They say sequels are the hardest books to write. We wish we could say this one was an exception. This book was quite the exciting voyager ride, with some wobbly liftoffs, rocky asteroid belts, and interplanetary flight turbulence, but thanks to the help of some truly amazing people, we arrived safely.
Merci, as always, to our fantastique editor, Nicole Ellul, whose commitment to and belief in this series has never faltered. You are truly a superstar and we couldn’t do this without you! Thanks to our ’soop agent, Jim McCarthy, and the whole team at Simon & Schuster, including (but certainly not limited to), Mara Anastas, Liesa Abrams, Chriscynethia Floyd, Mary Nubla, Christine Foye, Ruqayyah Daud, Julie Jarema, Emily Hutton, Michael Rosamilia, Heather Palisi, Nicole Overton, Elizabeth Mims, Lauren Carr, Nicole Russo, Caitlin Sweeny, Alissa Nigro, Annika Voss, and Anna Jarzab. And a special shout out to Clare McGlade, our amazing copyeditor, who we have now renamed “Sister Clare.” You’re a genius and truly deserve your own set of Devotion Beads!
Huge thank you to the wonderful and inspiring Marissa Meyer, Stephanie Garber, Beth Revis, Jessica Khoury, Danielle Paige, and Brendan Reichs for supporting this series! We are so honored to have your names on our book! And thank you to Caitlin O’Brient Bauer and the “Sky Pod”—Stephanie, Brittany Michelle L, Dayle, Michelle B, Christy, Becca, and Mariana—for everything you did to launch this series so epically into space!
We were fortunate to have access to some pretty amazing minds when creating this world and particularly when writing this book. First off, thank you to our incredible teen beta readers, Nini Kauffman-O’Hehir and Fae Leonard-Mann (who read this book at impressive hypervoyage speeds!) and to our star-studded team of experts (we claim full responsibility for any errors or fictional liberties that we took!) Marguerite Syverston, once again, you kept our stars aligned, our orbits orbiting, and our hurtling asteroids at a safe distance. Steven Williams, thank you for the crash course in genetics, DNA editing, and something called CRISPR. (Which we initially thought was a snack … good thing we had you!) Author Jussi Valtonen, thanks for keeping all the brains in check (both ours and our characters’) with your neuroscience expertise! Merci beaucoup, Caroline Roland-Levy for being our “rock française!” and for never getting tired of our late-night frantic texts asking questions like, “What do French pilots call the thing that steers the plane?” Thank you also to author and Chess Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade, Electrical Engineer Bill Herz, and Cybersecurity expert Patterson Cake.
Wow, Billelis! You did it again with another truly stunning book cover that we still cannot stop staring at! And Francesca Baerald, you put the “divine” in System Divine. Your maps bring this world to life and we thank you for every beautifully drawn wave, mountain, and craggy coastline!
We are infinitely grateful to all the indie booksellers of the world who supported this book, displayed it on your beautiful shelves, and placed it in the hands of readers. You make author dreams come true every single day. Special thanks to A Great Good Place for Books, Blue Willow Bookshop, Books Inc., Books of Wonder, Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, Oblong Books & Music, Once Upon a Time, Powell’s, Red Balloon Bookshop, Rediscovered Books, RJ Julia Booksellers, Square Books, Tattered Cover, Third Place Books, University Bookstore, and Vintage Books.
And last but never least, thank you to all our amazing readers. We love that you love Chatine, Marcellus, and Alouette as much as we do and we can’t wait for you to find out what’s in store for them next! Vive Laterre and vive all of you!
—Joanne and Jessica
So many thanks, as always, to all my friends who have supported my books and who helped pick up the slack when I had to shut myself away, writing and editing. In particular, huge thank yous to Donna Lewis, Pamela Mann, Lesley Sawhill, and Ron Aja. And Jess! My cowriter, capitaine, and (most of all) friend. You inspire me every day!
Thank you to my family, especially my mum, Kate Matthews who is always one of my first readers and Jana and Alan Lewis who are the most loving and supportive in-laws I could imagine. And, of course, Benny Rendell and Brad Lewis. Thank you for your endless support and patience during all the hours I was pulled into deep space by this book, and for how rich, fun, and infinitely interesting you make my life back on Earth!
—Joanne
Thank you to my J-Team: Jess, Jo, and Jenn for your pep talks, late-night texts, funny gifs, final-hour brainstorm calls, and all-around awesomeness. If speed dial was still a thing, you three would have the top spots.
I would never be able to do what I do without my tremendously supportive (and oftentimes quirky) family behind me. Thank you to Michael and Laura Brody for listening, reading, offering advice, and entertaining the dogs when this book kept me locked away for days. Thank you to my fabulous sister Terra Brody, my equally fabulous brother-in-law, Pier, and my Texas family, Vicki, George, and Jen. And as always, thank you to Charlie, my heart and Sol, my rock, and my cocapitaine. You’ve read more drafts than I can count, have seen Les Misérables more times than I’m sure you want to count, and have listened to me go round and round in plot circles more times than I thought possible. And yet, you’re still here. Merci.
—Jessica