Hunter's Run - Writing Process

Writing Process

The text of the novel is followed by a section explaining how the book was written and re-written over a period of thirty years, including an interview with all three authors and how they conceived the ideas for the book.

In 1976 science fiction author and editor Gardner Dozois conceived of a story beginning with a man floating in darkness. Dozois conceived of Ramon's name, ethnicity (feeling that Hispanic protagonists were under-represented in science fiction) and his basic situation, but the story did not proceed far. The following year, whilst working as a guest instructor at a Catholic women's college at the invitation of his friend and colleague George R. R. Martin, Dozois read the story out loud. Martin thought the story was interesting and waited for Dozois to finish it, but Dozois found himself unable to do so. In 1981 Dozois suggested that Martin continue the story instead, which he did, bringing the story to the beginning of the chase sequence. Martin hit on the idea of expanding the story to a 500-page novel exploring the eco-system of São Paulo and drew thematic similarities between Ramon and his alien keeper Maneck to Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer journeying down the Mississippi.

Having written the story until he stalled in 1982, Martin handed the story back to Dozois, suggesting they alternate working on it until it was done. However, Dozois was unable to come up with any ideas on how to proceed and the book remained in his desk drawer until 2002, when he and Martin decided to bring the story to the attention of a third author, Daniel Abraham. Abraham finished the story off and it was published as Shadow Twin as a small-press novella in 2004. Abraham then went back and reworked the manuscript into a 380-page novel, renamed Hunter's Run, for publication in 2007.