Polostan by Neal Stephenson

Polostan

Volume One of Bomb Light

Neal Stephenson

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · October 14, 2025

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.

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Who it’s for
A historical epic where revolution, intrigue, and espionage meet the dawn of the Atomic Age.
Themes
International espionage, Revolution and political upheaval, A revelation about the past
Genres
Spy Fiction, 20th-Century Historical Fiction, Historical Thrillers

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About this book

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.

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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.

Revolution and Intrigue

A historical epic where revolution, intrigue, and espionage meet the dawn of the Atomic Age.

Come here for

  • A globe-crossing historical epic of revolutionary politics and espionage
  • A heroine moving between American and Russian worlds

Expect

  • Intrigue across the turbulent early twentieth century
  • The opening installment of a historical series

Where it sits

20th-Century Historical Fiction65%
Spy Fiction53%
Historical Thrillers35%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Action & Adventure
  • Spy Fiction
  • World War II & Holocaust
  • 20th-Century Historical Fiction
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Literary Fiction
  • Historical Thrillers
  • Military Thrillers
  • Political Fiction
Authors
Neal Stephenson
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
October 14, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
International espionage · Revolution and political upheaval · A revelation about the past
Reading lane
Action & Adventure