FROM ROB
Thanks to Alex, for shooting me a text one day that probably said something like: “Hey man, want to jam on a sci-fi novel?” And here we are. I feel very lucky to have such a patient and talented collaborative partner. The fact that we’re still pals after writing a whole book together is testament to our friendship!
On behalf of me and Alex, thanks to Josh Getzler, our agent, and his assistant, Jon Cobb, as well as the entire team at HG Literary. Also, Team Blackstone: Addi Wright, Cole Barnes, Marilyn Kretzer, Nikki Carrero, Rebecca Malzahn, Rachel Sanders, Tatiana Radujkovic, Josie Woodbridge, Andy Kifer, and anyone else we missed (sorry!). Big thanks to Candice Edwards for the amazing cover!
Finally, thank you to my daughter, Abby—this book dreams about a better place in the universe for humanity, and she’s where I looked for that inspiration.
FROM ALEX
Huge thanks to Rob for helping bring this idea to life. Rob’s the ideal cowriter: talented, hardworking, and low on ego. As always, the best idea always won, and we were able to put our heads together to create a story that felt both fresh and familiar—evoking our favorite things while melding with our voices. The end result is a book that reads like something apart from our own, solo work—which is the goal. Neither of us could’ve written this book alone.
The idea for Dark Space (Star Trek meets John le Carré) was born out of a passion for epic sci-fi—Star Trek, Star Wars, The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica—and wanting to weave an espionage story through that kind of universe. I owe a big debt to some of my favorite contemporary speculative fiction authors, who proved to be consistently inspiring and amazing: Zoraida Córdova, Justina Ireland, Charles Soule, David Mack, Dayton Ward, Una McCormack, Cavan Scott, Michael Moreci, Michael Jan Friedman, Keith R. A. DeCandido, John Jackson Miller, Ben H. Winters, Lauren Beukes, James S. A. Corey, John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Charlie Jane Anders, and many more.
The novels of John le Carré—particularly those staring the stuffy, middle manager George Smiley, loomed large over this novel, and I’m grateful for the months spent revisiting them while writing Dark Space.
As always, I’m thankful to the readers, librarians, booksellers, reviewers, and tastemakers who support and celebrate our books. Without you, these books would not exist.
I’m forever indebted to the many author friends and colleagues I’ve met over the years—particularly Kellye Garrett, Amina Akhtar, Liz Little, Wanda Morris, Shawn Cosby, Yasmin Angoe, Sandra S. G. Wong, Alafair Burke, Laura Lippman, and so many more. In a business that is always competitive and often confusing, it’s a great balm to know they’re in my corner.
I owe everything to my family—especially my wife, Eva, and our two children, Guillermo and Lucia. Thank you for keeping me grounded, focused, and loved.