Phantom Orbit

A subtle and masterful novel from a prescient voice on the cutting edge of spy literature.

‍

‍David Ignatius is known for his uncanny ability, in novel after novel, to predict the next great national security headline. In Phantom Orbit, he presents a story both searing and topical, with stakes as far-reaching as outer space. It follows Ivan Volkov, a Russian student in Beijing, who discovers an unsolved puzzle in the writings of the 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler. The puzzle holds untold consequences for space warfare. Volkov continues his secret work back home in Moscow.

‍

The years pass, and they are not kind. After the loss of his son, a prosecutor who’d been too tough on corruption, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Volkov makes the fraught decision to contact the CIA. He writes: Satellites are your enemies, especially your own…. Hidden codes can make time stop and turn north into south. If you are smart, you will find me. With this timely novel, Ignatius addresses our moment of renewed interest in space exploration amid geopolitical tumult. Phantom Orbit brims with the author’s vital insights and casts Volkov as the man who, at the risk of his life, may be able to stop the Doomsday clock.

‍

Norton (May 7, 2024)