The story takes place in the early 2010s, while the United States was engaged and supporting Assad’s opponents in the Syrian civil war. The Syrian president does appear in the story as an unattractive walk-on character, the only real political figure in the book. McCloskey goes deeper on the supporting cast around the dictator. There are husbands and wives, family members who must be protected, human foibles even among the most unyielding enemies.

The author clearly knows his stuff and at times makes it difficult to follow all the nuances of the plot, but this doesn’t spoil the story, rather it makes you concentrate that bit harder.Falling in love with your agent—literally, in this case—is a cardinal sin in the espionage trade. But Sam cannot help himself, especially after she pummels him at the dojo. A huge recommendation to anyone like me who loves spy novels but struggles to find the right books. McCloskey’s remarkably accomplished debut mixes action, a Romeo and Juliet story and previously undisclosed intelligence about Assad’s regime’– The Times Best Summer Books for 2023 That said, there are several spots in the book where I did ultimately sacrifice authenticity either to protect sensitive Agency tradecraft or where I thought it might weaken the storytelling,” he continued. “For example, there is a sequence in which CIA bomb techs test their work on cadavers. I had help creating my fictional bombs from a couple EOD techs, and when they read this part they said, ‘this is totally insane, the U.S. government would never do this.’ I said, I get it, but this is too fun, too cinematic to cut. I left it in.” But just like his villains, Damascus Station’s hero, like those around him, is human. And humans, even highly trained and effective case officers, make mistakes. The CIA adage of “never falling in love with your agent” is mostly a reminder to remain objective and even skeptical of your agent’s motivations and intelligence reporting so as to continually assess their veracity, access, and freedom from hostile control or deceptive intent. And an agent must be reassessed and essentially re-recruited at each and every meeting because life happens.

I wrote most of the novel in 2019, and since then the day-to-day fighting in Syria has declined as lines of control have hardened and the large number of foreign actors involved have pressed their local allies for ceasefires and the like. But the events of the novel take place in the early years of the conflict, roughly 2011-2013, and the war only got worse in the years that followed.” Damascus Station is simply marvellous storytelling...a stand-out thriller and essential reading for fans of the genre." Financial Times There is a minaret in the Great Mosque of Damascus that, according to prophecy, will one day witness the descent of the Messiah. With John le Carré gone from the field, literary espionage could use a new saviour. It may be too soon to hail David McCloskey as the chosen one. Yet he’s certainly not “a very naughty boy” — his debut novel Damascus Station is one of the best spy thrillers for years. A spy thriller I never would have guessed would be something I would get so into..... And I can't wait.for this to hit stores in October. David you have gained a new reader here!You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

Damascus Station by David was an outstanding read. Honestly I've never read a book with spies before. However, what is clear from this novel is that McCloskey has been there, done it and a whole lot more. The intricacies of the story are there for all to see and in the hands of a lesser author they would not play out as well as they do here. Stuffed with insider insights … It reveals some top-notch intelligence tradecraft’ – Tim Shipman, Sunday Times Sam pursues the brothers with surveillance assistance and monitoring from CIA headquarters, along with an extensive human network inside Syria. He also identifies a potential insider who can help—Mariam, whose family is tied in with the regime but who also has reason to harbor hatred for the system. Were she to be discovered as an opponent of the regime, Mariam and everyone around her would face certain death. But it’s not the last we’re going to hear from McCloskey (and maybe Sam, too). The erstwhile CIA man has outlines for two other Syria books, and hints at a third that focuses on Russia.Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Yes, McCloskey reasonably injects several of his villains with the typical one-dimensional Hollywood-esque bad guy personas necessary for the rollercoaster of suspense he deftly creates. But he likewise portrays other key players in this saga—such as the protagonist and other CIA characters as well as his principal Syrian nemesis—as more genuinely complex. His characters are capable of horrific acts of violence and cruelty in their jobs or while protecting their loved ones and colleagues—but likewise come across as loving family people with personal codes, moved at times even to undertake random acts of kindness. For an authentic representation of what it’s like to work in intelligence, look no further than Damascus Station. McCloskey has captured it all: the breathtaking close calls, the hand in glove of tech and ops, the heartbreaking disappointments, the thrill of a hard-won victory." - Alma Katsu, author of Red Widow and former CIA and NSA analyst You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Sam and his CIA team use that human factor to find weaknesses among their adversaries and to exploit those weaknesses. In Damascus Station, victory is never assured and there is more than one deadly encounter before it’s all over.