303 pages
English language
Published 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers.
The first installment in Neal Stephenson’s Light cycle, Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. 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.
A young (American) women growing up in the aftermath of the Russian revolution to become a spy/agent for the soviet secret service with some historical figures appearing on her way. Nice read, but nothing exciting. I might have had too high expectations for a Neal Stephenson novel....
I loved this book. Once again Neal Stephenson has managed to combine an education on historical, scientific, technological and societal events with a gripping tale of intrigue and adventure. The story itself includes fascinating settings and characters from a little told tale of a forgotten time leading up to World War 1. Looking forward to the next chapter in the Bomb Light series.
