A book that touches on so many different aspects of myth, mathematics, classics, and archeology requires the input of many different experts. My great thanks to Mine Gezen, my incomparable guide to Ephesus, who made Artemis’s sacred city truly come alive. A special thank-you as well to the magnificent staff at the Cella Boutique Hotel in Selçuk, without whom my adventures in Ephesus might have ended abruptly in a busted rental car on a Turkish beach. Ian Caldwell volunteered his research on the site of the Phrygianum beneath Vatican City. Steve Anderson and Ben Arons assisted my understanding of Big Bang acoustics. Erika Schluntz lent her archeologist’s eye to the entire text and provided invaluable help with Greek and Latin pronunciation. Kathy Seaman generously volunteered her exceptional proofreading skills. As always, my efforts at translating ancient languages would be impossible without the assistance of Dr. Anne Shaw and Dr. Michael Shaw, classicists extraordinaire. If errata remain, I alone am to blame.
Tegan Tigani, to whom this book is dedicated, has traveled with me into the worlds of our imagination since we first built gnome homes together on the shores of Narragansett Bay in 1986. My appreciation for her editorial and publishing advice is equaled only by my gratitude for her unfailing enthusiasm and friendship. Proving myself worthy of her love has been one of the great projects of my life.
To my other indefatigable readers, Helen Shaw and John Wray: This book would not be half as good without you. Your honesty—and your unstinting generosity of both spirit and time—made every chapter, every scene, better. Emily Shooltz and Sharon Green lent their much-needed fresh eyes at the last minute. Thanks as well to my agent, Jennifer Joel, my very own Protector of the Innocent Novelist.
My family—the Brodskys, Millses, and my New York family of friends—have not only shared this adventure with me; they’ve made it possible through their love and support.
Lindsey Hall, my editor at Orbit Books, took on Olympus Bound with enthusiasm and dedication. My great thanks to her for her excellent editorial suggestions, heartfelt encouragement, and hard work. And to the rest of the staff at Orbit and Hachette—Tim Holman, Ellen Wright, Laura Fitzgerald, Tommy Harron, Alex Lencicki, Kirk Benshoff, and so many others—I could not imagine a more supportive and joyful community than the one at Hachette Book Group. I’m honored you’ve made me a part of it.
And finally, to the man who held my hand and pulled me to the top of Mount Olympus while carrying every ounce of our supplies on his back, who happily trekked through Greece and Turkey hunting every possible Artemis reference, whose insights never failed to improve this book even after his third read, who inspired me with his love of both math and action movies, and who has been the love of my life for the past twenty years: Thank you, Jason. You are, and always will be, my Perfect Number.