Review of Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)

[Carla Sipsma]

[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 starts with Rynah, a native on the planet of Lanyr. Rynah works at a geo-lab as part of the security team, when the lab is attacked by an elitist group led by her ex-fiancé, Klanor. Klanor steals a crystal contained within the lab, which controls the planets’ gravitational forces. As a result, the planet begins to break down. Rynah tries to retrieve the crystal and fails, and she is thus forced to escape her home planet on a spaceship, named Solaris, which was left to her by her grandfather. To prevent Klanor from stealing the five remaining crystals with which he plans to forge a weapon and destroy entire solar systems, Rynah must collect them before him by following an ancient prophecy. The prophecy states that she must assemble four heroes from planet earth, to help her on her mission. Solaris, who has artificial intelligence and a big personality of her own, chooses and retrieves the four earthlings: Solon, a scribe from ancient Rome. Alfric, a Viking king in his prime. Brie, a modern-day teenager, and Tom, an inventor from the future. They must learn to work together whilst navigating dangerous situations and exploring planets made of ice, plants, water, and sand, to successfully retrieve the crystals.

This is a fast-paced read full of action and adventure. The different planets and their inhabitants are written nicely with lots of details. Descriptions of events, such as the pirate attack, are compelling and efficient. The ending was abrupt and shocking, making the reader eager for the next book. Rynah is a strong character and a fierce leader. Each of the other team members has their own issues, but they work together and care for each other. Solaris’s personality is sassy and sarcastic, and she is the glue that keeps everyone together.

Although Rynah needs the help of the four earthlings, she is sometimes very rude and abrupt with them. She is especially mean to Brie. This makes the reader angry and frustrated with Rynah, but it gives room for some character growth, hopefully in the sequels. In the book, the aliens use a lot of references related to earth, which feels out of place for an alien setting. At one stage an alien referred to aliens as humankind, which does not make sense as they are not humans. I also think the four humans adapted too quickly to the whole idea of space travel, aliens, and superior technology. Especially those who were from ancient times. The writer uses a lot of parentheses in her writing style. She would start a sentence and write a very long description, and by the time you are finished reading the parenthesis, you have forgotten what the sentence was about. Multiple examples of this can be found throughout the book. There are quite a few grammatical errors at the start of the book. A few racial and sexual remarks might be offensive for some readers.

This is an easy read with plenty of action if you are prepared to set aside any previous sci-fi notions you might have. The character descriptions and their backgrounds are lacking in some areas, but this gives the reader the opportunity to learn more about them in the sequels. This book will be a good read for young adults and teens who are fans of time travel, sci-fi, aliens, and space travel.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 because it has the potential to be a very interesting and intriguing story, but unfortunately, there were too many grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Too much information was crammed into the book with not enough depth about the characters, for example, the main villain.

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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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