Black Sun

Owen Matthews

$22.99

Paperback

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English

Corgi
01 September 2020

Fiction & Literature; Espionage & spy thriller; Historical adventure; Historical fiction; The Cold War

Based on a true story, this acclaimed, chillingly authentic, page-turner of a thriller brings Soviet Russia and the Cold War world to brilliant life and should rank alongside Martin Cruz-Smith's Gorky Park and Robert Harris' Archangel.

'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'
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'The twists and turns and intrigue kept me on tenterhooks'
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'Brings alive one of the most fascinating periods of Soviet history'
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By: Owen Matthews
Imprint: Corgi
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 127mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 283g
ISBN: 9780552176576
ISBN 10: 0552176575
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 01 September 2020
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

OWEN MATTHEWS worked as a war correspondent in Bosnia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq and Ukraine and was Newsweek magazine's bureau chief in Moscow from 2006 until 2016. He has written several works of non-fiction including the critically-acclaimed Stalin's Children and An Impeccable Spy. Black Sun is his first novel. He lives in Moscow and Oxford.

Reviews for Black Sun

Fact and fiction combine to keep the pages turning in this impressive debut thriller. -- Antonia Senior * THE TIMES 'Best Historical Fiction of the Year' * One of the best thrillers of recent years . . . a glorious book, a tour-de-force. It drips with authenticity from every page . . . a page-turning, thumping good read. -- DAVID YOUNG, bestselling author of Stasi Child An outstanding first novel . . . Matthews writes superbly. * SUNDAY TIMES 'Crime Book of the Month' * There are some authors who have gone out into the world to observe the good, the bad and the ugly. Owen Matthews is such a novelist. Black Sun is fascinating and has fearsome authenticity. -- FREDERICK FORSYTH A stunning debut thriller . . . ferocious, authentic and utterly terrifying . . . absolutely riveting. * DAILY MAIL *