The Echelon Vendetta: A Novel
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The Echelon Vendetta: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

David Stone (Author), Firdous Bamji (Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 147 ratings
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Micah Dalton isn't paid to ask questions. He's a "cleaner", a CIA fixer sent in to mop up the mess when an agent or situation goes bad. But when his close friend and mentor Porter Naumann turns up dead in an idyllic Tuscan hill town, an apparent suicide, Dalton's curiosity gets the best of him.

Naumann's death puts Dalton on a collision course with a killer who has a penchant for intricate knife-work and Native American mysticism, a sadist who is killing ex-CIA agents. The victims are hard-nosed field men whose only link to one another seems to be a global surveillance operation called Echelon. The murders appear to be acts of retribution. But for what?

An elegant, original, and chillingly suspenseful journey through the darkest alleys of international espionage, The Echelon Vendetta will keep you enthralled right up to its final, supremely satisfying twist.

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  1. Listening Length
    14 hours and 48 minutes
  2. Author
    David Stone
  3. Narrator
    Firdous Bamji
  4. Audible release date
    January 18, 2007
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Penguin Audio
  7. ASIN
    B000NIWHWS
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 14 hours and 48 minutes
Author David Stone
Narrator Firdous Bamji
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date January 18, 2007
Publisher Penguin Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B000NIWHWS
Best Sellers Rank #123,647 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#234 in Mystery Action Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#535 in Hard-Boiled Mysteries (Audible Books & Originals)
#1,159 in Espionage Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
147 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Pangloss
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent spy thriller
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2007
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This novel runs along at quite a frenetic pace and keeps the reader glued to the pages waiting to find out what happens next. For a first novel it is very good and I hope to see more from Mr. Stone. It is pretty much standard thriller fare, with a bad guy killing a bunch of supposedly good guys and a weary spy with his own demons trying to catch him. But Mr. Stone plots this story very well and the characters are a cut above most spy novels. Be warned that there is some fairly graphic violence and several very brutal murders so this is not for the faint of heart. One minor point is that several of the secondary characters have some type of cancer, mostly attributed to the use of tobacco products. Could the author be trying to make a statement here? It doesn't really take away from the story, but I found it a little strange. In any event, it is a very good book. Highly recommended.
5 people found this helpful
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Michael L. Slavin
4.0 out of 5 stars Revenge Killer Knocks Off CIA Operatives
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2009
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Micah Dalton was a CIA Cleaner. He was sent in to clean up after the death in Tuscany of his friend and fellow agent Porter Naumann. The brutal murders begin to pile up. Dalton searches for the thread that ties things together. His quest brings him back to remote parts of the U.S. This was a fairly interesting read that moved along reasonably well. Though I could have done without the paranormal aspects particularly the ghost of Naumann playing, for my taste, a bit too much of a role. Nevertheless, a good plot. Interesting new author.
2 people found this helpful
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Torolover
3.0 out of 5 stars OK novel
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2015
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OK novel, wouldn't recommend it highly.
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Steverino1984
5.0 out of 5 stars Micah Dalton - a fascinating, deadly man of contradictions - on the surface
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2013
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One of my reasons for this review is to try to balance some of the very negative reviews.
I found Micah Dalton an intriguing man of contradictions - at first blush. I should also add the fact that I tore through these 4 books in 5 days, and enjoyed them tremendously.
I would award at least 4 stars to each book, and easily, 2 of them five stars.
A disclaimer - this book takes a good amount of reading to wrap your mind around - it involves very colorful descriptions of bizarre, other-worldly events, but I recommend pushing through this period, as the payoff is well worth it.
Also - there is a fair amount of Italian language used, so I kept my laptop handy to assist in translation duties for phrases beyond my fundamental grasp of this beautiful language.

I cannot recommend all 4 books highly enough, and encourage anyone "on the fence" to jump in with both feet.
And buckle up.
4 people found this helpful
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J. Mercury
5.0 out of 5 stars Realism that sticks, character with character, just like actual literature.
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2016
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The writing of David Stone is just so smart and witty. This author is stupendously underappreciated, nevertheless, he has worked his way to the border of genre masterpieces. Why stop now? (Not felled by sickness, I hope.) Anyway, what I like best is the realism of the protagonist, spy-guy Dalton. His interaction are very tangible and engaging . . . likewise the plot and the settings (especially in the more recent two novels). One thing that sets the character apart is that Dalton's angst is not so wimpy and weirdly moralistic as what I routinely encounter in this genre, neither is his realism merely cynical. The character, here, as in the other three novels, really feels the tension, the dimension, that goes with life-and-death undertakings. Dalton does not indulge the deaf and lazy ruthlessness of other spy-guys. He is not oblivious to the fact that hard actions put integrity at stake, yet the human default into virtual inaction -- just going with the flow -- has already capitulated.
2 people found this helpful
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Genie
4.0 out of 5 stars "Exciting Reading"
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2010
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Great reading and hard to put the book down. I didn't want it to end and am so excited to have found this author. A few of the pages had been turned down at the corners, which surprised me as I had thought I was ordering a new book. Otherwise it was in good condition, and I surely recommend it.
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Thomas M. Baird Sr.
2.0 out of 5 stars Boring
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2007
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This is just too boring and too drawn out to get even half way through the book. The main character is a drunk and a parinoid one at that. Not worth picking up much less reading.
3 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Echelon Vendetta
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2013
Verified Purchase
Excellent story! Lots of sub-plots to keep it interesting. High-tech weopons & secret CIA operations. Just what I like. My husband and I both loved it. Even though disc nine was missing we still were able to follow to the end. The seller was very apologetic and refunded our purchase price, so if anyone out there has another copy we would be interested, just to her disc 9. Really good book!!!
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Beverley Stanley
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on April 19, 2018
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Enjoyable
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Charles Green
3.0 out of 5 stars Requires Perseverance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2010
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If you can get past the horrible Ludlum-esque title and the awful first hundred and fifty jumpy, poorly paced and often confusing pages of David Stone's debut novel there is a pretty decent espionage thriller waiting to be discovered. I almost gave up on The Echelon Vendetta several times during its jumbled and misconceived opening third but overall I'm pleased that I persevered.

Even discounting the muddled beginning The Echelon Vendetta is a far from perfect effort. Stone's pacing is far too languid for this type of book or the story he's chosen to tell and at five hundred odd pages its at least one hundred pages too long. The plot itself is also too loose, with plot holes you could drive a bus through and misconceived pseudo-supernatural elements to it.

There are however, many strengths. Stone's character work is excellent, with even minor or incidental individuals being given proper depth (although he goes too far at times, which contributes to the slow pace). The lead, Micah Dalton, is competent but also nicely ideosyncratic and imbued with world weary cynicism. Stone also has a good feel for place and provides evocative descriptions of everywhere from Venice to the open plains of the mid-west. The practical details of espionage operations feel suitably realistic, as do the action sequences which are punchy and direct. Once it settles down The Echelon Vendetta becomes a solid old fashioned but contemporary espionage thriller-cum-detective story.

In the final third Stone manages to make amends for a lot of the book's early problems with a satisfying conclusion that also sets up the next book in the series  The Orpheus Deception . Its a measure of how much Stone manages to recover from a very shaky opening that I'm seriously considering giving this next Micah Dalton adventure a try.
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