Polostan: Volume One of Bomb Light

by Neal Stephenson

Overview

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new series—an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age.

The first installment in Neal Stephenson’s Bomb Light cycle, Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora. She spends her early years in Russia but then grows up as a teenager in Montana, before being drawn into gunrunning and revolution in the streets of Washington, D.C., during the depths of the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB.

Set against the turbulent decades of the early twentieth century, Polostan is an inventive, richly detailed, and deeply entertaining historical epic, and the start of a captivating new series from Neal Stephenson.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062334497
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/15/2024
Series:	Bomb Light , #1
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	76,835
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.97(d)

About the Author

Neal Stephenson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels Termination Shock, Fall; or, Dodge in Hell, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (with Nicole Galland), Seveneves, Reamde, Anathem, The System of the World, The Confusion, Quicksilver, Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, Zodiac, and the groundbreaking nonfiction work In the Beginning . . .Was the Command Line. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Hometown:

Seattle, Washington

Date of Birth:

October 31, 1959

Place of Birth:

Fort Meade, Maryland

Education:

B.A., Boston University, 1981

Website:

http://www.nealstephenson.com

Editorial Reviews

“Stephenson is one of speculative fiction’s most meticulous architects. . . .Termination Shock manages to pull off a rare trick, at once wildly imaginative and grounded.” — New York Times Book Review

“With meticulously rendered action scenes, surprising plot twists, relatable, off-kilter characters and charming dialogue, [Stephenson's] books are page-turners. His latest proves no exception . . . Termination Shock deals brilliantly and innovatively with our era’s most pressing existential matter—while delivering stratospheric gigatons of carefully engineered delight.” — Washington Post

“This book is the rare climate thriller that’s realistic about political stonewalling in the face of disaster yet unafraid to imagine a possible future where people might actually come together and try to save civilization. The kind of climate-change fiction we all need.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Termination Shock

“The novel is classic Stephenson: fiercely intelligent, weird, darkly witty, and boldly speculative. . . . Stephenson has become one of the most revered science fiction writers of his time.”  — Publishers Weekly on Termination Shock

“Neal Stephenson has never been afraid of engaging with big ideas within genre forms, and Termination Shock might be his most visionary, and timely, book yet.” — Chicago Review of Books

From the Publisher