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Polostan
I am a big fan of Neal Stephenson, and of the books I've read, Polostan is easily the leanest, clocking in at just around 300 pages. As the first entry in the Bomb Light series, it introduces us to Aurora (aka Dawn), a teenager born to American anarchists but raised partly in the Soviet Union. The story is set in the early 1930s, hopping between the brutal industrialization of Stalin's Russia and the Great Depression in the United States. Dawn is a classic Stephenson protagonist: highly competent and intellectually gifted. She is a skilled horsewoman and polo player—talents that allow her to infiltrate high society for the OGPU. The novel moves at a brisk pace, placing Dawn at the center of numerous historical flashpoints (à la Forrest Gump), and Stephenson does an excellent job constructing clear, immersive scenes.
Library
Polostan
I am a big fan of Neal Stephenson, and of the books I've read, Polostan is easily the leanest, clocking in at just around 300 pages. As the first entry in the Bomb Light series, it introduces us to Aurora (aka Dawn), a teenager born to American anarchists but raised partly in the Soviet Union. The story is set in the early 1930s, hopping between the brutal industrialization of Stalin's Russia and the Great Depression in the United States. Dawn is a classic Stephenson protagonist: highly competent and intellectually gifted. She is a skilled horsewoman and polo player—talents that allow her to infiltrate high society for the OGPU. The novel moves at a brisk pace, placing Dawn at the center of numerous historical flashpoints (à la Forrest Gump), and Stephenson does an excellent job constructing clear, immersive scenes.