bekeleven

Still not as good as Italian Spiderman.

Mr. Zahn, huge fan. My question is this: Before the mid-90s, your published work mainly fell into two categories: Speculative hard Sci-Fi (Cascade Point, Deadman Switch) and Pulp Adventure (Cobra, Blackcollar). Since then, and especially since 2002, I think you've shifted the focus of your hard-science books into being mystery novels first and foremost (The Icarus Hunt, the first non-Star Wars novel of yours I read, is about criminal and political conspiracies first and tech second in my view. Quadrail I see as mostly pulp with a science backdrop). Are you ever planning on going back to books about exploring the ramifications of cool scientific ideas? Is this a deliberate decision, or do you take ideas one book at a time and not worry about trends? Or do you disagree with my analysis entirely?

Bonus question: The Green and the Grey is your only novel I'd classify as Urban Fantasy. Was it a one-time thing or are you thinking of returning to the genre?

Bonus question 2: What was the earliest novel where you got to provide input on the cover design, and what was it?

P.S. My favorite idea of yours is The Final Report on the Lifeline Experiment. I reference it a lot when talking about non-invasive magic in fantasy.