What a journey it has been. Each life is a caravan, and the same could be said of every book as well. Now, seven volumes in, the journey has become nothing if not migratory, a project turning on a great many people in countless ways. My family, of course, makes the whole thing possible. Sharron and Ruby are my binary star system—the reason for life on my planet. I need to thank my Agent, Chris Lotts, along with everyone who makes him possible. I need to thank Tracy Carns, Michael Mah, and the crews at Overlook and Orbit. My beta readers, Mike Hillcoat, Zach Rice, Andy Tressler, Jason Deem, Ken Thorpe, Bryan Bakker, and Roger Eichorn deserve special mention, as does Mike Roy. I want to thank everyone who participates at the Second Apocalypse forum and at Three Pound Brain.
I would also like to give a shout-out to all those who have joined this mad trek, all my fellow scalpers on the Slog. This series is unlikely in so many ways that only you, ultimately, could make it possible. An epic fantasy series with a companion piece in The Journal of Consciousness Studies! That would be some crazy shit, as the saying goes. I have to thank you, gentle reader, for suffering this old Schoolman for a span, and listening to his apocalyptic tales, both real and imagined.