The New York Times – Maggie Scarf: Belfer's first novel, City of Light, delineated the social and political tensions of Buffalo, N.Y., at the beginning of the age of electricity. A Fierce Radiance is similarly ambitious, combining medical and military history with commercial rivalry, espionage and thwarted love. Belfer clearly knows her scientific material. She also knows how to turn esoteric information into an adventure story, and how to tell that story very well.