#126: Damascus Station by David McCloskey

A guest post by Andrew and upcoming projects I'm excited about

Hello readers,

I am excited about today’s guest post and I’m looking forward to some projects I have in the works for the rest of this year. I’ve even started looking ahead to next year because…

I turn 40 in 2024! What should I read next year??

I’m leaving my 30s behind and entering a new decade of life. I loved my 30s even more than I loved my 20s (and I really loved my 20s), so this is going to hurt a little bit. And with next year shaping up to be another stressful election year, I’d like to revisit some of my all-time, feel-good, favorite books. I’m thinking it needs a catchy theme of either “Reading 24 of My Favorite Books in 2024” or “Reading 40 of my Favorite Books Before I Turn 40.” More to come on that as I put a list together.

For today, Andrew is back! With another excellent book review! It’s been over a year since his guest post on Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, so this is long overdue.

If you enjoy reading Bite Size Reviews, please consider subscribing for free - that is the best way to support me. If you are already a subscriber, please consider sharing! Thank you.

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Damascus Station is the best spy novel I have ever read.
-General David Patraeus, former CIA Director

The most realistic and authentic depiction of modern-day tradecraft in nonpermissive and hostile environments you will find in print.
-Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL and bestselling author of the Terminal List series.

Hi everyone, it’s me again—Andrew, Kyle’s best friend. Somehow, I talked Kyle into letting me write another guest post. I’m super excited about this book review for Damascus Station by David McCloskey.

Why I Like It

I graduated from the Marine Corps Command & Staff College this past summer; it’s a one-year, full-time master’s program, where I took electives on the CIA and Cyber Operations. As part of these electives, I met and received briefings from analysts, agents, and operators across the U.S. Intelligence Community, including classified briefings from case officers and experts at CIA Headquarters.

I am neither an intelligence analyst or agent, nor have I ever conducted covert operations; however, based on my limited exposure to the CIA and the capabilities of America’s Intelligence Community, the spycraft, tradecraft, and operations within Damascus Station are all legitimate.

McCloskey also expertly interweaves actual locations, catastrophes, political figures, and threats into the novel, nearly making it historical fiction.

In addition to the realistic nature of the novel’s plot, the book is wildly entertaining. Even my wife, who traditionally doesn’t read spy thrillers or action novels, enjoyed it immensely.

The Plot

The novel takes place in Syria during the early years of the current civil war. Sam Joseph, a young hunk of a CIA case officer, embarks on a mission to recruit a new asset within dictator Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government. While this would always be a tricky operation, an additional twist complicates things even more—the target asset is a young, attractive lady. To paraphrase Daniel Craig’s Bond in Casino Royale: “[Her] beauty is a problem” and things get a little steamy between handler and asset. During this love affair, the two must dodge assassinations and arrests while preventing tragedy and saving loved ones—or at least trying to.

If you’re looking for a realistic and suspenseful thriller filled with action, romance, and historical accuracy, check out Damascus Station.

For the record—I listened to the audiobook on Audible, and the narrator was great.

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Thanks for that review, Andrew! I love a steamy thriller and am excited to check this out.

Upcoming Bite Size Review projects

Since I’m me, I can’t help myself from mentioning a few upcoming collaborations and projects that really get me excited about the future of this newsletter. I’ll only mention a few:

• Coraline collaboration with Sarah Miller from Can We Read? Sarah has the best community of parents and caregivers trying to raise lifelong readers and we’ll be writing about Neil Gaiman’s children’s(?) book and film adaptation both here and over on her publication.

• The Count of Monte Cristo collaboration with Jeremy Anderberg from The Big Read. For a while there I thought I’d be reading TCoMC for the rest of my life - it is long! But I have finished and am watching the 2002 film (a long-time favorite) and one other adaptation for an upcoming post on The Big Read. Jeremy’s online book club is phenomenal. Most of you are already Big Read subscribers but if you aren’t, check it out!

• Barbenheimer - The summer film phenomenon of Barbie and Oppenheimer will be in the history books forever. What a fun summer it has been with all the memes and large groups of people dressing up to go to the movies. I have seen both films and read American Prometheus, the Pulitzer Prize winning Oppenheimer biography that inspired the film. I’ve got a couple Barbie biographies to read before publishing some thoughts here. Very excited.

• Derry Girls - I. Love. This. Show. Everyone should watch it. It is hilarious and dear to me and I’d like to find a good book pairing. Perhaps something from this list.

• The Bear - This show knocked me down, kicked me in the teeth, lifted me up as high as any show ever has, then dropped me back on my butt. And left me there. I already know the perfect book pairing and if you’ve seen the show, you probably do too. :)

Alright, that’s enough of a sneak peek! Let me know what you’ve been enjoying, I’d love to know.

Until next time,

Kyle