Damascus Station: Unmissable New Spy Thriller From Former CIA Officer (Damascus Station, 1)

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As interesting as the book is, the author spends a lot of time in my opinion in unnecessary minutiae. He captures the places and people--and most of all, the sickening feeling in the gut--of this war that shattered poor Syria while America mostly watched. McCloskey portrays the incredible tension and the mission dangers so well, that the reader will feel sweat breaking out on her neck. Overall, though, a terrific read and I shall look forward to seeing if "Moscow X" maintains the standard.

One particularly memorable figure in the story is five-foot-tall Artemis Aphrodite Procter, the Chief of Damascus Station, whose pugnacity and liberal use of the F-word sometime shock even the men around her. One cannot review Damascus Station without a word on the sheer authenticity and realism of every part of the book.A volatile mix of traditional espionage plotlines intertwined with a modern level of violence that had me flipping pages until the early morning hours. As I read, the blend of fact and fiction, and perhaps a bit of ‘if only’, make this an excellent read. I had only devoured a dozen or so chapters, before I realized that this book is worthy of every ounce of praise. In a program managed by his Republican Guard, officials in the novel are amassing thousands of tons of sarin. Based on Damascus Station’s intriguing plot concept — which is very representative of the type of books I enjoy — and the advance praise it generated, I highly anticipated it to be a book I’d be recommending highly.

The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Finally, there is a clear reliance on stereotypes to villainize members of Syria’s government - from the mustachioed mafia type, to the pedophile, to the woman constructed out of Botox and plastic.The backdrop of crumbling Syria – a country steeped in rich heritage, history and culture – literally disintegrating under the weight of constant fighting is jarringly juxtaposed with the vibrancy and opulence of Paris and Villefranche-sur-mer and the stunning, peaceful beauty of Tuscany, and these locations provide the freedom for Sam and Mariam to explore their emotions more fully. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad's recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy. Standout debut from a veteran former CIA officer … packed with insider knowledge and the story itself feels completely authentic. But others get into the act, too, including Russian intelligence, an Israeli spy, and the jihadist rebels in Syria.

The story moves along well, the Syrian characters are well drawn, and there's an intriguing, plausible climax and ending. My first spy thriller with a focus on Syria, and with an ex-CIA author, you know you'll get a firsthand account on spycraft. Damascus Station combines an insider's account of tradecraft--detailed enough to satisfy the most demanding geeks--with compassion for the Syrian people, outrage at the Assad regime, and an up-to-the-minute old-fashioned love story. Throughout, with a diverse cast of believable and developed characters, McCloskey treats readers to a glimpse of life inside a CIA station abroad and to the inner workings of the neurotic and sociopathic Assad regime. McCloskey portrays the brutal inner functioning of the Assad regime, as well as the CIA's occasional ineptitude, while detailing such elements of spy craft as avoiding tails, maximizing dead drops, and operating safe houses.It is accepted by you that Daunt Books has no control over additional charges in relation to customs clearance. Unlike many American "spy" thriller authors, his book actually emphasizes spycraft and espionage rather than gunfights, explosions, and special operations. DS" is well written, and filled to the brim with credible tradecraft and lots of gritty detail about the challenges for intelligence operatives of working in a hostile city such as Damascus. He is sent to Syria under a none official cover (noc) to assist his fellow officer Val Owens - who’s under official cover as an Officer in the US Embassy – with an exfil of her asset, a chemical scientist Marwan Ghazali. Both Sam and Mariam are unusually attractive (of course, this being fiction), and they are drawn together from the outset.

That's true of many thrillers, but the fact the book makes a big point of being very realistic meant that those bits jarred a bit. There's a good novel lurking within in here somewhere but I found it over-concerned with CIA jargon, perhaps unsurprisingly given the author's ex-company background and some of the characters felt a little bit like they had been taken from a catalog. And it’s against that background that CIA veteran David McCloskey spins out his spellbinding spy story about espionage in Syria, Damascus Station. I found the intentional use of the character’s religious identity – which is one I share myself – for the sake of a shaky plot to be ineffective and completely unappreciated.Sam knows this is forbidden by the CIA; a case officer should never enter into a relationship with an agent. I am shocked the CIA's Publication Review Board allowed David McCloskey's Damascus Station to see the light of day. His character is portrayed as one of a soldier, doing his duty, despite however ruthless that requires him to be, but there is not a sense of perverse enjoyment, as there is with the others. As if spying in Damascus under the Assaad regime isn't nail-biting enough, their secret more than handler-asset relationship gives me the heebie-jeebies throughout the story!