Clarissa

Clarissa (Lost Tales Of Solace #3)

by Karl Drinkwater
Genres: Science Fiction
Published on June 1, 2021
Pages: 102
Source: Book Tour

If you’re reading this: HELP! I’ve been kidnapped.
Me and my big sister stayed together after our parents died. We weren’t bothering anybody. But some mean government agents came anyway, and split us up.
Now I’m a prisoner on this space ship. The agents won’t even say where we’re going.
I hate them.
And things have started to get a bit weird. Nullspace is supposed to be empty, but when I look out of the skywindows I can see … something. Out there. And I think it wants to get in here. With us.
My name is Clarissa. I am ten years old.
And they will all be sorry when my big sister comes to rescue me.
Lost Tales of Solace are short side-stories set in the Lost Solace universe.


I adored Clarissa. She is an imaginative ten year old who has been forcibly separated from her sister and she is NOT HAPPY. Her voice is that of a gifted child. She notices things that the adults around her don’t. Her priorities are different than those of an adult. She has decided that she is going to be as stubborn and noncooperative as possible with these people who have taken her.

This is a short story set in a fictional universe that I know nothing about. From reading other reviews, I’m guessing that the main storyline follows Clarissa’s older sister Opal. For fans of the series this short story may fill in some gaps. I’m coming to it with fresh eyes. There was enough world building included that I was able to understand the story. It did intrigue me enough to consider picking up the first book to see for sure what is going on.

Like most short stories, this one left me with more questions than answers. It appeared to end abruptly and I’m not quite sure what happened. Maybe that will be more clear if I read more.


Karl Drinkwater writes thrilling SF, suspenseful horror, and contemporary literary fiction. Whichever you pick you’ll find interesting and authentic characters, clever and compelling plots, and believable worlds.Karl has lived in many places but now calls Scotland his home. He’s an ex-librarian with degrees inEnglish, Classics, and Information Science. He also studied astrophysics for a year at university, surprising himself by winning a prize for “Outstanding Performance”.

When he isn’t writing he loves guitars, exercise, computer and board games, nature, and vegan cake. Not necessarily in that order.