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 'Crime Book of the Month'
'A stunning debut thriller . . . ferocious, authentic and utterly terrifying . . . absolutely riveting'
DAILY MAIL
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
About the Author
Owen Matthews studied Modern History at Oxford and began his career as a foreign correspondent in Budapest, Sarajevo and Belgrade during the Bosnian civil war. He was Newsweek's Moscow Bureau Chief from 2006-2012. He has worked for a number of publications including the Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Observer, Independent and Spectator. His acclaimed family memoir, Stalin's Children, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Orwell Prize and was selected as one of their Books of the Year by the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Spectator. His biography of Soviet agent Richard Sorge – An Impeccable Spy – was published in 2019 to great acclaim. Owen Matthews lives just outside Oxford.
Industry Reviews
A stunning debut thriller . . . ferocious, authentic and utterly terrifying . . . absolutely riveting.
Geoffrey Wansell * Daily Mail *
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
An outstanding first novel . . . Matthews writes superbly.
* Sunday Times 'crime Book of The Month' *
One of the best thrillers of recent years . . . a glorious book, a tourdeforce. It drips with authenticity from every page . . . a pageturning, thumping good read.
David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child
Fact and fiction combine to keep the pages turning in this impressive debut thriller.
Antonia Senior * The Times 'Best Historical Fiction of the Year' *
A stunning debut. Matthews writes enviably well and knows Soviet Russia insideout. Fantastic.
Charles Cumming
