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  • The Half Life of Valery K

  • By: Natasha Pulley
  • Narrated by: Jot Davies
  • Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)
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The Half Life of Valery K

By: Natasha Pulley
Narrated by: Jot Davies
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Summary

Bloomsbury presents The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley, read by Jot Davies.

From the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Kingdoms, an epic Cold War novel set in a mysterious town in Soviet Russia.

In 1963, in a Siberian prison, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to survive: the right connections to the guards for access to food and cigarettes, the right pair of warm boots, and the right attitude toward the small pleasures of life so he won’t go insane. But one day, all that changes: Valery’s university mentor steps in and sweeps him from the frozen camp to a mysterious unnamed city. It houses a set of nuclear reactors, and surrounding it is a forest so damaged it looks like the trees have rusted from within.

In City 40, Valery is Dr. Kolkhanov once more, and he’s expected to serve out his prison term studying the effect of radiation on local animals. But as Valery begins his work, he is struck by the questions his research raises. Why is there so much radiation in this area? What, exactly, is being hidden from the thousands who live in the town? And if he keeps looking for answers, will he live to serve out his sentence?

Based on real events in a surreal Soviet city, and told with bestselling author Natasha Pulley’s inimitable style, The Half Life of Valery K is a sweeping new adventure for fans of Stuart Turton and Sarah Gailey.

©2022 Natasha Pulley (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

Critic reviews

"Provocative, unsettling...Pulley, extrapolating out from the records of a historic Soviet research center, raises questions about scientific experimentation and the ways in which it can be manipulated for less than honorable purposes. Her dark humor, which turns on the blind faith given to Soviet authority figures despite their outlandish claims, combines with complex characters and a clear understanding of radiation science to yield an explosive blend. The chilling result feels all too plausible." (Publishers Weekly)

"Pulley adds to her impressive oeuvre with another exquisite novel. Many of the author’s trademarks are on display here: a finely-drawn period setting, a vein of dark humor, a plot blending historical fact and fiction, and a protagonist seeking to do the right thing in the face of a brutal political machine. An illuminating and immersive historical tale." (Vaseem Khan, author of The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra)

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