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Black Sun
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
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Black Sun
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Summary
1961. Hidden deep within central Soviet Russia is a place that doesn’t appear on any map: a city called Arzamas-16. Here a community of dedicated scientists and technicians is 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 Arzamas 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 investigate. What he finds in Arzamas is unlike anything he’s experienced before. His wits will be tested against some of the most brilliant minds in the Soviet Union – eccentrics, patriots and dissidents who, because their work is considered to be of such vital national 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: Richard Sorge, Stalin's Master Agent
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- phphoto
- 27-12-19
Brilliant
Amazing story and so well told and utterly compelling. I can't recommend this book enough.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- The Curator
- 26-07-20
Fascinating
A fictional version of events surrounding the last arial nuclear test. Entertaining thriller and worth it for the author’s noes alone. The ending suggests more will follow and I hope it isn’t too long a wait.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jez
- 22-12-20
Magnetic & brilliant
let this writer hand down a lesson to you, then learn to accept it's depth.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jane Morris
- 17-03-24
Really good story, kept you listening
Love that it is based on true events explained at end of book, narrator really good and believable.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DartmoorDiva
- 09-12-19
An interesting novel
I knew very little about this era in Russian history and found this a well written and enthralling novel based closely on fact.
However, I have a few major issues with this production. I very nearly gave up after the first 20 minutes as the narration was so appallingly slow. I discovered that if I played the audiobook at 1.25 speed it sounded absolutely fine! Secondly, I’m not sure why all the characters are all given Russian accents. As they are all Russian there doesn’t seem to be any need to differentiate. Also, but less importantly,I’m also not sure why the narrator is an American when the author is English. My final comment would be that having been carried along very well by the characters and the plot the book did seem to labour over the final hour and I think some judicious editing would not have gone amiss.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DEREK
- 10-09-24
Thought Provoking
A cautionary story well told and complimented by the narrator. Looking forward to the next two books in this series.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hamish
- 18-11-19
Excellent tale with threads of fact
Excellent tale with threads of historical fact that are surprising and horrific. Narration is also excellent.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David Herbert
- 24-09-21
Hooked from the start
Very well written, and kept me hooked from the outset.
Wasn't keen on the narrator at first, but after speeding up and listening more he grew on me.
Red Traitor next!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MICHAEL
- 30-01-20
Pure art
what a story! the depth of characters, the detailed research down to the price of the Soviet ice cream, make this book one of the best on the top shelf.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Craig
- 10-03-20
Good listening.
Good book, great story which is weaved round fact. As with all story's its important to paint a picture and they author manages this in spades.
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1 person found this helpful