Natasha Pulley builds a world that feels both true and surreal at the same time. After six year as a starving political prisoner in Siberia, Valery Kolkhanov is taken on a daylong journey to “City 40,” a research facility surrounded for miles by rust-colored pines and other signs of devastation.

Former biochemist Valery and a crew of fresh-faced young science grad students, are welcomed by Valery’s old teacher, Dr. Resovskaya. Resovskaya is charismatic—but also intimidating. She tells the scientists that City 40 is the site of a modestly irradiated area set up by the government so that the effects of radiation can be studied. They must do their assigned research, file their reports and tell nobody anything about City 40 or their work. Dr. Resovskaya’s message is reinforced by Comrade Shenkov of the KGB, to whom Valery, as a prisoner (or “zek”), is required to report twice a day.

Despite all the warnings, and Valery’s knowledge of the deadly potential consequences, he can’t help but point out that it’s obvious City 40 is far more irradiated than they’ve been told, and that its residents’ health and lives are threatened. It’s fascinating to see the reactions of his colleagues and Shenkov as Valery’s inconvenient truths crash up against the official narrative of the just-barely-post-Stalinist state.

Pulley’s characters feel as real and complicated as their surroundings. It’s hard not to fall a little in love with Valery’s guilelessness and inability to go along with lies that endanger people. But even the less scrupulous characters are fully dimensional and relatable. One thing that puzzles me about Pulley, though, is that once again she has written a story in which the male characters are tender and righteous, but the females are either villains or destined to get bad breaks. Does Pulley prefer men to women? Does she enjoy switching up conventional gender roles? It’s hard to figure.

The plotting is tense, as Valery tries to figure out a way to help the people of City 40, especially those he’s come to care for. There are plenty of twists and turns, with the tension occasionally leavened by poignant scenes and some real quirkiness, as the lonely Valery adopts the most unusual pet I’ve seen in a novel. This is an affecting and memorable story.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury USA for an advanced copy of this new book on love, half life and an octopus who can change channels on a TV.
Secrets can be radioactive. The can cause misery well into the future, destroying relationships, trust in governments, friends, lovers and families. Just when you think a secret can be harmful, like a cancer it reappears and life if never the same. The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley is big book full of secrets and lies, not only from a totalitarian government, but from the people we care about, and the people we trust.

Valery K. is a prisoner of the Soviet gulag system, his crime being a scientist who once worked with a a foreign country, that county being Germany. A few years into his sentence, he is told that he is being sent away, but instead of finding himself in a new camp he finds that he might have traded one hell for another. His new home is City 40, an area that appears on no map, but has a forest that seems decimated, six nuclear reactors and a job for Valery. His sentence is to be a prisoner scientist and to study the effects of radioactivity on the local fauna. Dr. Kolkhanov has been freed by an old mentor, who might be keeping deadly secrets. Why is the forest so dead, what is the reason for this city, and where did the body appear in the swamp that was so radiated so badly? But the biggest mystery is why does the KGB head of security seem to be protecting him so much. And does finding out the answers mean a fate worse than the camps.

This a book that took all my expectations and tossed them away. An amazing read that starts from the first chapter and doesn't stop, even with flashbacks and lots of science. Which is explained quite well. This is a spy story, techno-thriller, love story, political story, with a hint of satire too. The characters are fully realized, especially Valery and his friend/love the KGB man. Readers get to watch their relationship start and grow, which is rare in many books. The story is well plotted, and explained, and the actions that the characters decide on and do makes sense, and fits with what the reader learns. A very different but really exceptional story.

This is my first book by Natasha Pulley, but it will not be my last. Characters that are believable, science that is both interesting and well described, a lot of oh I can't believe what is happening moments. One of the best fiction books I have read in awhile.

I love the “micro history” genre and “The Half Life of Valery K” may be the best I’ve read so far. Despite the tragic setting, the tone was sweet and hopeful. The Valery character was inspiring and sweet. Highly recommend this one.

Natasha Pulley's latest novel is a hard left turn from her magical filled earlier novels, but equally affecting and well-written. The Half Life of Valery K is an historical novel set in the early 1960s and revolving around Soviet experiments with radiation.

Pulley's historical novel is based on the 1957 nuclear accident at Kyshtym. Valery, a Soviet scientist and political prisoner in Siberia, is given a new lease on life (sort of) when he is sent to a research facility to help with radiation-related studies. He quickly realizes that, contrary to official pronouncements, the area and its inhabitants are doused with radiation. But what can one person do against a corrupt system? Valery is a delightful character, frail and mild-mannered, always sure his doom is just around the corner. But his clinical detachment enables him to be extremely destructive as well. Shenkov, the KGB agent, is also a memorable character who knows the system is evil but tries to work within it to make it a little less evil. And fans of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street will delight in the appearance of another octopus.

It is so hard to write a review for books I absolutely loved. All I want to do is spam a series of exclamation points because that’s the closest way to convey how much I loved something. And it still isn’t enough or even close to accurate.

VALERY K is quintessential Pulley, from the broken, sad, queer middle-aged men to the *yearning* and even an emotional support octopus, but without that touch of surreal fantasy and magical realism seen in her prior work. But I didn’t miss the fantasy elements because this was just as well-researched, atmospheric, and quietly devastating. Pulley knows how and when to send a direct hit to your heart with just a sentence. There were moments I got so wrapped up in what was going on, I didn’t notice the tensing of my jaw and the tightening of my chest until well-paced and placed moments of reprieve.

I cannot explain how much I love the way Pulley writes historical fiction. The level of research, care, and attention to detail she puts into her work is inspiring, and incredibly enviable. VALERY K is based in historical fact, in the real events that surrounded the Kyshtym disaster in 1957, and we also get a crash course on radiation and radioactive isotopes, but in a way that is completely natural and fluid with the narrative and Valery’s character so it didn’t feel like awkward info dumping. If only this had been out during the nuclear physics and chemistry units I had in high school. Valery is a much better teacher than my high school ones.

Speaking of Valery, I loved him from start to end. He’s my new favorite Pulley hero. He’s multi-faceted and complicated (and seems to be autistic-coded) and I just want to wrap him up in a thick blanket and give him the lab of his dreams with all the animal companions he wants (he’s borderline a Disney princess). He’s far from a naïve and fragile damsel, but I just want him to be happy and safe. He’s so earnest but incredibly insightful and has a strong desire for and sense of justice. Every new thing I learned about him as I read just made me fall more and more in love with him.

The romance was more prominent than in her prior books but it was just as heart-wrenching and bittersweet and yet hopeful. The angst and the pining were so well done. Valery’s resignation, yearning, and happiness were tangible.

Pre-order this book. It’s full of dark and clever humor, beautifully haunting prose, carefully crafted tension, and morally gray characters that will stay with you beyond the pages.

This is my first Natasha Pulley novel which I picked to read based on the description which I thought would have a sci-fi element as it is described in NetGalley that way. Surprise, there is no discernible sci-fi to this novel. Science, yes. Fiction, yes. But Sci-fi, nope. What I got was a novel that, despite this miss-classification, I loved. I would more likely classify this as historical fiction, set in mid-20th century Soviet Union with a political prisoner who begins exploring the radiation levels at the site of a secret nuclear accident. The physics was interesting and understandable. The characters were complicated and human and the relationships they formed were central to the book. The story of finding out what happened at the location and trying to help others was engaging. The historical background of the novel made it even more interesting. I can't stop thinking about this book, particularly the historical aspects and the way the characters dealt with the difficult decisions they made. Highly recommend.

to begin, this review is spoilery and is very subjective. as all of my reviews are.

sometimes, you've outgrown your favourites, and it's okay.

i've essentially read all the pulley books and while the half life of valery k retains all of her wonderful trademarks—a moving, breathing (not to mention very accessible) historical backdrop riddled with bombs (sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical/magic-related, sometimes it's not bombs but a nuclear disaster, as in the case of this book); sweet, awkward older men who have to wiggle their ways out of peril, also gay yearning; adorable children and octopuses; a unique type of narrative quirk that engages and entertains; lastly a neatly wrapped ending that warms the heart—my enjoyment unfortunately falters when it comes to this one.

for once, the subject matter is darker and more sensitive than in her other works, here, the quirky narrative voice that i used to adore almost seems eerie and i struggle to identify with it. also, i don't know if the kgb x zek pairing is the Choice. but don't worry, the kgb is just "forced" to do his job. he really does want to save lives. you see, after so many passages condemning the kgb's actions, you can safely ignore all of it because this one is different. he is one of the "good" ones. yep.

there is also a lack of emotional development when it comes to... well, everything really. a lot of it is shown and not tell, which, i'm sure, a lot of people are patting pulley on the back for because everyone knows telling is a literary crime. telling is not a crime. telling is just a convenient narrative device that, like any others, can enhance a piece of writing when deployed properly. in the case of this book, there are a lot of *fill in the blanks* that i have to mental gymnastic my way through. like the relationship between shenkov and anna, are they in love? is it a marriage of convenience? an open marriage? are they married just for the kids? you can't just throw sweethearts and pet names around in one instant and files for divorce in the next and expect me to develop a phd in your dynamic, my good sir.

i'd rather you just tell me, thanks.

the ending, in particular, is quite puzzling to me because somehow shenkov is okay with leaving his entire family (who are all dying of radiation, one way or another by the way) behind for... love? (it is love, Right?) the book never truly explains it fully and i find it hard to believe after all those chapters with his daughter—in addition to literally so many buildups leading up to this point, including this gloriously devastating confession:

"If I look sad it's because this is the happiest I've been for years, and you did that, but you aren't even one tenth mine and you never will be."

and you are telling me he's just going to leave his divorced wife (who is, once again, still dying from cancer) behind with their children because somehow it is HER responsibility to "get the children out" and he trusts her to do it? i don't care if he's being wanted, bro. those are his children we are talking about here. in fact, that ending just... weirded me out in so many ways that i'm not even sure an explanation can salvage this man's character for me. or valery's, for that matter. this lack of emotions is nothing new in pulley's books, of course, but in this one, it was impossible for me to tune it out or even get used to it because there was no charming plot (looking at you watchmaker of filigree street trios) to distract me.

lastly, i think i'm tired of pulley resorting to fridging women so that her m/m pairing can ride off into the sunset (whether it's deserved or not). this is consistently the case with her books and clearly a deliberate choice, i should be disappointed, considering how the jabs at the patriarchy are also plentiful in her books, unfortunately, so is the misogyny.

Set in 1963 Soviet Union, this immersive story of a scientist (and former prisoner) banished to a bizarre and secret nuclear wasteland/scientific center is gripping, desparately sad at times, and always brilliantly written.

This does require a careful read, as timelines do shift, but it's absolutely worth the time and consideration.


Many thanks to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Natasha Pulley always manages to draw me in from the first page, and make me fall unexpectedly in love with her characters. I'm happy to say that The Half Life of Valery K lived up to this expectation completely. And while there is no fantasy element to this book the way there is in her previous ones, it did not feel lacking. The in depth but engaging discussions of the scientific elements of the story filled that gap for me. I loved this book and absolutely recommend it.

The story is about Valery Kolkhanov, a biochemist specializing in the effects of radiation on living things, who starts the book as a political prisoner in a Russian gulag, where he has been for six years, and expects to be for four more, or until he dies. His life takes a surprise turn however when he is sent to a secret government lab in the middle of a mysteriously irradiated forest. The government claims everything is safe, and one does not argue with the Soviet government, but Valery cannot help but notice things are more deeply amiss than the research they brought him in for would indicate. In addition to that, he experiences kindness for the first time in a long time from an unexpected source, Konstantin Shenkov, the KJB officer in charge of security. For Shenkov, it is a punishment placement, and as the book unfolds we learn more about each man and how they came to be in this situation.

I loved Valery as a character, it is possible he is my favorite character from any Pulley novel. He is queer and most definitely neurodivergent, in a time and place when neither was accepted. He is the kind of person who cannot see an injustice without trying to do something to help. Part of this stems from having been in a terrible situation where he was unable to help, which we see in one of the flashback chapters, but part is just his innate nature. Shenkov the KGB officer is in his own way trying to help people, despite his position as the one who takes dissenters and rabble rousers out back and shoots them. He is in a sense trying to put the fire out while inside the house, but he is trying.

If you have read any of Pulley's novels before, you know the general direction it is going to go, but that is not a bad thing. How we get there is always different and fascinating, and I loved how much I actually learned about what radiation is and what exactly it can do in reading this book. A complaint I've had with her books before has been that the women are either unnecessarily unpleasant or just get killed off, but I am happy to say that was not the case in this book, with Shenkov's wife Anna being an excellent character, and Valery's friend Svetlana not having too much screen time but making the most of what she does have.


A couple of content warnings: there is an off screen sexual assault, and period realistic homophobia and ableism

The Half Life of Valery K
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
This book is absolutely fantastic. The characters are incredibly well-written. Their emotions are relatable and their growth is easy to root for. The plot is amazing. It’s equal parts contemplative and suspenseful. I love Natasha Pulley’s work. Her characters are always so lovingly crafted and her plots are always so compelling. This book is wonderful, and I highly encourage people to read it.

What if, at the height of the cold war, there was a secret nuclear facility hidden deep in the Urals? What if there was a deadly leak that was hidden from residents, the country, and the rest of the world?

I kept thinking of Chernobyl, which isn't so secret. About the devistation from that catastophe. But the tendency, even with something of that scale, is to think of it in overall terms. The effect on the environment. The lack of regulation. Large terms.

This book makes what happened small terms. One scientist. One KGB officer. His wife. His kids. Very personal, which makes what happened so much more terrifying. Odd how the thought of a large disaster should be what is terrifying. It is the reality of the impact on people you feel you know that brings that terror home. And in this story, we feel we know these people. That they are real. That the impact on their lives really happened.

Amazing, well-told story of an actual event (and not Chernobyl).

over the course of a month natasha pulley has become one of my favorite authors, and the half life of valery k has only secured her place at the top of that list!

it follows the standard pulley format -- lonely man gets caught up in a fantastical (in this case so science-heavy it feels fantastical) mystery and finds purpose/love along the way -- set in her usual lush historical setting -- a secret soviet nuclear testing facility. what sets valery k apart from her previous works is its stellar character work, in particular with the protagonist. the most broken of the pulley protags, valery's struggles are starkly rendered and meticulously paced in how they are revealed in the narrative.

this entire book, nevermind the mystery and the plot, is worth reading solely as an example of how to nail the execution of a tragic, angst-filled protag without it feeling too ham-fisted or heavy-handed in wringing out sympathy from the reader. valery k has a dry, almost self-deprecating humor, poking fun at everything from academia to communism. valery himself is a big source of this humor, calling himself a "creepy little abacus" person and "funny harmless little science elf" less than a month after he was transferred out of a sub-zero siberian gulag. the tragic events that lead to him becoming a political prisoner, however, are discussed with a matter-of-fact tact that only endears him as a multi-faceted character: this is what happened, don't pity me, this is just how things are.

what also amazes me is how slice-of-life it is, and how the day-to-day life in a nuclear testing facility doesn't at all contrast with the urgency of the potential government conspiracy valery stumbles into. the plot is slow, but the warm tone makes the slowness feel intentional and promising. methodical in its domesticity, developing not just valery's rough transition from naive biochemist to tattooed political prisoner to something else, but a soft, slow-burning romance that is an absolutely pleasant, complicated, well-deserved surprise.

the only issue i have with valery kis its ending -- not the ending itself necessarily, but the plot beats/character decisions taken to arrive there. the women characters in pulley novels, while always well-rounded, are also usually sidelined when it comes to the primary romance. valery k is no different, and in particular includes a female character who's married to valery's love interest and makes certain decisions in the third act that are outright absurd, seemingly made only to take her out of the picture so that the main romance can go about undisturbed. it came entirely out of left-field, and i still can't wrap my head around a reasonable in-universe explanation as to why it happened. i understand that including a queer relationship in a historical setting while also gunning for a happy ending for them is a challenge, but surely it could have been achieved through means that aren't disingenuous to the characters.

other than that, i absolutely loved valery k. i've already purchased the hard-cover and can't wait to read it again. highly recommend!
ew.

As a huge fan of Natasha Pulley’s work, I was thrilled to get an eARC of The Half Life of Valery K. I was completely absorbed in the story from start to finish and so sad when it ended. The main characters have interesting back stories, are flawed, lonely, traumatized, and morally ambiguous at times. The main character is neurodivergent though it is never explicitly addressed. I would have liked more of the side characters, particularly the Anna and Svetlana. I loved the way the story progressed and the way the back stories were inserted at just the right time. While many of Pulley’s other works have a fantasy/magical element, this one does not. The realistic details -of the prison experiences with the Russian mob, the tap code, KgB monitoring, effects of radiation- drew me in and kept me interested. The queer romance was sweet and subtle (one of Pulley’s trademarks) and Albert, the octopus was a fun touch. The details about gender equality in Russia at the time were a nice touch and the juxtaposition with the couple in England was thought-provoking. The author’s note at the end inspired me to research the real City 40, the Kyshtym disaster, the alien baby and more. This would appeal to a broad audience- fans of historical fiction, anyone curious about nuclear power or disasters, radiation and its effects, coverups, human tests, Russia, LGBTQ romance, mystery. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the eArc and the opportunity to review this title.

it’s 1963. former nuclear specialist valery kolkhanov gets swept from a frozen prison camp to city 40, a mysterious town that houses a set of nuclear reactors & a forest that has rusted from within. his task? serve out the rest of his prison term research the effect of radiation on local fauna. but as he digs deeper, something doesn’t add up - the radiation levels aren’t right and there are secrets taken to the grave.

i think pulley tricked me into attending a chemistry lesson.

this is different from pulley’s other books, in that there’s no magical realism, no event spanning time and defying physics. just two people caught in the eye of a political storm that could tear them apart, the subterfuge, the trauma. the way it carries itself in iron chains around our necks even as we seek comfort. an intimate tragedy.

and yet, this is unmistakably pulley. what can i say about pulley that i haven’t said before?

how there’s a method to the madness; a formula perfected so finely that it never fails to leave me breathless and reeling. the way she weaves each story in a way that feels like literal magic - take what you know from the history books but make it queer and infuse it with sad, tragic, frayed men. so desperately lonely but with a heart of fire.

how she doesn’t write romance per se, but writes about love. in the past, it’s the relentless waiting, the red thread that spans through time and history, an intimate unspoken understanding, an elbow touch.

here, its kindness in a world so harrowing and bleak, safety in a place that isn’t, the choice of kindness when its so much easier to be cruel, the arms around you when your lungs don’t work, the warm touch that tries to ease away embedded shards under skin. and as always, an inexplicable pull.

how she writes in a way where even the simplest sentences feel like a gut punch? an electric shock. so raw and yet so beautiful. how i want to gnaw on my knuckles while reading them and how she leaves me aching for a place that i don’t even know.

how its only april, but i already know this book will make an appearance on my top 10 countdown in december. i am so, so utterly in love.

I'm surprised I didn't grind my teeth down to nothing reading this book. In Soviet era Russia an imprisoned scientist is released to work in a secret, highly irradiated, city on the effects of atomic energy. The stakes were incredibly high. There wasn't a moment where I felt safe. Early on I realized what is rational to me held no merit and anything could happen. In the background of this incredible story a relationship builds so quietly, and so sweetly and realistic, I knew I was a goner when it came to these characters.



I finished The Half Life of Valery K a few weeks ago. I'm having a hard time expressing how much I loved this book. It was a rough read that hurt pretty much all of the time, so if that's what you're into...with beautiful character development and fascinating scientific fiction speculated from real history. A new favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this arc.

This was a page-turner and I couldn't put it down. The plot itself was compelling, but the subtext was equally compelling. A good portrayal of the cold brutality of a totalitarian regime. Occasionally there would be a narrative device or a character's interior thought relayed that felt decidedly 21st-century/Western, but it was never enough to disrupt my suspension of disbelief or investment in the characters/outcome. Recommend!

I have to say that I am pretty impressed. Every book I've read by Pulley has thus far been amazing. How do they keep getting away with this? Lol. I thought the writing style, the subject matter, the characterization was all so good. I love the way that Natasha writes, their writing style feels much more casual than a lot of authors so I find myself immediately sucked in by the comradery of it all. 5/5 I recommend! I also recommend their backlog as it is all awesome!

Oof, Pulley's writing always has a way of singing to me. This wasn't my favorite of her books, but it was still a great, solid read that I enjoyed spending time with.

This didn't have her usual fantastical elements, and was instead solidly historical fiction. It did have other Pulley hallmarks though, including:

- A lonely, quietly brilliant protagonist.
- An octopus.
- Clockwork.
- A wibbly sort of plot.
- Quiet yearning.

This was a dark novel, that deals with human atrocities, and in the case of both the protagonist and his love interest there's a sense their crimes (and there are a lot of them) matter less than the grand picture of suffering that is the setting because they're the good guys. I also want to say that I think one of the reasons this book didn't resonate with me in quite the same was as her others is because wow, science. There is a lot of discussion of radiation, which I understand is, you know, a large piece of the plot, but I would have liked more talk of feelings and less of curies.

Overall verdict is I love Pully and will read anything she writes forevermore. The end.

We have to standard Pulley formula of small sad man + big sad man + weird mystery/setting and some elbow touching for good measure (I'm going to make a compilation of all the elbow touching and the Pulley-verse someday) and it works! Every time! I also learned so much about radiation. Pulley never half asses anything and that includes giving us all a lesson in radioactive isotopes. I, for one, love it. Shocking I know. And how she looks at these strange events that have happened in real life and is like you know what this needs? To be queer and sad! And she's so right

Valery has become one of my all time favorite characters. Is it the autistic coding that is extremely relatable? The fact that he has a pet octopus named Albert? His intense need to make things right, no matter what? Yes, to all of the above. We have a whole crew of interesting characters this time though and I loved having more people on page than usual.

And of course the writing. What else can I even say about how Pulley writes at this point. The heart ache that it gives me is like none other. I feel homesick for a place I've never even been. Even just the most basic lines are infused with a magic that I can't explain. "He was luminous with joy. Or not joy, the pain-joy that came from trying to memorize it exactly because he would never see anything like it again" just makes me want to weep.

I need to physical copy in my hands so I can immediately reread and underline the whole thing, as one does.