The Atomic Sea: Volume Six — Jack Conner

Things are even more dire for our intrepid band after the events of Part Five. The Starfish might be gone, but the real threat is just being revealed. Worse, Doc Avery might have to face it alone -- or at least without the help of Layanna, Janx and Hildra, his trusted friends. He's all too close to Jess Sheridan these days ... and the Octunggen she works with. Agents of Octung murdered Avery's wife and daughter and he hates them bitterly. Now to save the world from something worse, he finds himself forced to work alongside them. But that won't be easy. Their mission takes them into the freezing wastes of Xlaca, a continent far to the north, a frozen, howling place peopled by fur-clad (and sometimes just furred) barbarians, at least to Avery's eyes. Worse, the great city of Xlatleb is under blockade by Octunggen ships and currently in a state of civil unrest. Somehow Avery and Sheridan must navigate this hellish terrain, deal with the strange people there and find the object that might stop the Collossum for good and all -- the Codex. If that weren't problematic enough, things get really tricky when Uthua shows back up -- the terrible Collossum himself, powerful and ancient, and an implacable foe of Avery and all humanity. But that's just the beginning! Hold onto your seats. This is going to be a wild ride.