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

[semily]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty is the first book of a 4 part series. The book follows the intergalactic adventures of a team of misfits thrown together due to each member's possession of a certain quality: a warrior, philosopher, inventor and lover. They are led by the stern Rynah who has brought them together from different places and times in order to fulfill a prophecy she had once thought ridiculous. Solaris, the namesake of the series, is none other than the ship that they are transported in. A feisty Artificial Intelligence, she makes up a lot of the comedic relief and has ironically the most human actions and thoughts in the book.

I really enjoyed this book. I was actually hooked from the very brief, but gripping prologue which sets the tone and leaves a mysterious feeling that I feel wasn't quite solved in this book. That isn't necessarily a problem however as after completing the book I was encouraged to read the next one in the series to get those answers. Despite being a fantasy science fiction book it is really accessible. Many of the planets the characters visit have similarities with Earth, such as having similar plants or landscapes, but the author manages to vary them enough that they don't feel like tired cliches. I actually liked that there were obvious similarities between the peoples and environments of these places and it didn't fall into the trap of naming everyone something generic beginning with the letter 'Z' or having excessive alien dialogue. This made room for the plot, and also made sense on a purely practical level seeing as life on other planets would likely share some similarities with us.

Though the descriptions of these places are interesting, the main focus of the book is the relationship between the characters. Some are instantly friends and have almost familial bonds, and others instantly resent and dislike one another. I liked this as it felt realistic as a group of people forced together into quite a stressful, ominous scenario wouldn't necessarily all become fast friends. However, I did feel it was a bit expected to make the only two female characters have constant antagonism with one another and this wasn't tackled with other than to describe Rynah's bitterness at the other one feeling scared. It was a trope often featured throughout the book and Brie, the character in question, getting over that fear was also a big point, but it was actually only logical for her to feel scared when the circumstances of her involvement were that a 16 year old girl was suddenly taken from her home to be part of this team against her will. Rynah's actions and motivations were my only minor grievance with the book actually, as although she had a difficult task to undertake, she felt like a cliche at times due to her constant bitterness towards both Solaris and Brie. This was particularly the case when she would repeatedly mention that sometimes she forgot Solaris had 'feelings' despite being AI. I felt as though her inner thoughts were being excessively used to remind the reader of this fact when there wasn't really a need for it. There were areas where she redeemed herself, and these tended to be when it focused less on these tropes and more on her character in its own right. I think the characters were well fleshed out although one character Alfric, a Viking leader, was a little too prone to calling upon 'Odin' for my liking!

I think my favourite thing about the book was that it didn't baby its reader. It immediately began with action in an alien planet and only told the story of the here and now, rather than wasting time giving us more background information than we actually needed. Similarly, like mentioned with the planetary descriptions, though they were in depth, they didn't go over the top in telling us how these planets were so different to ours that we couldn't possibly comprehend. The pacing of the book was also excellent. The chapters varied in length, meaning for example that action scenes could go into great detail when required, and sometimes shorter chapters would describe actions outside of the main characters only briefly without fully evaluating their motivations leading to a feeling of intrigue. In fact, the main antagonist of the book is only encountered a few times and instead this first book focuses much more on the bonding within the group and them coming to grips with what it is that they face. This helped to create an air of mystery which I liked as it made me want to keep reading to find this out. I also liked that the book ended on a semi cliff hanger. It wasn't quite teasing, but it brought up an action that was unexpected and I wanted to see how the author would explain this in the next book in the series.

I would give this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed reading the story and found the plot very original. I liked the mix of characters and how they interacted with one another for the most part, other than the occasional cliche interaction such as when the antagonist immediately offered Rynah reprieve despite having just moments before having committed an act of great evil that directly hurt her. Despite the 4 characters other than Rynah possessing the individual qualities of the prophecy, they are also well fleshed out characters that go beyond these simple adjectives. I think Solaris is the star of the show and making her AI was a clever choice from the author as it fits with the genre and centres the book around her. This is important as there are many different conflicts and environments they are forced to deal with. I think without a central figure like Solaris it could have become a little more confusing. I think it is an excellent first book in a series as it tells enough without giving too much away.

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Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)
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