A common thread throughout all of David Stone’s books is his focus on the torture issue, with descriptions and commentary. In The Skorpian Directive, Stone describes Galan’s killing and torture in detail so realistic that the reader suffers right along with Galan. He was portrayed by Stone as a very sympathetic figure. When asked about the Galan character Stone commented that Galan "suffered horribly; yet, he maintains his humanity. I wanted my readers to know how the Islamic extremists torture. For example they pinned their prisoner’s wrists to their hips. In the Iraq war some of our soldiers were subjected to these means and they prolonged their death. It is inconceivable to imagine what their last hours were like—stuff I wish I had never seen. I wanted to get that point across through my character."

All the characters in the book were well developed and complex.  The main character, Dalton, seems unable at times to share his feelings or talk about his emotions.  It is almost as if he’s built a wall to protect himself 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 had explained why the character went MIA.

This book is a very good read. It examines the issues of today within the pages of a novel.  Throughout the book Stone makes his points clear through the use of an interesting and suspenseful plot.