Chernobyl is a novel by Frederik Pohl published in 1987.

It is based on the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Chernobyl is a novel in which the characters must decide whether to use hastily produced substandard materials or to delay the reactor schedule while it is already overdue.

[1] Dave Langford reviewed Chernobyl for White Dwarf #98, and stated that "Avoiding Evil Empire stereotypes, Pohl does his own country a service by reminding us that lots of Americans detest the knee-jerk, anti-commie paranoia which sometimes seems to be the US national stereotype.

The technical background is all there too, in palatable form.