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Bomb Light #2
D: Heavy Water
Not yet published
Expected 13 Oct 26Win a free print copy of this book!
12 days and 12:29:08
50 copies available
U.S. only
From Neal Stephenson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Polostan and Cryptonomicon, comes the second installment in his monumental Bomb Light series—a gripping tale set on the eve of World War II, as nations race to find and control an elusive substance critical to building atomic weapons.
Europe, 1934. British journalist Owen Crisp-Upjohn is dispatched to Moscow, where his assignments quickly escalate from cultural reporting to international espionage. Before long, Owen finds himself pulled into the orbit of the enigmatic Earl of Suffolk, a maverick aristocrat, and Aurora, a curiously compelling woman with a shadowy past rooted in Soviet intelligence.
Their mission soon becomes secure the earth’s only supply of deuterium—“heavy water”—before it falls into Nazi hands. The high-stakes pursuit takes them from London’s plush drawing rooms to Barcelona, ravaged by the Spanish Civil War; from far-flung Soviet aerodromes to the perilous, icy landscapes of occupied Norway. Over time, Owen evolves from a detached observer into a man forced to confront profound questions of honor, love, and moral responsibility as loyalties are tested and allegiances shift in an ever-tightening web of science, intrigue, and deceit.
Rich with historical insight, emotionally complex characters, and a relentless sense of urgency with a world on the edge of cataclysm, D: Heavy Water is a suspenseful and wildly entertaining tale of courage and consequence in which humankind’s future is shaped by decisions made in the shadows.
Europe, 1934. British journalist Owen Crisp-Upjohn is dispatched to Moscow, where his assignments quickly escalate from cultural reporting to international espionage. Before long, Owen finds himself pulled into the orbit of the enigmatic Earl of Suffolk, a maverick aristocrat, and Aurora, a curiously compelling woman with a shadowy past rooted in Soviet intelligence.
Their mission soon becomes secure the earth’s only supply of deuterium—“heavy water”—before it falls into Nazi hands. The high-stakes pursuit takes them from London’s plush drawing rooms to Barcelona, ravaged by the Spanish Civil War; from far-flung Soviet aerodromes to the perilous, icy landscapes of occupied Norway. Over time, Owen evolves from a detached observer into a man forced to confront profound questions of honor, love, and moral responsibility as loyalties are tested and allegiances shift in an ever-tightening web of science, intrigue, and deceit.
Rich with historical insight, emotionally complex characters, and a relentless sense of urgency with a world on the edge of cataclysm, D: Heavy Water is a suspenseful and wildly entertaining tale of courage and consequence in which humankind’s future is shaped by decisions made in the shadows.
448 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 13, 2026
About the author
Neal Stephenson
95 books29.2k followersNeal Stephenson is the author of Reamde, Anathem, and the three-volume historical epic the Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World), as well as Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Zodiac. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is not a secret history - like the previous novel in the Bomb Light series, D is more of a hidden history, in the mode of the author's superb Baroque Cycle from a couple of decades ago.
Our grown up Tintin viewpoint character embarks on a Cook's Tour of the perpetrators and results of the many early 20th century atrocities, and even has time at the end for a little Alastair MacLean action with some smuggled jerry cans full to the brim with D.
Science & spycraft - think Nolan's Oppenheimer with fistfights.
Since this is an ongoing series, the rating can go up or down once Neal Stephenson's story is complete.
Our grown up Tintin viewpoint character embarks on a Cook's Tour of the perpetrators and results of the many early 20th century atrocities, and even has time at the end for a little Alastair MacLean action with some smuggled jerry cans full to the brim with D.
Science & spycraft - think Nolan's Oppenheimer with fistfights.
Since this is an ongoing series, the rating can go up or down once Neal Stephenson's story is complete.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 stars. Thanks so much to the publishers for the ARC. Fantastic follow up to Polostan. Excellent historical fiction, I learned a lot about the epic quest to secure heavy water for the Allies and keep it from the Axis in the lead up to WWII. As is often the case, Stephenson takes a lot of joy in vocabularial exuberance, here completely appropriate for over-educated journalist and fop wannabe Owen. I could of used more Aurora, but book 1 was all hers so I can't complain. The acknowledgements, with their list of sources, are well worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews