The cadets of the Oymyakon Foreign Service Academy know more than most about challenging environments. They experience one every day just while crossing their campus. Their planet barely ranks as habitable on the best of days. But now the third and fourth year cadets face even harsher conditions, climbing to heights nearly at the edge of space and totally within the heart of Oymyakon's ever-present storms.
Murdina Ritchie relishes the opportunity to test her mettle in ways she never could back home in the stable, comfortable environment of a space station. Shackleton Fitz IV delights in freedom from campus life and distance from the growing rumors of political turmoil in the Union of Free Worlds, if only for a few days.
Then a fellow cadet falls to her death. No one in the camp thinks this an accident. But with no way down off the mountain until the storm passes, they all live with the knowledge that a murderer lurks among them, possibly planning to kill again.
Ritchie and Fitz face death all the time. But if a human killer fails to end them, the planet itself just might finish the job. Staying alive calls on them to apply everything they've learned at the academy. But will it be enough?
Author Biography:
Kate MacLeod lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and two sons, although they may head further north soon, as the winters in Minnesota just don't get cold enough anymore. She has two dogs, Mugen and Tachikoma, and a cat named Spike Spiegel. Her short fiction has appeared in Analog, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Abyss and Apex among others.Find out more about the author at www.katemacleod.net.
Choose a destination to see accurate shipping times, delivery options, pricing and product availability.
Afterpay logo
Shop now. Pay later. Always interest‑free.
Swing through the checkout with Afterpay.Get your order now, pay in four fortnightly payments.
Afterpay offers simple payment plans for online shoppers, instantly at checkout.Buy what you want today, pay for it over time. Interest free, with no additional fees if you pay on
time.
1
Select Afterpay as your payment method
Use your existing payment card
2
Complete your checkout in seconds
No long forms, instant approval
3
Get your items just as fast as always
Your order ships straight away
4
Pay over four payments, interest free
Enjoy now, pay later
How it works
Simply select Afterpay as your payment method in the checkout or when picking up your items from the Mighty Ape distribution centre,
and enter your details at Afterpay to complete your order
Your payment schedule will be shown in the checkout, and emailed to you
If you are a new Afterpay customer, the first payment will be made at the time of purchase, with
remaining payments over the next 6 weeks
Once you have been an Afterpay customer for 6 weeks, on subsequent orders you may be eligible to
make your first payment in 14 days, with final payment in 8 weeks
If you need to return your items for a refund, the payment plan can be cancelled
If you fail to make a payment, you will be charged a late payment fee of $10 with a further $7
fee added 7 days later if the payment is still unpaid