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Book Review | Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater

I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts about Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater.

 

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 696.0 KB

Print Length: 202 pages

Publisher: Organic Apocalypse (31 Oct. 2017)

Language: English

ASIN: B0787HLF4X

Sometimes spaceships disappear with everyone on board – the Lost Ships. But sometimes they come back, strangely altered, derelict, and rumoured to be full of horrors.

Opal is on a mission. She’s been seeking something her whole life. Something she is willing to die for. And she thinks it might be on a Lost Ship.

Opal has stolen Clarissa, an experimental AI-controlled spaceship, from the military. Together they have tracked down a Lost Ship, in a lonely nebula far from colonised space.

The Lost Ship is falling into the gravity well of a neutron star, and will soon be truly lost … forever. Legends say the ships harbour death, but there’s no time for indecision.

Opal gears up to board it. She’s just one woman, entering an alien and lethal environment. But perhaps with the aid of Clarissa’s intelligence – and an armoured spacesuit – Opal may stand a chance.

Book Review

I love how, with the help of a writer’s words, our imagination can take us anywhere at all.  For a couple of days I’ve been in deep space, confronting all sorts of challenges that have taken me to the edge of life and back, all done with the assistance of a 6th gen AI who is closer to me than anyone else in my life.

Magic?  Oh yes.

I loved the fact we have two (I’m counting Clarissa, the AI in this) strong female leads who make split second decisions from very limited options, showing true grit and resilience.  Who are not adverse to breaking the rules to get what’s needed and pushing through to the end and yet are loyal and steadfast.  An appearance from a senior member of the military only serves to highlight issues of freedom and morality.  Do you follow what you know to be true or do you bend your knee to the hierarchy?  It’s not until later on that we find out for sure what drives Opal’s behaviour.  For once it didn’t matter to me.  She had my vote from the beginning.  All readers will be able to able to identify with the psychology that underpins the story as well as feel a connection to Opal.

I was interested in the technological side of the story.  Not that I know much about hardware and software or military programmes so it could all be a load of hokum but I did find it fascinating!  I often forgot that Clarissa was an AI …

The challenges and action keep moving at a fabulous pace.  And what a setting!  Within the space ship, so many nooks and rooms as well as open walkways for anything to happen.  I was quite happy to be ‘blind’, with no expectations of what might come next, to let Karl Drinkwater lead me on through this alien territory. I knew whatever was coming would up my adrenalin and get me sitting on the edge of my seat.  Plenty of those moments throughout Lost Solace.

I’m hoping there will be a sequel!  What are the consequences? What happens about the stowaway? What happens when they get to the coordinates?  I don’t have an issue when a story ends and I have questions because it can lead your imagination to all sorts of places.  However, I would love more from Opal and Clarissa 🙂  I think Lost Solace would make an awesome console game.

This has been a fast paced read for me and a story I have no hesitation in recommending.

Lost Solace is available to purchase in Kindle and paperback formats.

Connect with Karl

Twitter @karldrinkwater


Books in the Lost Solace series (Karl Drinkwater)

Lost Solace (Book 1)

Chasing Solace (Book 2)

Hidden Solace (Book 3)

Raising Solace (Book 4)

Finding Solace (Book 5)

Lost Tales of Solace

Helene

Grubane

Clarissa

Ruabon

I'm passionate about helping others to find a centre of calm. On my mental well-being journey I've qualified in different 'therapies' including Mindfulness and as a Mental Health First Aider.  I took my love of crochet one step further too with a crochet diploma.  Join me on:  Substack | Twitter  |   Facebook  |  Pinterest  |  LinkedIn  |  Threads Read More Behind the Scenes

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