Fiction

Damascus Station: A Novel

Damascus Station: A Novel

  • Downloads：6632
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-09 06:51:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：David McCloskey
  • ISBN：1324036133
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

CIA case officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad。 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。


But the cat and mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime， bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad’s spy catcher， Ali Hassan， and his brother Rustum， the head of the feared Republican Guard。 Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion， Damascus Station is a gripping thriller that offers a textured portrayal of espionage， love， loyalty， and betrayal in one of the most difficult CIA assignments on the planet。

Download

Reviews

Robert Hilliard ，

Exceptional Spy ThrillerThis is a first-rate page-turner。 McCloskey has written an action thriller that also pulses with humanity。 The detailed descriptions of spy tradecraft are outstanding and ring with realism， while the characters are fully three-dimensional。 Even the villains are complex， with understandable motivations。 Can't recommend this novel highly enough。 It is exceptional on multiple levels。 Exceptional Spy ThrillerThis is a first-rate page-turner。 McCloskey has written an action thriller that also pulses with humanity。 The detailed descriptions of spy tradecraft are outstanding and ring with realism， while the characters are fully three-dimensional。 Even the villains are complex， with understandable motivations。 Can't recommend this novel highly enough。 It is exceptional on multiple levels。 。。。more

Patty ，

Pretty good。 Suspenseful。 Bit too much use of the letter salad used in government， but it stops the narrative when you can’t remember what the heck VIZCON stands for…。

Jeff Lacy ，

Intelligent and excitingThis is an intelligent and exciting spy thriller; one of the best I have read。 Its strength is its authenticity。 Great character development and strong， tight writing that keeps the tension building。 The reader is hooked from the first page and it becomes consuming。

Bonnie ，

This is a sometimes confusing， sometimes funny， sometimes tragic story about British diplomats and Syrian spies， diplomats， etc。 in Damascus， Syria。 Confusing is why I rated it 3 stars。

Chaim Wachtel ，

Loved it。。。 good spy thriller， CIA in present day Syria， just a good quick read。

Harold Kasselman ，

Who am I to disagree with General David Petraeus？ Well， he says this is the best spy novel ever。 I think it is very good。 But， he is certainly in a better position than I to judge the veracity of the plot。 It is realistic， in the sense that there isn't scene after scene of killing and James Bond attics。 It is an interesting historical exposition of the Syrian civil war， our tactics in that war， and how we enlist and use spies in the middle east。 I only wish our government had done what the CIA d Who am I to disagree with General David Petraeus？ Well， he says this is the best spy novel ever。 I think it is very good。 But， he is certainly in a better position than I to judge the veracity of the plot。 It is realistic， in the sense that there isn't scene after scene of killing and James Bond attics。 It is an interesting historical exposition of the Syrian civil war， our tactics in that war， and how we enlist and use spies in the middle east。 I only wish our government had done what the CIA did with presidential approval。 。。。more

Don ，

I loved this book！ An outstanding debut from someone who's been there and done that。 Can't wait for book 2！ I loved this book！ An outstanding debut from someone who's been there and done that。 Can't wait for book 2！ 。。。more

Sherrywd ，

The plot was realistic enough， but an unsatisfying ending。

Kyle Howard ，

One of the best spy novels I’ve ever read。 McCloskey does an incredible job transporting you to Damascus and putting you in the middle of a civil war， internal political struggle and a forbidden love。

James ，

Enjoyed the book but took away a star± because in every spy novel the hero is handsome， smart， worldly and wins the beautiful girl。 The female is beautiful， brilliant， jogs miles before breakfast， and wins the handsome spy and they live happily after in a villa somewhere in Europe。 Sorry， it doesnt happen this way。

Ron McManus ，

It took me a while to get into this book， but by the time I finished it， I loved it。 Probably one of the best espionage books I've read。 It took me a while to get into this book， but by the time I finished it， I loved it。 Probably one of the best espionage books I've read。 。。。more

Jen J ，

This espionage novel is written by a former CIA analyst experienced in Middle Eastern affairs。 The book is fast-paced， tension-filled， with both tech and old-fashioned spy craft。 This is David McCloskey's first novel and if he continues to write novels of this calibre， then he looks to follow the footsteps of the late great John LeCarré。 This espionage novel is written by a former CIA analyst experienced in Middle Eastern affairs。 The book is fast-paced， tension-filled， with both tech and old-fashioned spy craft。 This is David McCloskey's first novel and if he continues to write novels of this calibre， then he looks to follow the footsteps of the late great John LeCarré。 。。。more

Sara ，

Set in modern day Syria， this complicated political espionage thriller reveals much about the current mess in Syria。 Various groups and factions， complicated relationships， power hungry despots， and every day citizens caught in the middle。 Sam is a CIA agent sent to recruit Mariam， a mid level bureaucrat from a prominent Christian family。 Against all odds and the rules， they fall in love and they are loyal to each other。 The love story is heartbreaking but the espionage is frightening and horrif Set in modern day Syria， this complicated political espionage thriller reveals much about the current mess in Syria。 Various groups and factions， complicated relationships， power hungry despots， and every day citizens caught in the middle。 Sam is a CIA agent sent to recruit Mariam， a mid level bureaucrat from a prominent Christian family。 Against all odds and the rules， they fall in love and they are loyal to each other。 The love story is heartbreaking but the espionage is frightening and horrific。 Not for squeamish readers as the torture scenes are quite upsetting。 Nonetheless， one of the best books I've read in a very long time 。。。more

Steve W ，

While the plot was interesting， I found the story （on audiobook） hard to follow。 It kept bouncing around between cities and it was not clear to a listener （without the ability to easily thumb back through pages to achieve clarity） how now the transition happened， and perhaps whether we are in the present or a flashback。While I appreciate Andrew B。 Wehrlen narrating the book， I found the voice too hard to hear while driving and listening。 The voice seemed too low and was overcome by road noise （d While the plot was interesting， I found the story （on audiobook） hard to follow。 It kept bouncing around between cities and it was not clear to a listener （without the ability to easily thumb back through pages to achieve clarity） how now the transition happened， and perhaps whether we are in the present or a flashback。While I appreciate Andrew B。 Wehrlen narrating the book， I found the voice too hard to hear while driving and listening。 The voice seemed too low and was overcome by road noise （due to the tone， not the volume）。Even as the book finished， I found I didn't quite understand what had happened and how Sam and Miriam turned out; it felt as if the relationship just kind of fizzled and I didn't find that aspect of the ending very satisfying。 。。。more

Matt ，

Great spy book。 Contemporary and very realistic。 I can't wait to read his next book when he comes out with one。 Great spy book。 Contemporary and very realistic。 I can't wait to read his next book when he comes out with one。 。。。more

R D ，

Excellent！ Lots of tradecraft and agency personality clashes。 Ditto with the Syrian intel services。

Audrey ，

Gritty and grim yet realistic spy thriller by a former CIA employee。 I look forward to his next book！

Laura Hartmann-Villalta ，

top notch spy novel。 lots of intricacies on both sides of the coin -- the syrian side & the american side。 really gets at how difficult intelligence operations are， and how patience is often more rewarded than brute force。 good character building， too。 highly recommend。

Brandon ，

Awesome。 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾 What a story。 This book will stay with me for awhile。 A spy story that places me in Damascus where I can feel the desperation of the bad actors and the folly of the good guys。 Life is not clean cut and I love to read that in novels: ambiguity， confusion， mistakes， anger and stubbornness。 A very fun read。

Steve M。 ，

Great book！ Had a very realistic feel to the story which had me on the edge al my seat all the way through。

Brian Kelley ，

This may be the finest book on counterintelligence I’ve ever read。 And I have read a lot of them。 I can’t recommend this book enough。 This book is truly a page turner。 I can’t wait for his next one。

Steve Solnick ，

Excellent espionage thriller - set in Syria。 The author’s CIA background is evident in the extensive and convincing descriptions of tradecraft。 I don’t think I’ve ever read a book this obsessed with Surveillance Detection Routes， except perhaps for the nonfiction Billion Dollar Spy。 The characters are multi-dimensional and while there are a few plot holes （recruitments and betrayals seems to unfold with lightning speed， and the final scheme to resolve the plot seems far-fetched even by the stand Excellent espionage thriller - set in Syria。 The author’s CIA background is evident in the extensive and convincing descriptions of tradecraft。 I don’t think I’ve ever read a book this obsessed with Surveillance Detection Routes， except perhaps for the nonfiction Billion Dollar Spy。 The characters are multi-dimensional and while there are a few plot holes （recruitments and betrayals seems to unfold with lightning speed， and the final scheme to resolve the plot seems far-fetched even by the standards of spy fiction） I remained hooked and finished the book in a day。 I’ll happily read another by McCloskey。 。。。more

Paul Niemczyk ，

The best spy novel I have ever read。 And for that matter， considered the best by many in the community。 I loved it for its tradecraft and intrigue， not to mention the backdrop of the Syrian Civil War - so much so that I read it twice！

Chris Reed ，

A gripping and realistic st thriller written by someone with first-hand （ex） CIA experience of how the world works in the Middle East。 It’s not flawless， but it’s pacey and credible as well as not being pure propaganda either。

Kevin B Chill ，

This book was a great story of the struggles， power play， corruption， and instability of Syria。Sam Joseph is not your super spy CIA special agent， he’s good at his job but he’s human。 This is a story about him， how he does his job， how he tries to live his life， how counter-espionage works， and how Syria is unstable。

Eric ，

Not sure how I came to have this novel on my to read list。 It was certainly entertaining。 Perhaps， I should rate it 4 stars。 My read followed Spies Lies and Algorithms so the substantial involvement of the CIA in Damascus reinforced some of Spies findings。 Written from the perspective of a third party omniscient narrator， it was interesting that all of the various categories of characters knew some but not all of what was going on with their "opponents"。 I was interested in how the story ultimat Not sure how I came to have this novel on my to read list。 It was certainly entertaining。 Perhaps， I should rate it 4 stars。 My read followed Spies Lies and Algorithms so the substantial involvement of the CIA in Damascus reinforced some of Spies findings。 Written from the perspective of a third party omniscient narrator， it was interesting that all of the various categories of characters knew some but not all of what was going on with their "opponents"。 I was interested in how the story ultimately unfolded。 。。。more

Gerard Mchugh ，

Superb spy novel。 Characterisation was really well done， and the author delivered what to me at least seemed like very credible narrative and plot。

Dominic ，

A gripping， tangled nest of foreign intelligence， palace intrigues， and the ties that bind。 Truly excellent espionage thriller。 For my taste， however， McCloskey dwells a bit too long on descriptors of sundry items （clothing particularly， computer brands， and so on）。 I'll be looking forward to more。 A gripping， tangled nest of foreign intelligence， palace intrigues， and the ties that bind。 Truly excellent espionage thriller。 For my taste， however， McCloskey dwells a bit too long on descriptors of sundry items （clothing particularly， computer brands， and so on）。 I'll be looking forward to more。 。。。more

Cecile ，

Fantastic spy novel， rightly very well reviewed - written by a former CIA analyst against the backdrop of Syrian civil war。 A real page turner。

Valay S ，

General David Petraeus called it "the best spy novel I have ever read。" He must not have read the early work from Robert Ludlum。 While this book is enjoyable， it is mostly predictable and logic-defying at times。 General David Petraeus called it "the best spy novel I have ever read。" He must not have read the early work from Robert Ludlum。 While this book is enjoyable， it is mostly predictable and logic-defying at times。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Damascus Station: A Novel

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Damascus Station: A Novel&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Damascus Station: A Novel&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0