certain very well known and popular science fantasy movie franchise. As one character, in an all too familiar way, said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Overall, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. The brief moments of nicely flowing description and flashes of originality kept it out of one star range, but the underdeveloped characters, unpolished writing style, and often derivative plot also kept it firmly out of three or four star range.

******
Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords

Like SpeculativeFan's review? Post a comment saying so!