Robert Kroese

Robert Kroese is an American author of comic science fiction and fantasy, born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from Calvin College with a philosophy degree in 1992 before moving into software development in California, a career detour he has credited with suiting his lack of punctuality or direction. In 2009 he turned his "extensive knowledge of useless information and love of explosions" into fiction, beginning a career built on absurdist, Douglas Adams-inflected humor across series including Mercury, the space-operatic Rex Nihilo Adventures (starting with Starship Grifters), the epic-fantasy-parodying Land of Dis books, and Saga of the Iron Dragon. Kroese's novels combine satire and genre-adventure plotting, treating apocalyptic and space-faring premises as opportunities for comic set pieces rather than straight adventure.