Daikon is a sweeping and suspenseful novel of love and war, set in Japan during the final days of World War II.
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In This Spotlight On Daikon
About Daikon
Daikon is a sweeping and suspenseful novel with a shocking historical premise: three atomic bombs were actually delivered to the Pacific—not two—and when one of them falls into the hands of the Japanese, the fate of a couple that has been separated from one another becomes entangled with the fate of this terrifying new device.
War has taken everything from physicist Keizo Kan. His young daughter was killed in the Great Tokyo Air Raid, and now his Japanese American wife, Noriko, has been imprisoned by the brutal Thought Police. An American bomber, downed over Japan on the first day of August 1945, offers the scientist a surprising chance at salvation. The Imperial Army dispatches him to examine an unusual device recovered from the plane’s wreckage—a bomb containing uranium—and tells him that if he can unlock its mysteries, his wife will be released.
Working in secrecy under crushing pressure, Kan begins to disassemble the bomb and study its components. One of his assistants falls ill after mishandling the uranium, but his alarming deterioration, and Kan’s own symptoms, are ignored by the commanding officer demanding results. Desperate to stave off Japan’s surrender to the Allies, the army will stop at nothing to harness the weapon’s unimaginable power. They order Kan to prepare the bomb for manual detonation over a target—a suicide mission that will strike a devastating blow against the Americans. Kan is soon confronted with a series of agonizing decisions that will test his courage, his loyalty, and his very humanity.
An extraordinary debut novel that is the result of twenty-seven years of work by its author, Daikon is a gripping and powerfully moving saga that calls to mind such classics as Cold Mountain and From Here to Eternity. It is set amid the chaos and despair of the world’s third largest city lying in ruins, its population starving and its leadership under escalating assault from without and within. Here is a haunting epic of love, survival, and impossible choices that introduces a singular new voice on the literary landscape.
Praise for Daikon
“An engrossing and thought-provoking novel . . . The plot feels entirely plausible, and none of the characters fit any obvious stereotypes. . . . The author’s research is impressive as he describes how the bomb is designed to work, the tensions within the Japanese power structure, and details of Japanese culture.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Thrilling . . . Builds to a pulse-pounding climax. The result is the most imaginative take on Hiroshima since Edwin Corley’s The Jesus Factor.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Since 1945, there have been rumors that the U.S. military hauled at least three atomic bombs to Japan, one for Hiroshima and one for Nagasaki. What happened to the third? The truth will never be known, but Samuel Hawley has crafted a breathtaking story of what might have been. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Daikon is a riveting tale about war, intrigue, love, and perseverance.”—John Grisham
“In the opening pages of Daikon, I knew I was in the hands of a skilled writer. By Daikon’s end, I felt honored to share the same craft. Literature allows us to get out of our own skins and live other lives. Through Daikon’s characters, I inhabited the Japanese culture of 1945, immeasurably different from my own: obedience to authority ingrained through centuries; worship of a living god/man; accepting injustice without complaint; welcoming the terrifying duty and honor to sacrifice one’s life for the group….Throughout it all, I could not look away. This novel is storytelling at its finest.”—Karl Marlantes, New York Times bestselling author of Matterhorn
“Daikon is a gripping and fascinating work of historical fiction that’s so convincing I felt like I’d stumbled onto an extraordinary World War II documentary with indelible characters and haunting footage from a vantage I’d never imagined. Daikon will sweep you away.”—Jess Walter, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins
About Samuel Hawley, Author of Daikon
Samuel Hawley was born and raised in South Korea, the son of Canadian missionaries, and taught English in Korea and Japan for nearly two decades. He is the author of the nonfiction book The Imjin War, the most comprehensive account in English of Japan’s 16th-century invasion of Korea and attempted conquest of China. He currently lives in Istanbul, Turkey. Daikon is his debut novel.
You can connect with Samuel Hawley on their website.
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781668083055
Pub Date: July 8, 2025
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