I read somewhere about how Andy Weir — author of ‘The Martian’ — received such help from readers of his novel before publication. This was after making it available to read for free on his blog (while he searched the universe for a literary agent).

The topic of the novel here is nuclear explosives, not botany and mechanical engineering. It challenges the idea that an improvised nuclear device designed and built by a rogue individual (or individuals) would necessarily be unwieldy and crude. The story revolves around a Russian kid who develops an unhealthy obsession with engineering and nuclear tech. It’s rooted in two true historical events:

1. Project Sapphire: a 1994 covert operation of the US government to remove 600kg of nuclear material from Kazakhstan.

2. The abandoning of the Semipalatinsk Test Site, also known as ‘The Polygon,’ which was the primary testing site for the Soviet nuclear-weapons program.

The current draft of the book is in the hands of my agent, but it can be read (or downloaded as a PDF) on Substack here: https://figment.substack.com/p/e43612dc-a4f3-4b89-880a-821ad9f0e931

I seek technical feedback, but welcome any thoughtful comments. If you are wanting to find areas in the ms with technical detail, just search for fissile, uranium or plutonium. Any desire to read the latter two parts of the novel, just email me for the links.

In advance, thanks so much.