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Space

Jakub Szamalek

Jakub szamalek

Author Bio

Jakub Szamalek is Narrative Director at Rebel Wolves game studio. Born in Poland in 1986, he studied in the UK, at Oxford and then Cambridge, where he was a Cambridge Gates Scholar. He is an author and the writer behind the international video game bestsellers, including The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Blood of Dawnwalker. Among Jakub's books is the award-winning Hidden Web series of thrillers, which has been adapted into a major motion picture by Monolith Films. His work has been translated to more than half a dozen languages. He lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with his family.

About Inner Space

By Jakub Szamalek, Translated by Kasia Beresford

A wonderfully crafted space thriller. It has everything we loved about The Martian or Gravity, but more psychological depth. It’s also a chilling picture of the Russian mentality and its workings, written by someone who truly understands it. With the resurgent conflict between the East and the West and the return of the threat of totalitarianism, this blockbuster book couldn’t be more timely.”—Zygmunt Miloszewski, bestselling author of Rage and Priceless
 

American and Russian astronauts are trapped together in the International Space Station as war breaks out in Ukraine and life support functions begin to fail in this action-packed debut technothriller that ripples with the tension and danger of Solaris and Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary.
 

When an ammonia leak threatens the astronauts on the International Space Station, NASA directs Lucy Poplasky, one of the ISS’s first female commanders, to investigate the cause. Russia has just invaded Ukraine and tensions are running high—could the leak be a brazen act of sabotage?
 

The Russian cosmonauts aboard deny tampering with the ship’s systems and insist on the issue stems from the American side. As levels of the poisonous gas rise, Lucy’s investigation shatters trust between the Russian and Western crews, exposing deep fissures in the partnership thousands of miles below.

Intense and unrelenting, Inner Space questions what truly draws us to the stars: the urge to explore the unknown, selfish ambition, or an instinct to run away from the entrenched troubles on Earth?

Translated from the Polish by Kasia Beresford

Inner space cover image
Moon Clouds

Reviews

"A Crichtonesque cascade of mistakes and misunderstandings in an all-too-plausible but entertaining thriller.' — Booklist

"This adrenaline-fueled, political space thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats." — Library Journal Starred review

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