Damascus Countdown vs On the Beach: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Nuclear warfare, Roman, Fiction

Cover of Damascus Countdown

Damascus Countdown Joel C. Rosenberg · 2013 ★★★★☆ 4.0 478 pages · ≈ 8 h 51 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of On the Beach

On the Beach Nevil Shute · 1957 ★★★★☆ 4.0 347 pages · ≈ 6 h 26 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.0 vs 4.0 — either is a safe pick by score.
On the Beach is the quicker read — about 6 hours vs 8 for Damascus Countdown.

Side by side