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  • Daikon: A Novel
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Samuel Hawley
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Daikon: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Samuel Hawley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
4.2 on Goodreads
120 ratings

鶹

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“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)

“A riveting tale about war, intrigue, love, and perseverance.” —John Grisham • “I could not look away. This novel is storytelling at its finest.” —Karl Marlantes • “Spellbinding…A breathtaking chain reaction that unleashes the true power of the novel.” —Adam Johnson • “Extraordinary…Daikon will sweep you away.” —Jess Walter • “Exhilarating…I loved this book, and you will love it too.” —Arthur Golden

A sweeping and suspenseful novel of love and war, set in Japan during the final days of World War II, 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.
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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    July 8 2025
  6. File size
    4.3 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product description

Review

“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. I witnessed the final days of World War II through the eyes of a loving Japanese man and woman separated by war and state terrorism. I endured the firebombing of Tokyo, and I felt extreme hunger and abject fear as much as is humanly possible without the actual experience. And finally, I was nearly shattered by one man’s willingness to sacrifice almost everything to save that which he most treasured. 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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins

“In Samuel Hawley’s spellbinding debut novel, history and possibility collide. The result is a gripping, propulsive journey into the nuclear heart of what might have been. The year is 1945, and Japan’s defeat is at hand. But what if they had the atomic bomb? And what if we, by mistake, had given it to them? Daikon ponders whether what’s best in humanity is found only in its darkest moments. And whether love can transcend death and war. The result is a breathtaking chain reaction that unleashes the true power of the novel.”
— ADAM JOHNSON, New York Times bestselling and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Orphan Master’s Son

“Daikon is an exhilarating tale set amid the extraordinary devastation and despair of Japan’s last days in World War II. Carefully researched, thoroughly convincing, and utterly compelling. I loved this book, and you will love it too.”
— ARTHUR GOLDEN, New York Times bestselling author of Memoirs of a Geisha --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

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 Japans 16th-century invasion of Korea and attempted conquest of China. He currently lives in Istanbul, Turkey. Daikon is his debut novel. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DK5YRVBR
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 8 2025
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.3 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1668098530
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • 鶹 Rank: #97,848 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the author

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Samuel Hawley

Samuel Hawley

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Samuel Hawley is a Canadian writer and filmmaker with BA and MA degrees in history from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He was born and grew up in South Korea and taught English there and in Japan for many years before becoming a full-time writer. His books include "THE IMJIN WAR," the most comprehensive account in English of Japan's 16th-century invasion of Korea and attempted conquest of China; "SPEED DUEL," about the quest for the land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in the 1960s; "I JUST RAN," the biography of Canadian Olympic legend Percy Williams, the World’s Fastest Human in the late 1920s; "ULTIMATE SPEED," the authorized biography of land speed racing icon Craig Breedlove; and "THE FIGHT THAT STARTED THE MOVIES: The World Heavyweight Championship, the Birth of Cinema and the First Feature Film." His next book, a novel called "DAIKON," will be published by Simon & Schuster's Avid Reader Press imprint in July 2025. He lives with his wife in Istanbul, Turkey.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
28 global ratings

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Top reviews from Canada

  • Zoe (whatsbetterthanbooks)
    4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, pacey, and engaging!
    Reviewed in Canada on July 13, 2025
    Daikon is an intriguing story that sweeps you away to Japan in the final days of WWII and into the life of US-educated physicist Keizo Kan who, in the wake of atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is recruited to use his intellect and knowledge to figure out how a large radish-shaped bomb containing uranium and found at the crash site of a US Bomber works in order for the Japanese to use it against their enemies.

    The prose is atmospheric and descriptive. The characters are intelligent, anxious, and driven. And the plot is an entertaining tale about life, love, survival, tragedy, war, romance, loyalty, subterfuge, devastation, culture, and the intricacies of making nuclear bombs.

    Overall, Daikon is a well-written, captivating, thought-provoking tale by Hawley that incorporates a nice mix of historical events, insightful information, and plausible fiction that is both enlightening and compelling.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Mystery fan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Plausibility aside, it reflects remarkable research
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    My hat is off to the author of Daikon for having clearly devoted years of research into the events of summer 1945. One thing readers won't find are anachronisms or historical errors, as the author accurately portrays the tug-of-war between the war and peace factions in the Japanese government, who dithered on the terms of surrender. The characters are realistically portrayed, and the explanation of the workings of a gun-type atomic bomb invites comparisons with Frederick Fortsyth's 1984 thriller "The Fourth Protocol." I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
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  • Leonard Jacobs
    5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling story of atomic bombs at the end of WWIi in Japan
    Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Creative and thrilling insights about Japanese experiences and psychology during the final days of WWII. How the Japanese military responded to an understanding of possible atomic warfare. Well written and incredibly well-researched. Highly recommended.
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  • Kindle Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Technical
    Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Hard to keep the characters straight, who was who with the Japanese names. The intense effort to describe the construction of the bomb went beyond the interest/understanding of the less technical reader.
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