I got this hardcover at Barnes and Noble. It's a graphic novel about a dangerous deep-space quest for a rare flower that might be the key to saving millions of lives. But the spacecraft is damaged while entering the planet's atmosphere, leaving ambitious scientist North as the only survivor - or so she thinks. She's got a bead on the backup shuttle craft, which survived the disaster but has landed a good distance away; can she reach it over the unpredictable and dangerous terrain of this strange world? And will she be able to find the plant that was the purpose the the expedition?

As if that wasn't enough stress, she discovers that another crew member has also survived, one whose wilderness survival skills are superior to her own. But the backup shuttle only has room for one, so if she doesn't get there first she'll be left behind. And so begins a slow race across deadly obstacles, where the very plants can be lethal, and where North becomes more and more desperate to sabotage her rival so that she can reach the shuttle first.

Given how scanty the actual dialogue is, the story's quite intense, with revelations along the way as to the backgrounds of both survivors, their relationships with the rest of the crew, the truth about the final moments of their spacecraft - and, eventually, with the failure or success of the mission.

The behavior of the characters - especially North - gets pretty brutal and underhanded, and it's left to the reader to decide how much of that was justified by the extreme circumstances. An action-packed story, with clever use of technology and lots of emotional depth.

I'm adding this to the Science Fiction bookbox (bookbox journal here), which will be on its way to its next stop soon. Enjoy!

*** Released for the 2021 Science Fiction challenge. ***

Keeping this as part of erishkigal’s Science Fiction Bookbox.  Can’t wait to read it! 

Passing along to a friend to utilize in her classroom or drop at a little free library.