The Czar Bomb
by Dennis Meredith
Billions would die if a revenge-seeking Iraqi oligarch unleashes a Soviet thermonuclear superbomb
Decades after the Soviets detonated history’s largest explosion—the 50-megaton thermonuclear Czar Bomb—Iraqi oligarch Saadallah bin Shadid unearths an even larger 100-megaton superbomb they had hidden. He seeks to use the bomb to avenge his family’s death in a US drone strike, enlisting North Korean engineers to restore it. In return, he will give that rogue country the bomb’s plans.
The blast from the superbomb could kill millions, and the immense clouds of soot erupted into the atmosphere would destroy Earth’s protective ozone layer and trigger a decades-long thermonuclear winter, causing global famine.
Military historian Ben Webber finds himself in possession of documents hinting at the bomb’s existence. And when bin Shadid’s thug murders his pregnant wife while trying to steal the documents, Ben launches his own mission of revenge against the renegade oligarch. He joins with CIA nuclear weapons expert Carrie deLong and her team, to stop bin Shadid from detonating the bomb and prevent North Korea from getting plans for a thermonuclear weapon.
"Based on real-life circumstances, The Czar Bomb examines the dangerous potential for the detonation of a superbomb. Meredith delivers a carefully plotted storyline with a clear timeline and far-flung international settings. . . Readers will enjoy Meredith's engaging storytelling [and his] clear understanding of the CIA, military history, and nuclear warfare. The lead characters are infused with a degree of warmth and humanity that guides their objectives." Publishers Weekly BookLife reviewer
Read the prologue and opening chapters
Watch the Soviet documentary on the detonation of Tsar Bomba
Watch footage of the Tsar Bomba test
Watch video on the Russian Poseidon stealth torpedo
What if a thermonuclear bomb were detonated on the ocean floor?
Use Nukemap to see the effect of the 100-megaton Czar Bomb on Washington, D. C.