Part of Tales of the Terran Republic, book 6
First published 2023
Caine Riordan faces his most desperate situation yet when he and twelve crew members become stranded on a failing alien vessel in uncharted space. Their computers are destroyed, their position unknown, and they have just forty-eight hours before the ship burns up in the atmosphere of the barren planet below. With no functioning lander, they must use cargo pods never designed for human evacuation to survive a fiery descent from orbit. The planet appears lifeless from space, dominated by violent storms, bleak deserts, and turbulent seas. But the surface reveals far deadlier threats. Carnivorous alien species hunt desperately for food across the wasteland. Primitive, devolved transgenic humans roam the terrain with savage ferocity. Most ominous of all, the ruined cities show clear signs of the Ktor, humanity's most dangerous enemy, who may still inhabit this world. Caine must navigate these overlapping dangers with almost no equipment to keep his people alive.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, action, aliens
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: Ktor
528 pages · Hardcover · Baen
Content warnings: violence