Ascent from Darkness

Stone Waverly Trilogy #2

by Steven E. Wilson

An international thriller of espionage, war, and love, interwoven with profound, world-changing events. Reluctant CIA operative Stone Waverly travels a shadowy trail from Odessa to Cologne to Amsterdam to Damascus, as agents with terror links evade an international dragnet. Everyone is suspect and nothing is as it seems, in a land where Islamic extremists determined to plunge civilization into darkness battle with special forces, Kurds, and Arabs intent on restoring hope to a world gone mad. Ascent from Darkness was a finalist for the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in Action Adventure.

Genres: Fiction

656 pages, Hardcover

First published June 27, 2007

Reviews

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the back cover of the book: A top CIA agent, with a mission impossible to find weapons-grade uranium in the heart of the Islamic world, becomes a real life 007 who sacrifices family for duty to country when he joins U.S. forces and Iraqi peasants alike in a quest to change the face of the Middle East after the overthrow of the Butcher of Baghdad. Masterfully using known facts of the Iraq war, including where weapons of mass destruction may have been hidden and how Saddam Hussein was topplied, Steven E. Wilson creates a rich fiction which takes you through Syria and Iraq in search of stolen Ukranian uranium, which, if not found, will almost certainly be used by terrorists. This thriller unfolds like a motion picture, complete with forbidden romance, desperate Special Forces operations, and a never-say-die love of country.

[Deborah Robb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fabulous. It takes place in various locations over a couple of years at the beginning of the Iraq war weaving together 3 stories. One story is based on a CIA agent, another on a Kurd fighter and the third story is based on two soldiers in the Special Forces. Each story is rather fascinating and unfolds showing their point of view and/or experiences of Iraq and the people, fighting and tragedy of what was endured under Saddam Hussein.

The book itself reinforced more what I hear from those that have served overseas than what the media portrayed. There were some interesting ideas in the book I hadn't considered. All in all, a great read and one that I think my husband would even enjoy.

[Jennifer Vogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just barely a 4 star book. It had sooooooooo much promise and was really great all the way until the last few chapters. Would have like to see a little more tying up of loose ends. Why give us so much about the characters to just end everything with very little fanfare, explanation, etc. This could have been a 5 star book if Wilson's editors would have changed the endings of some of the main storylines. Great book, hard to put down b/c you really want to know what happens to the characters. Looking forward to another Wilson war story.

[Frankie Milian · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent view into war and all tthose affected