Black Sun: The outstanding, page-turning thriller of 2020, loved by the critics

Matthews, Owen

£9.99

It is the dawn of the 1960s. Stalin has been dead for eight years but his ghost casts a long shadow. In a place called Arzamas-16 – one of the most secret locations in the USSR, a place that doesn’t appear on any map – a community of brilliant scientists, technicians and engineers have been tasked with creating the most powerful nuclear bomb the world has ever seen – a device three thousand times more powerful than Hiroshima. But one scientist has died an excruciating, grotesque death by ingesting a massive dose of irradiated Thalium. The Arzamas authorities believe it’s suicide, want the body disposed of and the case closed, but someone in Moscow is concerned about what’s going on in this strange, isolated and fiercely independent community.

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Publish Date: 09/07/2020

Description

Outstanding’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘A stunning debut thriller . . . utterly terrifying . . . absolutely riveting’ DAILY MAIL

‘Fascinating . . . fearsome’ FREDERICK FORSYTH

‘Enthralling’ FINANCIAL TIMES

‘Thrilling . . . compelling’ SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE

1961. Hidden deep within central Soviet Russia is a place that doesn’t appear on any map: a city called Arzamas-16. Here dedicated scientists and technicians are building the most powerful nuclear device the world will ever see – three thousand times more powerful than Hiroshima.

But days before the bomb is to be tested, a young physicist is found dead. His body contains enough radioactive poison to kill thousands. The authorities believe it is suicide – they want the corpse disposed of, the incident filed and forgotten. But Moscow is alarmed by what’s going on in this strange, isolated place.

And so KGB major Alexander Vasin is sent to Arzamas to investigate. What he finds there is unlike anything he’s experienced before. His wits will be tested against some of the Soviet Union’s most brilliant minds – eccentrics, patriots and dissidents who, because their work is considered to be of such vital importance, have been granted the freedom to think and act, live and love as they wish. For in Arzamas, nothing can be allowed to get in the way of the project. Not even murder . . .

Intricately researched, cunningly plotted and brilliantly told, Black Sun is a fast-paced and timely thriller set at the height – and in the heart – of Soviet power from the acclaimed author of An Impeccable Spy.

What readers are saying:
‘Woven around real events, people and places, it’s genuinely terrifying stuff’ *****

‘The twists and turns and intrigue kept me on tenterhooks’ *****

‘Brings alive one of the most fascinating periods of Soviet history’ *****

Additional information

Weight 283 g
Dimensions 198 × 127 × 25 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

405

Language

English

Edition

1st paperback ed

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K