Elise Cooper for BLACKFIVE The Skorpion Directive is the fourth book in a series by David Stone. It reunites CIA operatives Micah Dalton and Mandy Pownall. The plot is very powerful and fast paced. His story captures the emotions of avenging the death of a good friend. The novel unfolds as the main character, Micah Dalton, travels around the world to find the killer of his friend, Mossad agent Issadore Galan. Within the story Stone explores what would happen if someone in the intelligence world wants to create a rift between allies America and Israel In the book there are a lot of references to current political issues. A relevant quote from the book is “judgment was easy. War was not.” When asked what he meant by that statement, Stone responded that “It’s easy to sit back and make a judgment. What is required is a leap of your imagination. Put yourself in that second or in that environment at that time.” Stone describes in detail Galan’s killing and torture so realistically that the reader suffers along with Galan. He was portrayed by Stone as a very sympathetic figure and with this character he explored the definition of torture. When asked about the Galan character Stone told blackfive.net that he wanted people to look on Galan as a symbol for Israel. Stone commented that Galan “suffered horribly; yet, he maintains his humanity. He is a compassionate individual that was betrayed by the West.” What is very interesting is that Stone made a comment in the book that Israel has no friend in the White House. He predicted the political environment over a year and half ago when he finished the book and before Obama became President. The main character, Dalton, is depicted as a very complex personality. He seems to be unable at times to share his feelings and talk about his emotions. It is almost as if he built a wall to protect him from outsiders. Stone agreed with this analogy and commented that Dalton is “trying to keep a demilitarized zone around him.” Women characters, Mandy Pownall and Veronika Miklas, play an important role in this book. Stone shows how women in the intelligence business have the talent to put together patterns, are good listeners, and can analyze well. It was obvious that Dalton did not feel challenged by women and used their talents to solve the case. With that said, Veronika was dropped off suddenly and unexpectedly and was not heard from for the rest of the book. It would have been nice if, in the book, Stone would have explained why the character went MIA. Throughout the book there are phrases in different languages. This was distracting and annoying. Yet, it made more sense after Stone explained why he did it. He wanted to show the readers “what it would be like to be loose in the world with people speaking a language you don’t understand completely.” This book has many interesting characters with an intricate and fast paced plot. It takes the reader through many human feelings. This is a good political thriller that blends reality and fiction for a very good read.
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Posted
May 13 2010, 12:39 AM
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BLACKFIVE