Lost Solace and Chasing Solace

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 Lost Solace and Chasing Solace, by Karl Drinkwater

Super low-effort covers, but very pretty

 Opal has stolen a spaceship, hacked it into a personality she calls Clarissa, and is on a quest to find...something.  She and Clarissa end up exploring an accretion disk around a neutron star, which hides a drifting Lost Ship (every so often ships disappear, and legend has it that they sometimes reappear years later).  Opal needs to find this something on the deserted liner, but it's not so deserted, and it isn't much like it once was, and the military has tracked her here.

It's not a spoiler to reveal that Opal is looking for her little sister.  They were forcibly separated years ago, and Opal has been preparing to find Clarissa -- who she promised to protect -- ever since.  This stolen ship is her chance, and she's determined to either get her sister back or die trying.  That second one is a much more probable outcome.

This is a very exciting set of stories, set in a future that seems all too probable.  The atmosphere is not totally dissimilar to the Murderbot stories, and I think Murderbot fans would also like these.  Opal is on her own, but she's not alone; the Clarissa-ship develops quite a lot of personality, and is able to learn and grow.  She becomes a character in her own right.  The Lost Ships are fantastic settings, mysterious and creepy, full of surprises...think Rendezvous with Rama or similar.

There are also four novellas to go with these two novels, and I think it will be very worth it to read them all.   I have to at least read the one that tells Clarissa's story from her point of view!

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