As most writers would surely know, a true and comprehensive page of acknowledgements would require tips of the hat going out to manifold persons far and wide. But in the interests of brevity, clarity, maybe even hilarity, I’ll have to leave out half the human race (y’all know who you are) and direct thankees to those whose own works have inspired me to launch myself full-bodied upon the mighty task of space opera, them being Eric Brown, Bill King, David Brin, Dave Wingrove, Iain Banks, Ken Macleod, Gary Gibson, Ian Mcdonald, Vernor Vinge, Dan Simmons, the Big Three – Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke – Ian Watson, Neal Asher, Jack Vance, Andre Norton, and, undoubtedly, a host of others that my feebletastic brain has failed to bring to mind. Checksum failed, assuredly.
In addition, mention must be made of those stalwart pioneers of Scottish spec-fic, the Glasgow SF Writers Circle, as well as our Edinburgh counterparts, and the redoubtable Andrew J Wilson. Munificent thanks should also be extended to John Parker at MBA Literary Agency, and by no means least to my editor, Darren Nash, whose critical eagle-eye (some kind of editorial special perception) and amiable, enthusiastic persistence kept me and the book on track. Encouragement and rethink-jogging came from other quarters at various points along the book’s timeline, from the likes of John Jarrold, Joshua Bilmes, Stewart Robinson, John Marks, Eddie Black and the copy editors at Orbit.
Musical accompaniment was provided by the likes of Pallas, Fish, Eisbrecher, Colony5, Robert Schroeder, Klaus Schulze, Racer X, Ozric Tentacles, Opeth, the amazing Mustasch, as well as such doomlords as Penance, Novembre, Candlemass, Paradise Lost, and Krux, as well as Paisley’s preacher of prog, Graeme Fleming, and Sheffield’s missionary of metal, Ian Sales. KDI!