Peter & I have much in common. Both of us are around the same age, both of us have biological & technical backgrounds. It made me love his writing even more and none of the marine science or programming terms was lost on me.

But a funny thing happened. Before I even knew who Peter Watts was, I was in the NYC library and came across his second book, Maelstrom. I went onto the library’s checkout list and saw there was one copy of Starfish but that I was like, the fifth person in the queue for a two-week checkout each. So I grabbed Maelstrom first and read it. I was so hooked that I sought out a contact link for Peter Watts and emailed him how much I loved Maelstrom, even knowing that Starfish was the 1st in the series, and that I could not wait to get Starfish from the library. I also told him we had very similar backgrounds.

The email I got back from him was terse–“You are suppose the read starfish first! Go buy it!”

Honestly, having read Maelstrom first, did not reveal any spoilers, in fact, made Starfish seem like a super great backstory and made the ending trilogy dessert! However, I will recommend you read them in order, and if you do not, just don’t let Peter know.

As an aside, Peter’s response to me has made me, as a writer; think about the readers of my current WIP (Silversides Trilogy) and can I make each seem like a complete work, yet strung together seem brilliant? So far, I feel my second draft will make this a reality. So thank you Peter Watts.