Inner Space is an action-packed debut technothriller that ripples with the tension and danger of Solaris and Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary.
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LitStack book lovers, gather ’round! LitStack’s got the scoop on Inner Space by Jakub Szamalek, in presale now. It’s the English translation of the book by author Jakub Szamalek, and let’s just say, the whispers are getting LOUD. This book is a must read. Harper Collins is teasing us with a glimpse of the cover and a few hints about what’s inside. We’re showing every detail available, from the intriguing cover art and the publisher’s carefully crafted introduction to advance reader praise that will help you pre-order today. Let’s do this.
In This Spotlight On Inner Space
About Inner Space
In Inner Space, 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.
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
Praise for Inner Space
“A Crichtonesque cascade of mistakes and misunderstandings in an all-too-plausible but entertaining thriller.”—Booklist
“Inner Space is 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
International Bestseller: Inner Space was a bestseller in Poland and has an audience in France. The book marks Jakub’s English debut, and we have World English rights.
The pace of Inner Space is deliciously unrelenting as the tension continually spirals. Jakub has built in satisfying cliff hangers and vivid, technically sound descriptions of pulse-pounding action and everyday life in space.
As war rages in Ukraine and NASA announces plans to shut down the International Space Station around 2030, the premise of US and Russian astronauts trapped and suspicious of one another resonates, and the metaphor extends to all political divisions that hold us captive and prevent progress.
From the success of novelists like Any Weir to hit movies like The Martian, Interstellar, and The Last Astronaut, to the popular hit streaming series like The Expanse, Foundation, and the Star Trek reboots to name a few, the deep love for science fiction shows no signs of diminishing.
Jakub Szamalek knows space technology and suspense, but his cross-cultural acuity adds depth to the story that will enable it to outlive the current moment like the classics Solaris and Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Dispossessed. A Polish author living in Canada, Jakub is uniquely positioned to weigh in on the rising East-West tensions, and as a video game creator, he knows pacing and action.
About Jakub Szamalek, Author of Inner Space
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.
Jakub Szmalek’s is an expert at keeping audiences engaged, demonstrated by the hit videogames he has written, including The Witcher 3 series and Cyberpunk 2077. His connections can also help us reach gamers interested in space.
He lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with his family. He wrote the award-winning The Hidden Web series of thrillers, which has been adapted into a major motion picture by Monolith Films, and his crime novels have been awarded the Best Polish Crime Novel and Zloty Pocisk prizes. Jakub has been named among Eastern and Central Europe’s Young Leaders by the Res Publica Foundation.
You can connect with Jakub Szamalek on their website, Instagram, and Facebook.
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Harpervia Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780063377943
Pub Date: July 15, 2025
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