"The first installment in Stephenson's historical epic paints an engrossing picture of the United States during the Great Depression, the Soviet Union in its tumultuous and violent early years, and the looming threat of the technological advancements that will soon lead to the atomic bomb and the space race. A deeply immersive historical epic." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Stephenson is one of speculative fiction's most meticulous architects.Termination Shock manages to pull off a rare trick, at once wildly imaginative and grounded." - New York Times Book Review "Fiercely intelligent, weird, darkly witty, and boldly speculative." - Publishers Weekly on Termination Shock "Stephenson is a towering talent." - Library Journal "Stephenson's enthralling new novel, Polostan, drops readers into a bloody, inspiring, conflict-ridden, and pivotal period. With its flair for characterization, precision of language, witty apercus, and fecundity of events, the novel delivers what we've come to expect from the author of such fantastical classics as The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Cryptonomicon.

Assuming the subsequent books are as good as this one, Stephenson might end up with a series that rivals Michael Moorcock's Pyat Quartet and Edward Whittemore's Jerusalem Quartet as a vivid and canny dissection of a century unlike any other." - Washington Post "Stephenson is a writer of exuberant prose who revels in embracing big ideas." - The New York Times "The work is deeply convincing, from polo playing out West to a meeting of varied officials in Russia that is so engrossing in the subtle dynamics at play (despite being a scene of only minor importance) that I'm reminded of John Le Carré. Wildly, almost shamelessly entertaining." - Parade.