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Ghost Station
Berlin. 1961. Two months after the Wall. And the Cold War is threatening to boil over.
It is an especially uneasy time at the Cabin, a joint US-West German listening station. Its agents failed to see the Wall coming. And now the East Germans and their Soviet allies are making new, aggressive moves.
Then, CIA cryptographer Wallace Reed decodes the latest message from the double agent known as Longshore—and the crisis escalates. Has Longshore been caught? Suborned? Murdered? Or, the worst possibility of all—is he trying to send a secret code to a mole in Reed’s own office, sabotaging their intelligence and sending reports back to the other side?
Can Reed trust Longshore? His boss? His lover? Can he find the truth behind the lies—or will Berlin become ground zero when the Cold War becomes hot?
It is an especially uneasy time at the Cabin, a joint US-West German listening station. Its agents failed to see the Wall coming. And now the East Germans and their Soviet allies are making new, aggressive moves.
Then, CIA cryptographer Wallace Reed decodes the latest message from the double agent known as Longshore—and the crisis escalates. Has Longshore been caught? Suborned? Murdered? Or, the worst possibility of all—is he trying to send a secret code to a mole in Reed’s own office, sabotaging their intelligence and sending reports back to the other side?
Can Reed trust Longshore? His boss? His lover? Can he find the truth behind the lies—or will Berlin become ground zero when the Cold War becomes hot?
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 7, 2019
14 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Dan Wells
88 books6,045 followersDan Wells is a thriller and science fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, Isolation, Fragments, and Ruins), the John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You), and a few others (The Hollow City, A Night of Blacker Darkness, etc). He was a Campbell nomine for best new writer, and has won a Hugo award for his work on the podcast Writing Excuses; the podcast is also a multiple winner of the Parsec Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 17, 2021
This is a fantastically paced and tense novel. Following a cryptographer in Berlin, right after the wall goes up, is absolutely gripping. Dan Wells consistently writes characters that I relate to deeply, even when I have little in common with them. In this historical novel, the tensions of the Cold War were palpable. I have never felt so committed to a string of numbers in my life.
November 26, 2019
West Berlin, 1961. Two months after the Wall went up, taking everyone including Western intelligence agencies by surprise, the situation in the divided city is growing ever more tense and gathering information about what GDR leaders and their Soviet puppetmasters are up to is both more vital and more difficult than ever. When CIA cryptographer Wallace Reed decodes a new message from a double agent inside the Stasi that indicates a mole inside the joint CIA-BND listening station Reed is working out of, a secret hunt for the traitor begins involving only a few carefully chosen officers - but even so, noone is beyond suspicion, and the any of them might be the one secretly communicating with the enemy at a time when escalating tensions at the border threaten to boil over into war at the slightest provocation.
Clever, complex, and atmospheric, this was an excellent Cold War spy thriller with a palpable sense of paranoia veritably oozing off the page (or rather, out of one's headphones).
I really wish they'd gotten a narrator with a better grasp of German pronunciation, though. He was doing a great job otherwise, but while I can just about manage to suspend my disbelief sufficiently to put up with German characters speaking German with noticeable foreign accents (after all, filmmakers too lazy to cast native speakers have rather accustomed me to that), there were a few times when it really threw me off, such as the fact that the narrator kept pronouncing "Ziegel" (brick), a significant word inside a coded message, as "Siegel" (seal) and it drove me slightly insane or the fact that for the life of me I couldn't make out what Dietrich's last name was supposed to be (especially since the narrator apparently couldn't quite make up his mind about how to pronounce it). And while I'm doing German native speaker nitpicking: The author's note mentioned that the author had lived in Stuttgart for several years, which explained one thing that had me scratching my head in confusion: Namely, the profusion of Berliners greeting each other with "Grüß Gott!", a greeting you're very unlikely to hear in Berlin and which is much more typical for Southern parts of the country. Just, y'know, FYI.
Clever, complex, and atmospheric, this was an excellent Cold War spy thriller with a palpable sense of paranoia veritably oozing off the page (or rather, out of one's headphones).
I really wish they'd gotten a narrator with a better grasp of German pronunciation, though. He was doing a great job otherwise, but while I can just about manage to suspend my disbelief sufficiently to put up with German characters speaking German with noticeable foreign accents (after all, filmmakers too lazy to cast native speakers have rather accustomed me to that), there were a few times when it really threw me off, such as the fact that the narrator kept pronouncing "Ziegel" (brick), a significant word inside a coded message, as "Siegel" (seal) and it drove me slightly insane or the fact that for the life of me I couldn't make out what Dietrich's last name was supposed to be (especially since the narrator apparently couldn't quite make up his mind about how to pronounce it). And while I'm doing German native speaker nitpicking: The author's note mentioned that the author had lived in Stuttgart for several years, which explained one thing that had me scratching my head in confusion: Namely, the profusion of Berliners greeting each other with "Grüß Gott!", a greeting you're very unlikely to hear in Berlin and which is much more typical for Southern parts of the country. Just, y'know, FYI.
February 25, 2021
Es hat so so so viel Spaß gemacht diesen Roman zu lesen! Ich hatte ganz vergessen, wie sehr ich das Setting des kalten Krieges und Agententhriller im allgemeinen mag. Ghost Station war spannend und einfach sehr unterhaltsam geschrieben. Hi und da hätte die Handlung vielleicht ein klein wenig mehr Tiefgang haben können, aber ansonsten habe ich im Grunde nix zu meckern.
Der Fokus liegt sehr auf der Kryptographie und das entschlüsseln geheimer Botschaften. Ich persönlich mochte gerade diesen Aspekt sehr. Der historische Hintergrund wird nur dann eingesetzt, wenn er passt und Dan Wells setzt nicht voraus das man sich mit der DDR total gut auskennt und ein paar wichtige Eckpunkte werden nebenbei erklärt, sodass man sich dann in Ruhe auf das Katz und Mausspiel der Agenten einlassen kann. Manches ist vielleicht nicht unbedingt so richtig originell, es läuft eben darauf hinaus einen Doppelagenten zu entlarven. Ich glaube sogar, als Verfilmung oder als Hörspiel (auf audible gibt es das Buch nämlich im Original nicht als Printbuch, sondern soweit ich das sehen konnte nur als Hörspiel) funktioniert die Handlung noch besser.
Wallace ist dabei Dreh und Angelpunkt der Geschichte, er ist eigentlich kein Agent für den Außeneinsatz und schlittert eher ausversehen in eine aktivere Rolle.
Hi und da hätte man vielleicht noch etwas mehr Wendungen einbauen können, aber letztendlich geht es vor allem um die Suche selbst. Und auch das Setting der Geisterstationen, also U-Bahnhöfen in Berlin, die nach dem Bau der Mauer noch befahren wurden, aber an denen West-züge nicht mehr halten konnten, weil sie dazugehörige Station geschlossen wurde, sind wichtige Bezugspunkte. Insofern ist der Roman trotz eher erwartbarer Handlung trotzdem auch interessant, weil ich finde, das Wells dem Genres der Agententhriller neuen Schwung verliehen hat.
Ich hab mich wie gesagt bestens unterhalten gefühlt und gebe euphorisch *4 Sterne!
Ganz lieben Dank an den Verlag für das Lesexemplar!
Der Fokus liegt sehr auf der Kryptographie und das entschlüsseln geheimer Botschaften. Ich persönlich mochte gerade diesen Aspekt sehr. Der historische Hintergrund wird nur dann eingesetzt, wenn er passt und Dan Wells setzt nicht voraus das man sich mit der DDR total gut auskennt und ein paar wichtige Eckpunkte werden nebenbei erklärt, sodass man sich dann in Ruhe auf das Katz und Mausspiel der Agenten einlassen kann. Manches ist vielleicht nicht unbedingt so richtig originell, es läuft eben darauf hinaus einen Doppelagenten zu entlarven. Ich glaube sogar, als Verfilmung oder als Hörspiel (auf audible gibt es das Buch nämlich im Original nicht als Printbuch, sondern soweit ich das sehen konnte nur als Hörspiel) funktioniert die Handlung noch besser.
Wallace ist dabei Dreh und Angelpunkt der Geschichte, er ist eigentlich kein Agent für den Außeneinsatz und schlittert eher ausversehen in eine aktivere Rolle.
Hi und da hätte man vielleicht noch etwas mehr Wendungen einbauen können, aber letztendlich geht es vor allem um die Suche selbst. Und auch das Setting der Geisterstationen, also U-Bahnhöfen in Berlin, die nach dem Bau der Mauer noch befahren wurden, aber an denen West-züge nicht mehr halten konnten, weil sie dazugehörige Station geschlossen wurde, sind wichtige Bezugspunkte. Insofern ist der Roman trotz eher erwartbarer Handlung trotzdem auch interessant, weil ich finde, das Wells dem Genres der Agententhriller neuen Schwung verliehen hat.
Ich hab mich wie gesagt bestens unterhalten gefühlt und gebe euphorisch *4 Sterne!
Ganz lieben Dank an den Verlag für das Lesexemplar!
November 23, 2021
Very tense and well done. Cold war is not a favorite setting of mine, but the cryptography angle and well-drawn characters kept me interested.
Audio-only was a bit frustrating at times because I couldn't see the non-English words and names in my head. (I often find audio as easy to follow as text, except when I don't know what the words look like. I suspect that's a personal preference thing.)
Audio-only was a bit frustrating at times because I couldn't see the non-English words and names in my head. (I often find audio as easy to follow as text, except when I don't know what the words look like. I suspect that's a personal preference thing.)
March 19, 2022
Most Dan Wells novels feature some speculative weirdness: serial killers who hunt monsters, engineered organic beings who hunt humans, hand lotions that overwrite DNA—you know, the usual. But in his audiobook Ghost Station, Wells shows he can also excel at straight-up historical fiction.
The book is set in Cold War Germany, a few weeks after Barbed Wire Sunday (August 13, 1961), the day the East German army began erecting the first phase of the Berlin Wall. At that point, as Wells notes in his afterword, the Wall was generally only four to six feet high, and nearby structures had yet to be cleared away to create the infamous “no man’s land” (a buffer of open space across which refugees had little chance of fleeing without being gunned down). But this early incarnation of the Wall was already heavily patrolled, and its rapid construction stunned many Western observers.
This included much of the CIA. Wallace Reed, the protagonist of Ghost Station and an American cryptographer working in a joint office with the BND (West Germany’s foreign intelligence agency during the Cold War), was no exception. He was just as surprised as the rest of his colleagues when the Wall went up. It’s not a good look—spies are supposed to specialize in secrets, not ignorance.
There might be a way to make amends, though. Early in the story, Reed decodes a message indicating that an East German mole may have compromised the office. If Reed can catch the traitor, he could help prevent future intelligence failures. But he's no field agent, and it quickly becomes clear that determining the double agent’s identity will require going over the Wall. Reed also doesn’t know who to trust.
I didn’t always love that last aspect. It makes sense for Reed to be suspicious of everybody, but his inner monologues on the subject occasionally went on too long for my taste. I also think some of the cryptography mechanics would have been easier to follow if I could have seen rather than heard them; I wish Ghost Station had print and eBook formats available in addition to the audio version.
Jonathan Davis does an excellent job of narrating the story, however, and the result is still a great listen enlivened by period-specific details. My favorite tidbit was that some of the BND agents were former Nazis. They don’t do or say anything to suggest those sympathies persist, but it makes for an awkward alliance with their CIA collaborators.
I also appreciated the book’s title. Some of West Berlin’s train lines passed through East Berlin. When the Wall divided the city, those lines were allowed to continue running but not to let passengers on or off while in Eastern territory. The intervening stops were closed down and referred to as “ghost stations.”
What a great name for a spy novel, and what an excellent entry into the genre. I hope Wells writes more stories in this vein. And if he decides to mix his trademark weirdness in with the history, even better. Ghost Station proves he’s got the chops to do it all.
(For more reviews like this one, see www.nickwisseman.com)
The book is set in Cold War Germany, a few weeks after Barbed Wire Sunday (August 13, 1961), the day the East German army began erecting the first phase of the Berlin Wall. At that point, as Wells notes in his afterword, the Wall was generally only four to six feet high, and nearby structures had yet to be cleared away to create the infamous “no man’s land” (a buffer of open space across which refugees had little chance of fleeing without being gunned down). But this early incarnation of the Wall was already heavily patrolled, and its rapid construction stunned many Western observers.
This included much of the CIA. Wallace Reed, the protagonist of Ghost Station and an American cryptographer working in a joint office with the BND (West Germany’s foreign intelligence agency during the Cold War), was no exception. He was just as surprised as the rest of his colleagues when the Wall went up. It’s not a good look—spies are supposed to specialize in secrets, not ignorance.
There might be a way to make amends, though. Early in the story, Reed decodes a message indicating that an East German mole may have compromised the office. If Reed can catch the traitor, he could help prevent future intelligence failures. But he's no field agent, and it quickly becomes clear that determining the double agent’s identity will require going over the Wall. Reed also doesn’t know who to trust.
I didn’t always love that last aspect. It makes sense for Reed to be suspicious of everybody, but his inner monologues on the subject occasionally went on too long for my taste. I also think some of the cryptography mechanics would have been easier to follow if I could have seen rather than heard them; I wish Ghost Station had print and eBook formats available in addition to the audio version.
Jonathan Davis does an excellent job of narrating the story, however, and the result is still a great listen enlivened by period-specific details. My favorite tidbit was that some of the BND agents were former Nazis. They don’t do or say anything to suggest those sympathies persist, but it makes for an awkward alliance with their CIA collaborators.
I also appreciated the book’s title. Some of West Berlin’s train lines passed through East Berlin. When the Wall divided the city, those lines were allowed to continue running but not to let passengers on or off while in Eastern territory. The intervening stops were closed down and referred to as “ghost stations.”
What a great name for a spy novel, and what an excellent entry into the genre. I hope Wells writes more stories in this vein. And if he decides to mix his trademark weirdness in with the history, even better. Ghost Station proves he’s got the chops to do it all.
(For more reviews like this one, see www.nickwisseman.com)
May 15, 2021
Der Kryptograph
Plötzlich war sie da. Es gab Gerüchte, aber niemand rechnete damit, dass sie tatsächlich gebaut werden würde. Dann, am 13.August 1961 wurde auf Seiten der DDR mit dem Bau der Berliner Mauer begonnen. Und damit wird auch der Kontakt zwischen den Mitarbeitern einer Abhorchstation, die BND und CIA gemeinsam betreiben, und ihren Agenten in der DDR erschwert. Nun sind sie auf Funkübertragungen angewiesen, die der Kryptograph Wallace Reed zu entschlüsseln hat. Ihr wichtigster Verbindungsmann berichtet auf diese Weise von einem Doppelagenten, der in der Station installiert werden soll. Reed und sein Chef sind in heller Aufregung.
Wenn man Dan Wells eher von seinen Horror Thrillern kennt, rechnet man nicht mit einen Spionageroman. Auf den ersten Blick wirkt das zwar etwas oldschool, aber schnell fühlt man sich in die Handlung ein. Wallace Reed ist eigentlich nur ein Büromensch, allerdings mit besonderen Qualitäten. Die Kryptographie ist keine einfache Wissenschaft, die einem mal eben so in die Wiege gelegt wird. Und wenn Wallace sein Kryptographengesicht aufsetzt, wissen alle, dass er die Fährte aufgenommen hat. Und nun geht es darum, diese feindliche Operation zu stören, in einer gefährlichen Zeit, in der aus dem kalten Krieg schnell ein heißer werden könnte.
Nachrichten müssen entschlüsselt werden, ein Doppelagent soll enttarnt werden und man muss die Pläne des Feindes durchkreuzen. Doch können sich die Mitarbeiter der Station untereinander trauen? Schließlich sind beim BND auch ehemalige Nazis eingesetzt, die möglicherweise nicht alles offenbaren. Oder wäre eher einer der Amerikaner anfällig für einen Anwerbeversuch? Man spürt bei Lesen das wachsende Misstrauen und die steigenden Anspannungen zwischen Ost und West. Kann überhaupt noch verhindert werden, dass die Grenze vollständig geschlossen wird? Die Mitarbeiter der Station beginnen sich zu belauern. Und mit jedem Hinweis der entschlüsselt wird, ergibt sich eine neue Sicht. Mann, was war das spannend. Die Atmosphäre der Zeit um den Mauerbau ist wirklich hervorragend eingefangen, auch wie die Agenten zwischen den unwissenden Anwohnern agieren und manche harmlose Nachbarn garnicht so harmlos sind. Tatsächlich kann man sich vorstellen, so könnte es gewesen sein.
4,5 Sterne
Plötzlich war sie da. Es gab Gerüchte, aber niemand rechnete damit, dass sie tatsächlich gebaut werden würde. Dann, am 13.August 1961 wurde auf Seiten der DDR mit dem Bau der Berliner Mauer begonnen. Und damit wird auch der Kontakt zwischen den Mitarbeitern einer Abhorchstation, die BND und CIA gemeinsam betreiben, und ihren Agenten in der DDR erschwert. Nun sind sie auf Funkübertragungen angewiesen, die der Kryptograph Wallace Reed zu entschlüsseln hat. Ihr wichtigster Verbindungsmann berichtet auf diese Weise von einem Doppelagenten, der in der Station installiert werden soll. Reed und sein Chef sind in heller Aufregung.
Wenn man Dan Wells eher von seinen Horror Thrillern kennt, rechnet man nicht mit einen Spionageroman. Auf den ersten Blick wirkt das zwar etwas oldschool, aber schnell fühlt man sich in die Handlung ein. Wallace Reed ist eigentlich nur ein Büromensch, allerdings mit besonderen Qualitäten. Die Kryptographie ist keine einfache Wissenschaft, die einem mal eben so in die Wiege gelegt wird. Und wenn Wallace sein Kryptographengesicht aufsetzt, wissen alle, dass er die Fährte aufgenommen hat. Und nun geht es darum, diese feindliche Operation zu stören, in einer gefährlichen Zeit, in der aus dem kalten Krieg schnell ein heißer werden könnte.
Nachrichten müssen entschlüsselt werden, ein Doppelagent soll enttarnt werden und man muss die Pläne des Feindes durchkreuzen. Doch können sich die Mitarbeiter der Station untereinander trauen? Schließlich sind beim BND auch ehemalige Nazis eingesetzt, die möglicherweise nicht alles offenbaren. Oder wäre eher einer der Amerikaner anfällig für einen Anwerbeversuch? Man spürt bei Lesen das wachsende Misstrauen und die steigenden Anspannungen zwischen Ost und West. Kann überhaupt noch verhindert werden, dass die Grenze vollständig geschlossen wird? Die Mitarbeiter der Station beginnen sich zu belauern. Und mit jedem Hinweis der entschlüsselt wird, ergibt sich eine neue Sicht. Mann, was war das spannend. Die Atmosphäre der Zeit um den Mauerbau ist wirklich hervorragend eingefangen, auch wie die Agenten zwischen den unwissenden Anwohnern agieren und manche harmlose Nachbarn garnicht so harmlos sind. Tatsächlich kann man sich vorstellen, so könnte es gewesen sein.
4,5 Sterne
November 20, 2019
I've enjoyed the science fiction and fantasy elements in Dan Wells' books in the past, so I wasn't sure what to expect for his first with no supernatural or futuristic elements. He did not disappoint! Ghost Station is a story set in the earliest days of the Berlin Wall, and is just as tense and exciting as any of Wells' other books, if not more so. The detail to period technology and ciphers made the story very interesting, and the characters come through to make you very concerned for their welfare. In all, an excellent story!
July 19, 2020
I really liked listening to this Audible novel of cold-war cryptography and spy-versus-spy intrigue! And the author’s behind-the-scenes tour of the novel, at the end, added a nice touch! Highly recommended!
June 24, 2022
I will admit, I became interested in reading a book by Dan Wells because of his podcast with Brandon Sanderson. I read the first three books in his "I Am Not A Serial Killer" trilogy and absolutely loved them! Now I have read his first and only "Espionage Thriller", and I can confidently say I am truly a Dan Wells fan.
This novel is much more grounded than his Serial Killer novels. Ironically, its feels just as bleak, if not bleaker than his Serial Killer novels. However, this book is set as a Cold War thriller in divided Germany rather than in middle America.
This whole book revolves around cryptography and spies for the US and for Russia. I really liked the atmosphere Wells created. I felt like I was actually in Germany during the Cold War. He uses just enough German to make the book feel authentic but not too much to turn off readers. I actually enjoyed trying to translate it as I'm currently learning German.
The action in this book is electric. The first 50 pages take some time setting up the story, but after that, this book moves at a breakneck pace. Wallace Reed is not a field agent, but the threat of a spy being in his CIA office in West Berlin causes him to take actions into his own hands. There is a big mystery in this book about who the Spy is, and it is quite entertaining trying to put the pieces together. Wells has all the mystery skills of Agatha Christie and all of the Spy Thriller action of a Tom Clancy.
The problem I have with this book is the ending. It actually makes sense for a Dan Wells book, but it was too bleak and bittersweet for my taste. I really would have changed things around, but his reasoning makes sense.
I am a little disappointed that Wells included some sexual elements in this book, and I know that he can do better than that, as seen in his superb Serial Killer trilogy. There is also some language in this book, but its all in German. Since I'm learning German, I knew what he was saying, and was dissapointed nonetheless.
The Cryptography technobabble lost me throughout the book, but Wells did an excellent job of filling the reader in. I liked how he slowly unravelled the secret in such a way that the audience is trying to decode the messages as well, even though we don't have all the pieces.
There were several characters in this book I liked, but I really didn't connect with many of them, even the main character. He has a fairly bland/expected personality. That's not a bad thing, as it makes the reader empathize with them (like Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker), but I didn't feel for the characters in quite the way I did with his Serial Killer books.
Overall, this is an excellent book! I had tons of fun and look forward to reading more Dan Wells books in the future. I also hope Wells writes more Espionage thrillers in the future. He's got a real knack for it. I just hope he writes more books in the future in general. 9.0 out of 10!
This novel is much more grounded than his Serial Killer novels. Ironically, its feels just as bleak, if not bleaker than his Serial Killer novels. However, this book is set as a Cold War thriller in divided Germany rather than in middle America.
This whole book revolves around cryptography and spies for the US and for Russia. I really liked the atmosphere Wells created. I felt like I was actually in Germany during the Cold War. He uses just enough German to make the book feel authentic but not too much to turn off readers. I actually enjoyed trying to translate it as I'm currently learning German.
The action in this book is electric. The first 50 pages take some time setting up the story, but after that, this book moves at a breakneck pace. Wallace Reed is not a field agent, but the threat of a spy being in his CIA office in West Berlin causes him to take actions into his own hands. There is a big mystery in this book about who the Spy is, and it is quite entertaining trying to put the pieces together. Wells has all the mystery skills of Agatha Christie and all of the Spy Thriller action of a Tom Clancy.
The problem I have with this book is the ending. It actually makes sense for a Dan Wells book, but it was too bleak and bittersweet for my taste. I really would have changed things around, but his reasoning makes sense.
I am a little disappointed that Wells included some sexual elements in this book, and I know that he can do better than that, as seen in his superb Serial Killer trilogy. There is also some language in this book, but its all in German. Since I'm learning German, I knew what he was saying, and was dissapointed nonetheless.
The Cryptography technobabble lost me throughout the book, but Wells did an excellent job of filling the reader in. I liked how he slowly unravelled the secret in such a way that the audience is trying to decode the messages as well, even though we don't have all the pieces.
There were several characters in this book I liked, but I really didn't connect with many of them, even the main character. He has a fairly bland/expected personality. That's not a bad thing, as it makes the reader empathize with them (like Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker), but I didn't feel for the characters in quite the way I did with his Serial Killer books.
Overall, this is an excellent book! I had tons of fun and look forward to reading more Dan Wells books in the future. I also hope Wells writes more Espionage thrillers in the future. He's got a real knack for it. I just hope he writes more books in the future in general. 9.0 out of 10!
April 5, 2021
I've been a fan of Dan Wells for years, and one of the big reasons is because he is brilliant no matter what genre he's writing in. I started reading his horror stuff, then have followed him all the way through the twists and turns through post-apocalyptic YA, cyberpunk, and humor. I even went to see the play that adapted one of his novellas and have rewatched the film version of his first book numerous times. And so when I heard he was publishing a Cold War spy thriller, which has never been a go-to for me, I knew I would be picking it up.
The book did not disappoint. Great characters; immersive research into Germany, the time period, cryptography, and espionage; thrilling twists and turns; and even fantastic voice work from the audiobook reader all made for a delightful experience that I blazed through in a fraction of the time I usually take on an audiobook.
I can't wait to see what Dan Wells throws my way next, because no matter the genre, he's going to deliver.
The book did not disappoint. Great characters; immersive research into Germany, the time period, cryptography, and espionage; thrilling twists and turns; and even fantastic voice work from the audiobook reader all made for a delightful experience that I blazed through in a fraction of the time I usually take on an audiobook.
I can't wait to see what Dan Wells throws my way next, because no matter the genre, he's going to deliver.
January 9, 2025
This is a solid book! It’s well-paced, engaging, and has interesting characters. My main critique is that there is a little bit too much explanation of cryptography, and it gets a bit repetitive towards the end of the book. The suspense and action are excellent. I really liked the development of the plot, and you never know quite where it’s going to go. Everything wraps up really well at the end. Overall it’s a really satisfying read (or in my case, listen!)
October 7, 2020
This story had a lot of promise, and Wells did a great job for the first half of the book with all the cryptography and cloak-and-dagger, but the latter half turned into a regular ol' predictable action flick and that kept me from giving this one 5 stars.
August 16, 2020
The midpoint of this book was incredible and I was freaking out in anticipation of getting to the end.
The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that the ending didn't give me the massive pay-off that I was looking for. It wasn't horrible, but a 5-star book (for me) has an ending the "knocks it out of the park."
Mr. Wells is extremely good at developing characters and building mysteries that the reader solves alongside the main character.
The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that the ending didn't give me the massive pay-off that I was looking for. It wasn't horrible, but a 5-star book (for me) has an ending the "knocks it out of the park."
Mr. Wells is extremely good at developing characters and building mysteries that the reader solves alongside the main character.
September 4, 2023
(Diese Rezension bezieht sich auf die deutsche Übersetzung des Romans, die leider nicht in diesem Katalog gelistet ist.)
Dieser Spionagethriller von Dan Wells führt die Leser zurück in die Zeit des Kalten Krieges, direkt an die Grenzlinie zwischen West- und Ostberlin. Der Titel »Ghost Station« steht für die Geisterbahnhöfe in Berlin, Bahnhöfe der U-Bahnen, in denen mit dem Mauerbau keine Züge mehr halten durften, weil die Bahnhöfe selbst im anderen Berliner Sektor waren. Deren Gleise wurden allerdings trotzdem benutzt, um die Bahnen selbst von West nach West und von Ost nach Ost fahren zu lassen.
Der Roman beginnt im Oktober 1961, zwei Monate nach dem Bau der Mauer. Wallace Reed ist Mitarbeiter der CIA und Spezialist für die Chiffrierung. Er arbeitet mit einer Handvoll Kolleginnen und Kollegen von CIA und vom Bundesnachrichtendienst in einem Büro an der Mauer mit Blick auf den Ostteil der Stadt. Das Büro beziehungsweise Ihre Abteilung wird Cabin D genannt.
Reed hat als Kryptograph die Aufgabe, die Nachrichten des wichtigsten Doppelagenten, den die CIA bei der Stasi platziert hat, zu entschlüsseln. Doch eines Tages schickt dieser eine Nachricht, die offenbar keinen Sinn ergibt. Nicht nur Reed, auch alle anderen in der Abteilung können sich keinen Reim auf diese Nachricht machen.
Doch vielleicht steht ein Angriff der Sowjets bevor? Der Inhalt der Nachrichten muss richtig entschlüsselt werden und Sinn ergeben. Reed folgt den Spuren bis in den Ostteil der Stadt, wo es für ihn gefährlich werden kann.
Zunächst war ich beeindruckt von der detaillierten Beschreibung des U-Bahn-Systems zum damaligen Zeitpunkt. Dan Wells hat penibel recherchiert und sehr gut beschrieben.
Und so brillant stellt er auch den Mikrokosmos der Geheimdienststelle Cabin D vor. Zwar arbeiten zunächst alle auf derselben Seite, doch dann sorgt die Entschlüsselung der Nachrichten des Doppelagenten für Misstrauen. Dieses Misstrauen kommt beim Lesen zum Greifen nah. Die Luft in den in den Büros ist zum Schneiden. Plötzlich traut keiner dem oder der anderen. Jeder spürt den Verrat in den eigenen Reihen, einschließlich die Lesenden.
Dies macht den Spionage-Thriller so spannend, dass man nur so durch die Seiten fliegt.
Die sich aufbauende Romanze zwischen Reed und einer Kollegin lässt auch an dieser Stelle das Kribbeln ansteigen. Man möchte natürlich wissen, wie es zwischen den beiden weitergeht. Es ist alles andere als vorhersehbar, denn schließlich steht immer wieder ein Misstrauen im Raum. Keiner traut irgendjemandem.
Was mir nicht so gefiel, ist eine reine persönliche Sache und ich weiß, dass es viele Leser geben wird, die auch diesen Teil verschlingen werden.
Für mich persönlich waren die detaillierten Erklärungen zur Chiffrierung und Dechiffrierung absolut uninteressant. Sie waren mir zu mathematisch, zu verwirrend, zu technisch und ich konnte ihnen nicht folgen. Meiner Meinung nach waren sie für die Spannung des Romans auch nicht notwendig. Ich musste nicht den vertrackten Zahlenspiel folgen, um von dem Misstrauen in der Abteilung mitgerissen zu werden.
Ein spannender Thriller und Sprung in die Zeit des Mauerbaus, der das Misstrauen der Mitarbeiter genauso zeigt wie das Misstrauen der Siegermächte des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Wer einen Blick hinter die Kulissen der Geheimdienste werfen möchte, ist mit dem Roman bestens beraten.
© Detlef Knut, Düsseldorf 2023
Dieser Spionagethriller von Dan Wells führt die Leser zurück in die Zeit des Kalten Krieges, direkt an die Grenzlinie zwischen West- und Ostberlin. Der Titel »Ghost Station« steht für die Geisterbahnhöfe in Berlin, Bahnhöfe der U-Bahnen, in denen mit dem Mauerbau keine Züge mehr halten durften, weil die Bahnhöfe selbst im anderen Berliner Sektor waren. Deren Gleise wurden allerdings trotzdem benutzt, um die Bahnen selbst von West nach West und von Ost nach Ost fahren zu lassen.
Der Roman beginnt im Oktober 1961, zwei Monate nach dem Bau der Mauer. Wallace Reed ist Mitarbeiter der CIA und Spezialist für die Chiffrierung. Er arbeitet mit einer Handvoll Kolleginnen und Kollegen von CIA und vom Bundesnachrichtendienst in einem Büro an der Mauer mit Blick auf den Ostteil der Stadt. Das Büro beziehungsweise Ihre Abteilung wird Cabin D genannt.
Reed hat als Kryptograph die Aufgabe, die Nachrichten des wichtigsten Doppelagenten, den die CIA bei der Stasi platziert hat, zu entschlüsseln. Doch eines Tages schickt dieser eine Nachricht, die offenbar keinen Sinn ergibt. Nicht nur Reed, auch alle anderen in der Abteilung können sich keinen Reim auf diese Nachricht machen.
Doch vielleicht steht ein Angriff der Sowjets bevor? Der Inhalt der Nachrichten muss richtig entschlüsselt werden und Sinn ergeben. Reed folgt den Spuren bis in den Ostteil der Stadt, wo es für ihn gefährlich werden kann.
Zunächst war ich beeindruckt von der detaillierten Beschreibung des U-Bahn-Systems zum damaligen Zeitpunkt. Dan Wells hat penibel recherchiert und sehr gut beschrieben.
Und so brillant stellt er auch den Mikrokosmos der Geheimdienststelle Cabin D vor. Zwar arbeiten zunächst alle auf derselben Seite, doch dann sorgt die Entschlüsselung der Nachrichten des Doppelagenten für Misstrauen. Dieses Misstrauen kommt beim Lesen zum Greifen nah. Die Luft in den in den Büros ist zum Schneiden. Plötzlich traut keiner dem oder der anderen. Jeder spürt den Verrat in den eigenen Reihen, einschließlich die Lesenden.
Dies macht den Spionage-Thriller so spannend, dass man nur so durch die Seiten fliegt.
Die sich aufbauende Romanze zwischen Reed und einer Kollegin lässt auch an dieser Stelle das Kribbeln ansteigen. Man möchte natürlich wissen, wie es zwischen den beiden weitergeht. Es ist alles andere als vorhersehbar, denn schließlich steht immer wieder ein Misstrauen im Raum. Keiner traut irgendjemandem.
Was mir nicht so gefiel, ist eine reine persönliche Sache und ich weiß, dass es viele Leser geben wird, die auch diesen Teil verschlingen werden.
Für mich persönlich waren die detaillierten Erklärungen zur Chiffrierung und Dechiffrierung absolut uninteressant. Sie waren mir zu mathematisch, zu verwirrend, zu technisch und ich konnte ihnen nicht folgen. Meiner Meinung nach waren sie für die Spannung des Romans auch nicht notwendig. Ich musste nicht den vertrackten Zahlenspiel folgen, um von dem Misstrauen in der Abteilung mitgerissen zu werden.
Ein spannender Thriller und Sprung in die Zeit des Mauerbaus, der das Misstrauen der Mitarbeiter genauso zeigt wie das Misstrauen der Siegermächte des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Wer einen Blick hinter die Kulissen der Geheimdienste werfen möchte, ist mit dem Roman bestens beraten.
© Detlef Knut, Düsseldorf 2023
May 22, 2023
I don't often give five stars. At least, not on the first read through. It's not enough for me to be in love with the book. Usually, I reserve five starts for a book that is next to perfect in my own personal estimation. It's got to hit me in all the right ways and leave me with a certain amount of satisfaction. Which is exactly what this book managed to do. It was everything I wanted from a spy thriller. Some bits defiantly gave me Hunt for the Red October vibes in the best way, but without all the navel stuff. There was still plenty of trying to figure out what the other side is doing without them figuring out what you're doing until it's too late. Plenty of suspense. Perfect pacing, at least for me. The narrator helped a lot, too His pronuciation of all the German words was excellent. I would have defiantly struggled with a lot of those.
Really, this book was like watching a great spy thriller but for my ears as I was enjoying it as an audiobook.
This is a book that I had a hard time putting down. As in I put aside whatever show I was in the middle of or movie I wanted to watch and listened to this book instead. I think there was at least one day where I spent a good chunk of that day listening to this book switching between noise cancelling headphones and a bluetooth speakers.
Historical fiction isn't something I often read. This was a very pleasant surprise for me as I didn't expect it to be so good. I have read other books by this author so I already knew that I enjoyed his work. I have read some of Dan Wells' John Cleaver series so I already knew he could pull of a thriller that I would enjoy, but honestly I think this might be the best thing I have read/listened to of all his work so far.
Really, this book was like watching a great spy thriller but for my ears as I was enjoying it as an audiobook.
This is a book that I had a hard time putting down. As in I put aside whatever show I was in the middle of or movie I wanted to watch and listened to this book instead. I think there was at least one day where I spent a good chunk of that day listening to this book switching between noise cancelling headphones and a bluetooth speakers.
Historical fiction isn't something I often read. This was a very pleasant surprise for me as I didn't expect it to be so good. I have read other books by this author so I already knew that I enjoyed his work. I have read some of Dan Wells' John Cleaver series so I already knew he could pull of a thriller that I would enjoy, but honestly I think this might be the best thing I have read/listened to of all his work so far.
January 25, 2022
Ghost Station is one of the best spy novels I've read/listened to, and I've read more than my share (Ludlum, le Carré, etc.). The characters and story feel utterly real, plausible, and compelling. There are no Bonds or Bournes here, but rather a well-developed everyman protagonist with real weaknesses, mistakes, and reactions and a similarly well-defined supporting cast. The plot is excellent and the setting authentic, but it's the depth and emotion infused into the characters and their situations that resonate most. Wells has demonstrated a gift for capturing human frailties and the real life impact of world events, laying them out on the page (and via audio) for an absolutely gripping experience. The antagonists are not cardboard cutouts either, as you'll find with the devastatingly sympathetic motive of an antagonist once revealed.
Dan Wells has written a fantastic book here, probably his best. I hope we see more of this kind of fiction from him, much as I hope Ghost Station gets a printed book edition. It deserves a larger audience, and readers deserve broader access to such a great book.
Dan Wells has written a fantastic book here, probably his best. I hope we see more of this kind of fiction from him, much as I hope Ghost Station gets a printed book edition. It deserves a larger audience, and readers deserve broader access to such a great book.
August 5, 2022
Great read! I haven't read a thriller in a while, and Dan spoke about GHOST STATION at a conference, and it sounded like my cuppa tea. So, I grabbed it. Very interesting to get the vibe of the time ... 1961 Cold War with WWII firmly in everyone's memories. Right in Berlin, where tension was boiling.
Lots of nerdy sypher/puzzle discussion, but if that's not for you, you can skim and still get the gist. I think that's part of the brilliance of the book -- those who love puzzling can get a deeper experience, but those who are not can still completely enjoy it, too. Sometimes the hooks were so good, I didn't want to spend brains on figuring out the clues, so I just moved on and I never got lost in the plot.
violence =🗡
steam = 🔥
pacing = 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
Some violence, but not grimdark. A clean, romantic subplot, though this is firmly in "thriller espionage" territory rather than romance. I don't recall any curse words. A good "whodunnit" [or in this case, "who is gonna do it"] with a great list of suspects.
I wish there were author notes with historical facts at the end. Maybe he'll include that information if he does future historical thrillers.
Lots of nerdy sypher/puzzle discussion, but if that's not for you, you can skim and still get the gist. I think that's part of the brilliance of the book -- those who love puzzling can get a deeper experience, but those who are not can still completely enjoy it, too. Sometimes the hooks were so good, I didn't want to spend brains on figuring out the clues, so I just moved on and I never got lost in the plot.
violence =🗡
steam = 🔥
pacing = 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
Some violence, but not grimdark. A clean, romantic subplot, though this is firmly in "thriller espionage" territory rather than romance. I don't recall any curse words. A good "whodunnit" [or in this case, "who is gonna do it"] with a great list of suspects.
I wish there were author notes with historical facts at the end. Maybe he'll include that information if he does future historical thrillers.
April 26, 2024
I thought, mistakenly, that I had read some science fiction works written by Wells so when saw this available in the Audible Plus catalogue, I grabbed it even though it was classified mystery. Well turns out this is the first book I've read by the author! But it was good! A darn good Cold War story set in Berlin during the time the wall went up in 1961.
Somehow the CIA and the BDN (West German counterpart of the CIA) missed detecting the imminence of the wall and learned about it at the same time as the residents of East and West Berlin. Wallace Reed, the CIA cryptologist responsible for decoding messages from spies is concerned about the last message sent by a double agent that doesn't fit the script. One reason is the number of the message, which two numbers higher than the last message received. Could he have been compromised?
Reed is determined to find out and ends up going into the now walled off East Berlin with a BDN agent that he thinks might be a double agent. It gets very nasty, very fast.
Good thriller set in a nicely drawn setting.
Reed is
Somehow the CIA and the BDN (West German counterpart of the CIA) missed detecting the imminence of the wall and learned about it at the same time as the residents of East and West Berlin. Wallace Reed, the CIA cryptologist responsible for decoding messages from spies is concerned about the last message sent by a double agent that doesn't fit the script. One reason is the number of the message, which two numbers higher than the last message received. Could he have been compromised?
Reed is determined to find out and ends up going into the now walled off East Berlin with a BDN agent that he thinks might be a double agent. It gets very nasty, very fast.
Good thriller set in a nicely drawn setting.
Reed is
August 9, 2021
I have quickly learned this year that just about anything written by Dan Wells is fantastic. The way he places believable characters in extraordinary circumstances again and again is a addiction that will always keep me coming back to anything he writes.
As the title of the book is "Ghost Station" I mistakenly expected this to be a supernatural cold war thriller about using the ghosts of dead Berliners to help ferret information across the wall or something like that.
This is pure cryptographer, Cold War spy, mystery-thriller. Riddled with clever codes, paranoid characters and the impending fear of nuclear annihilation centering around the events of unexpected construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and the resulting effects for not just the Soviets, Americans and former Nazis working with them but for the German people themselves.
Dan Wells knits together a story that keeps you on guessing as much as the intelligence operatives of the time.
As the title of the book is "Ghost Station" I mistakenly expected this to be a supernatural cold war thriller about using the ghosts of dead Berliners to help ferret information across the wall or something like that.
This is pure cryptographer, Cold War spy, mystery-thriller. Riddled with clever codes, paranoid characters and the impending fear of nuclear annihilation centering around the events of unexpected construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and the resulting effects for not just the Soviets, Americans and former Nazis working with them but for the German people themselves.
Dan Wells knits together a story that keeps you on guessing as much as the intelligence operatives of the time.
May 1, 2023
This isn't one of Dan Wells' normal books. Mostly, he writes sci-fi or horror, or some combination of those. This, though, is a straight-up spy thriller. And it's a lot of fun.
I don't know much about Germany, let alone Germany in 1961, so I can't speak to the accuracy of that part. Dan says it's pretty accurate. I'll take his word for it. I also can't speak to the accuracy of the daily life of a Cold War Era spy. I'll take his word for that, too. I can tell you, though, that the math underlying all the cryptography that he describes is very accurate. If he put that much work into math, I assume he was willing to put that much work into the rest, too.
So, it's accurate. But is it any good? Yes. Definitely. It's tense, the stakes are real, the action is plausible, the characters are worth reading about. Good stuff. Very good stuff.
This would also make a really, really cool movie. Someone, get on that.
I don't know much about Germany, let alone Germany in 1961, so I can't speak to the accuracy of that part. Dan says it's pretty accurate. I'll take his word for it. I also can't speak to the accuracy of the daily life of a Cold War Era spy. I'll take his word for that, too. I can tell you, though, that the math underlying all the cryptography that he describes is very accurate. If he put that much work into math, I assume he was willing to put that much work into the rest, too.
So, it's accurate. But is it any good? Yes. Definitely. It's tense, the stakes are real, the action is plausible, the characters are worth reading about. Good stuff. Very good stuff.
This would also make a really, really cool movie. Someone, get on that.
July 21, 2020
A note about my rating:
* Bad
** Not-Bad
*** Good (Topic, story was interesting/compelling)
**** Great (The writing was great and well organized)
***** Amazing (I want to share it, re-read it, apply it)
It was a great read. If you don't know Dan Wells go read his books. I love that it was set during the Cold War and built the setting. The codex and spy craft was really cool. Dan has a way of building the plot that is really good. In this case I didn't know how I was able to be surprised, but I was and it fit perfectly in the story.
* Bad
** Not-Bad
*** Good (Topic, story was interesting/compelling)
**** Great (The writing was great and well organized)
***** Amazing (I want to share it, re-read it, apply it)
It was a great read. If you don't know Dan Wells go read his books. I love that it was set during the Cold War and built the setting. The codex and spy craft was really cool. Dan has a way of building the plot that is really good. In this case I didn't know how I was able to be surprised, but I was and it fit perfectly in the story.
December 22, 2024
Trodde inte på förhand att det här skulle vara en sådan bladvändare som den var, men (den välresearchade?) berättelsen om kodknäckare, kryptografer och analytiker på en amerikansk-tysk hemlig station i Berlin under 60-talet var såväl fascinerande som medryckande. Jag slogs av att det är så många ingredienser som känns filmiska, som distinkta karaktärsporträtt och den ökande spänningen. Framför allt är det dialogen som skulle kunna vara hämtad direkt från bioduken, och det funkar riktigt bra. Jag hade även väntat mig en James Bond-aktig spion i huvudrollen, istället fick jag en siffernörd som älskar att lösa pussel och som man skulle kunna följa i fler böcker.
Snudd på full pott!
Snudd på full pott!
October 24, 2024
In brief, this is a spy novel set in West Berlin in the early 60's just after the Berlin Wall was constructed by the Soviets.
Centering on a group of spies operating out of a station called the Cabin, Dan Wells does a good job of integrating the importance and regular use of cryptography in this high-stress time of the Cold War. The main character is a cryptographer who gets a little too deeply involved in operations as his boss suspects a mole in their group.
This was quick and fun. Well worth the read!
Centering on a group of spies operating out of a station called the Cabin, Dan Wells does a good job of integrating the importance and regular use of cryptography in this high-stress time of the Cold War. The main character is a cryptographer who gets a little too deeply involved in operations as his boss suspects a mole in their group.
This was quick and fun. Well worth the read!
May 21, 2025
Some flaws, but at 4.75 I can't justify knocking it down to 4 stars.
Really good narrator.
Very interesting story that takes place shortly after the building of the Berlin wall during the Cold War.
Great insight on the dangers and fears both civvies and military faced.
I absolutely loved the cryptography. "Cryptography is math, linguistics, and art."
Ghost stations don't really play much of a role, so the title was really the thing that irritated me the most. The end was kind of sad too, though understandable.
Really good narrator.
Very interesting story that takes place shortly after the building of the Berlin wall during the Cold War.
Great insight on the dangers and fears both civvies and military faced.
I absolutely loved the cryptography. "Cryptography is math, linguistics, and art."
Ghost stations don't really play much of a role, so the title was really the thing that irritated me the most. The end was kind of sad too, though understandable.
July 6, 2025
Just two months after the Berlin Walls has gone up, CIA cryptographer Wallace Reed, who works at "The Cabin" - a joint listening station - can tell that something is wrong. As Reed decodes the latest message from the double agent known as Longshore, they are missing a message, and one of the only ways to figure out what is going on, it to cross the wall.
I really enjoyed this, and the little pieces of the puzzle that the author put in, especially because as the reader, you were finding thing out at the same time as the main character.
I really enjoyed this, and the little pieces of the puzzle that the author put in, especially because as the reader, you were finding thing out at the same time as the main character.
May 12, 2020
Very exciting story about a joint CIA-BND listening station in Berlin as the wall went up. Lots of intrigue, some cool cryptography stuff for the nerd inside you, and a ton of suspense. In 1961 Berlin is THE hot spot between the East and West and no one can be trusted. Best friends, bosses, lovers....all are suspect when a mole is in your station. This was a fast paced story that was also just great story telling!
July 26, 2020
This was one of the best spy adventure stories I have read, with drama and plot twist after plot twist. And while it was fiction, it was based on the actual details of the Cold War in Berlin, with real codes and actual historical events. But what it took it over the top was the characters, especially the main character. I loved having an adventure from the vantage point of the codebreaking, desk worker. Really, really cool stuff.
August 7, 2024
This was an excellent read for me. I loved the existential nature of the problems and questions which face the characters, the thin line between authenticity and its opposite, the very fact that other people's identities remain a mystery no matter how close. Over all, there is much more to this book than mystery and riddles. Its serious themes compete, in fact, with the pace of the puzzling circumstances and questions at its heart.
August 29, 2022
Excellent spy thriller! The 1960’s Berlin Wall with CIA and all the rest were fantastic. Great human elements, with the MC dealing with girl issues on top of all the other layers as well. The way it works out is actually pretty fantastic and a lot of fun. Almost wanna reread immediately and see if I can catch anything I missed early on.
December 8, 2023
A thriller with non-stop suspense
This book was moving along nicely until about 2/3 in when it got very intense. I suspected everybody and it went from intensity to intensity. I read the last bit in a long non-stop session because I had to make it to the end. But I did figure out the mole correctly a few chapters ahead, after suspecting every one else 1st of course.
This book was moving along nicely until about 2/3 in when it got very intense. I suspected everybody and it went from intensity to intensity. I read the last bit in a long non-stop session because I had to make it to the end. But I did figure out the mole correctly a few chapters ahead, after suspecting every one else 1st of course.
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