Dennis Meredith—The Czar Bomb

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book _The Czar Bomb_ by Dennis Meredith, shows an image of a nuclear bomb exploding over the U.S. Capitol, with the title above the image and the author’s name below it. — The Czar Bomb

THE CZAR BOMB
Dennis Meredith
Glyphus, LLC, September 3, 2025
Paperback $16.95, eBook, $4.99, Audio Book, $4.99
Paperback ISBN: 9781939118325
eBook ISBN: 9781939118318
Audio book ASIN: B0FL1HDFRK

Meredith reports:

The idea for The Czar Bomb began with my science writer’s curiosity, but real-life historical events gave me the plot. I had become fascinated by a stunning detonation in 1961 by the Soviets of a 50-megaton thermonuclear bomb—the largest human-made explosion in history. The Czar Bomb—its common nickname—was meant as a technological feat, but it also had profound political consequences—shocking the Soviets and Americans into arms negotiations.

Portrait photo of Dennis Meredith — Dennis Meredith

The bomb could have been even larger. The Soviets purposefully dialed back its yield from 100 megatons, worried that a bomber wouldn’t be able to escape the blast. Envisioning a novel, I pondered how terrorists might use such a bomb, even though the chances of their obtaining one seemed zero.

Then history gave me a path to a plot: In 1963, Nikita Khrushchev boasted that the Soviets had, indeed, built a 100-megaton bomb and, weirdly, hidden it in East Germany. So, such a bomb might exist! But who would want to use it? And how could they manage the huge project of finding and restoring it?

Again, history gave me a terrorist’s motives. The U.S. has killed civilians in errant drone strikes in Iraq, and the Iraq war produced huge civilian casualties. The terrorist character became an Iraqi oligarch bent on revenge for the death of his family in an American drone strike and for the Iraqi war casualties.

My protagonist became an American military historian who stumbled across documents hinting at the bomb’s existence. He is driven to try to exact his own revenge for the murder of his pregnant wife by a thief sent by the oligarch to steal the documents. He joins a CIA team seeking to capture the oligarch and the bomb.

I also needed a plausible way to smuggle that massive bomb to its target, Washington, D.C. Real life gave me the solution: The Russians have developed a stealth drone torpedo designed to carry a nuclear warhead long distances undetected.

Finally, real physics provided a way to contain a 100-megaton thermonuclear explosion, but revealing how that could occur would give away the ending!

Contact info:

Dennis Meredith, 760-451-6845, dennis@glyphus.com
- Meredith’s website: Dennis Meredith
- Blog: Research Explainer
Book: The Czar Bomb
Publicist: Glyphus, LLC, 760 451-6845, editor@glyphus.com

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Banner image adapted from original photo by Dennis Meredith.

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

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