The Skorpion Directive

A Micah Dalton Thriller

By: David Stone

Narrated by: Jason Culp

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The brilliant new Micah Dalton thriller from the New York Times best-selling author.

In Vienna for a top-secret meeting with ex-Mossad agent Issadore Galan, Micah Dalton senses that something is very wrong on the streets of the Ring District. Dalton's aggressive response to enemy surveillance makes him the target of a complex plot with the potential to shatter America's strategic alliances with the rest of the civilized world. Planned by an unknown foreign power and executed by a scarred Serbian killer known only as Smoke, the conspiracy pits Dalton against an ultrasecret U.S. agency and a cadre of trained KGB killers.

In a blistering trajectory of events that takes him from Venice to the Balkans and the barren shoreline of North Africa, Dalton pushes himself to the edge of sanity in a desperate attempt to save his honor-and his life.

©2010 David Stone (P)2010 Penguin

Having a hard time with this one.

First off let me say I have just finished the first half of this book but I feel I have a few things I can say. This is the third time the narrator has been switched, the first one was great and Audible should has stuck with him in my opinion but that is just personal taste.
What drives me to write this is how wordy this book seems to be, I really don't need to get a complete description of every surface, color of the sky or set of clothes a person is wearing.
It seems that every change of scene requires five minutes of talk to just get to to a little action.
Also the evolution of some characters seems a bit strange, Mandy Pownall has gone from what seemed like a office worker to a spy / hit woman and now seems to be on her own to do as she pleases.
I really enjoyed the first of this series but I think this book could use some trimming and and still be a good book.

Stone does it again

CIA cleaner, Micah Dalton, doesn't disappoint! I love this series, and despite a few issues with the narration, I highly recommend this one. I will never look at a curling iron the same way again! If you haven't begun with Echelon Vendetta do so, I got my husband addicted to this series and I am just waiting for the fifith book. We both are! David Stone better get on it!

Stone delivers another excellent adventure

Having read or listened to all of his previous books, I was pleased to see David Stone return Micah Dalton in The Skorpion Directive. The author features interesting, mostly believable characters in fast moving yet well-put-together plots. The protagonist, Micah Dalton, and his allies confront great bad guys in conflicts that have current context. The reader, Jason Culp, adds to the experience with a great range of voices and accents. I believe Audible should better promote this writer. If you like espionage novels and audio books, I highly recommend Skorpion Directive.

Wish he wrote more

Just great stories, twists and turns. Riveting. I listened to the Micah Dalton series a few times and haven't tired yet.

'Delusions of Adequacy'

First, I think that I should tell you why you might 𝙣o𝙩 want to purchase "The Skorpion Directive," as this novel will not suit everyone. Don't buy this audiobook if you have not yet listened its Micah Dalton series predecessors -- starting with "The Echelon Vendetta" (2007) -- because you will miss out on the continuity and some of the allusions. Secondly, don't buy this audiobook if you object to right-wing proselytizing. Yes, David Stone has a right-of-center political stance ... but, then, so do Tom Clancy, Patrick Robinson, Stephen Hunter, and most of the other Military Thriller writers. I consider myself to have pretty liberal sensibilities -- and I am sticking to them! -- but I would regret missing out on these writers who, despite their right-wing stances, offer us some pretty exciting stories. Stone, in particular, is not only a good story-teller, but also a surprisingly good writer. Some of his descriptions qualify as poetry ... but he does proselytize:

"Here, at the end of my life, I've come to realize that the only reliable law is the law of unintended consequences. This new administration [referring to the Obama administration], for the most part, is neither stupid nor blindly partisan ... although some of the younger staffers at the White House seem to think it clever to act like junkyard dogs, as if political combat were the same as actual combat. But, then, when the young Turks in any new government aren't prating to their elders, they're preening in their shaving mirrors. They all share the same delusions of adequacy. The previous administration persuaded itself that it had the power to impose a kind of Junior-League Republicanism on murderous tribal theocracies. The new one imagines that it can impose the asinine Marcusian sophistries of Norm Chompsky and the Harvard faculty of humanities on the people of America; as if Socialism had not already been tried many times before, only to collapse in ruins -- frequently very bloody ruins. And God only knows what sort of grotesque ideological calliope the next army of enthusiasts will ride in on, horns blatting and banners ablaze. My consolation is that I'll probably not be around when the wheels fall off again."

In his Micah Dalton series, Stone consistently pursues an agenda: The C.I.A. should be allowed to do its job, unencumbered with liberal fetters. He makes a pretty good case for this agenda, showing through Micah Dalton's tribulations how the C.I.A. agents are hampered by government restrictions. In his Micah Dalton series, Stone has Dalton endure some hair-raising, terrifyingly realistic adventures. Don't buy 𝙖𝙣𝙮 of Stone's Micah Dalton audiobooks if graphic descriptions of violence make you queazy.

The narrator of "The Skorpion Directive," Jason Culp, has a slightly odd voice, but very good acting skills. He has many voices and accents at his command to distinguish all the characters from one another. I would recommend "The Skorpion Directive" to anyone who enjoys the Military Thriller genre, with the above-mentioned caveats.

Great Series

This is the final Micah Dalton Novel as it seems the author has gone black. I am very disappointed that we may not be seeing the 4th. As with the first two novels Stone brings his professional experience front and center along with great character development, both his male and female character are three dimensional and likeable. Also this novels gives the reader a lot of background on the Crimean Peninsula and Serbia which are areas typically not developed in other works of this genre.

Another excellent Micah Dalton thriller

David Stone's four books featuring Micah Dalton now rival Ludlum and Bourne, although Stone's books are less convoluted. The first two books were great, the third was a little less exciting but the fourth is once again one of the best spy thrillers I have ever listened to. I listen to books while running up to two hours at a time and and enjoy books that move along with lots of action. These books are perfect to run to.

Wish there were more

I have dearly loved this series of books. The story lines, the wit of the conversations. So tense one minute and literally laughing out loud the next. David Stone, where are you? We need more, more, more!

Simplistic

Trite story with a mostly unlikeable protagonist. Skip it unless you like to be lectured to.