Theft of Fire

"A down-on-his-luck asteroid miner, a mysterious heiress, an ancient alien race--Devon Eriksen's Theft of Fire weaves these classic elements into a story that feels refreshingly cutting-edge, with prose as lean and no-frills as the hero's hand-rolled spaceship. The physics are so tight it feels like he spent hours plotting out each scene with a slide rule, and the characters so lovingly drawn I believed in them from the first line of dialog--including one of the most convincing post-GPT AIs I've seen in print. If you're tired of stories that preach at you, insult your intelligence, or feed you member berries like a kid in a zoo, if you're after a book that promises a good old-fashioned hard sci-fi adventure in the spirit of Gregory Benford or James S.A. Corey, and then delivers so much more, then this is one you won't want to miss." —Johnny Schmidt

"This is one hell of a yarn. It has the character development of John Varley, the plot twists of Robert E Taylor, battle scenes that are reminiscent of Jack Campbell, and the dramatic angst of Stephen R. Donaldson. Behind it all lurks an irreverent Nivenesque humor. This story grabbed me in minutes and called me back whenever I set it down." —Robert Martin, author of Clean Code 

"I read this as a beta reader before it had an ISBN. One of the best sci-fi novels I've ever read. Great characters, plot, and not insulting to the reader's intelligence (which is rare for modern sci-fi...)." —Ryan Lackey, Evertas CSO 

"I was a beta reader for this book. I was pulled into this book beginning to end - did not want to put it down! I love a good sci fi heist, but the main strength of Theft of Fire is in it's characters. Our main characters, a down on his luck turned pirate space miner and beautiful rich girl turned extortionist, head off on a dangerous boondoggle to steal a powerful artifact. The relationship is very antagonistic at first, but as the journey progresses, the characters are able to learn more about each other, and also themselves. Watching these characters grow into who they are at the end of the novel in the face of some very real troubles was a treat! I can't wait for book 2!" —Stephanie Hance, engineer

   "Intense. I was also a beta reader, and judging from the original blurb, it sounded like your run-of-the-mill "get a crew together, however reluctant, and run a Space Heist" In a way... it is that. In so many other ways... it's not. HOW DO I DESCRIBE THIS BOOK.
It's like if The Martian had a baby with Red Rising and the whole irreverently-gritty, people-are-messy story was put together by Brandon Sanderson's non-LDS twin brother.
It's like if Firefly met with The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Mike got merged with River Tam to create ToF's AI character, Leela.
It's like if The Expanse zoomed into the experience of just one small ship of people, and delved deeply into their experience, in the middle of a rich and colonized solar system. With more guns.
I don't know what to say, other than, if you read one book this year, MAKE IT THIS BOOK. PUT THEFT OF FIRE ON YOUR 'TO READ' SHELF!" —C. Price, software engineer

Devon is appearing on various podcasts and youtube shows (Plot Pit, the Vance Crowe Podcast, Shelf Builders, possibly World Anvil (tbd), and others). I have connected his book to various influential readers, including Emmett Shear, the co-founder of Twitch, who are providing blurbs and will be saying they like the book upon releases.