Machine's Last Testament

Acknowledgments

Writing a book is like climbing a mountain, and a book as long as this one enormously more so: by the time this sees publication, it’ll have been four years since I started writing the manuscript that eventually became Machine’s Last Testament. My thanks to my editor Sean Wallace and my first readers, Greta and J. Moufawad-Paul, who gave a lot of time and patience to look through this very long, very involved manuscript. My gratitude to Cassandra Khaw, a brilliant human being and even more brilliant author, the best literary friend one could hope to have.

For Sasha, who has a special place in this novel. For Isa, Mara, Fin, Sy, and Serra who gave their time as sounding boards. For Alex, Penny, and Tori, who have put up with my incessant complaints during the (extremely lengthy) process that went into the manuscript. My gratitude to Matthew and Allison, who have excellent tastes and opinions in books. The list of people who have kept me on an even keel while I wrote this book is nearly endless, but I’m determined not to leave anyone out: Nona, Lily, Tammy, Claire, and Stella. You’re all gems.

To those who have seen people like us meet tragic ends over and over on the page and on the screen: this one is for you. We’re done getting buried.

And as always, to my readers. Thank you so much for having made this book, and all the others that came before, possible.