Publication
Collection
Call number
Physical description
Status
Call number
Description
Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:A terrorist plot in London leads Israeli spy Gabriel Allon on a desperate search for a kidnapped woman in this thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva.While in Amsterdam, Israeli intelligence officer and master art restorer Gabriel Allon discovers a plot that is about to explode in the middle of London. The daughter of the American ambassador is to be brutally kidnapped. But Gabriel arrives too late to save her. And when he reveals his face to the plot�??s masterminds, his fate is sealed as well. Drawn once more into the service of American intelligence, Gabriel desperately searches for the missing woman as the clock ticks steadily toward the hour of her execution. The search will thrust him into an unlikely alliance with a man who has lost everything because of his devotion to Islam. It will cause him to question the morality of the tactics of his trade. And it might very well cost him his life�?� A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year … (more)
Subjects
Series
Genres
User reviews
Once again, Silva has managed to write an exciting nail-biter with a topical plot. Silva is one of the best "best seller" writers out there - his writing is excellent and his plots well-crafted. However, I'm finding I'm not enjoying Silva's recent books as much as I did the first few in the Allon series. Over time, Silva has pared down his books so that they focus almost exclusively on the search for whatever terrorist Allon is seeking. At one point, Allon's "cover" as a master art restorer played a larger part in Silva's novels, but no longer. It's too bad, because I enjoyed that aspect of his previous books. Additionally, this is probably the 4th or 5th book to focus on Islamic extremists as the "bad guys." Silva is pretty good about ensuring that the reader knows that not all Muslims are extremist terrorists, but given his focus on them as the villains, it's getting a bit harder to see that there is another side to all of this.
Additionally, it seems as if the Allon books are getting a bit formulaic: there is a terrorist plot to blow up something; a beautiful woman is kidnapped or is a major part of the bad guy's plot; politics between the Israelis, the US and European foreign services make it harder for Allon to do his job; the Israelis must keep their presence secret or else the "liberals" in various countries will be angry that they were involved. In other words, there are fewer and fewer surprises in Silva's books. On the bright side, though, Silva's next book, Moscow Rules, promises to take Allon into a new milieu - Russia - and I hope that the change in scenery will re-energize Silva's writing and bring a breath of fresh air to the Gabriel Allon series.
If you are a fan of spy novels, there are no major surprises here. What I like about Gabriel Allon is that he is a spy that relies more on his wits, planning and subterfuge, than on high tech gadgets to complete his mission. This is an action based story with a realistic plot to keep you locked in.
Excellent travel reading or for old school spy novel fans. Short of four stars, but worth searching out if you enjoy the genre.
While this is primarily an action thriller novel with a plot that is not particularly new, Silva's writing is different in that there is also an underlying message or warning about the decline of Europe as we know it, culturally, in the rapid rise of radical Islam there and the well-publicized demographics. There is blunt, realistic and, sadly, bleak discussion of the threats facing the West in general, and Europe in particular. There is also an ongoing critique of the way politicians and governments handle terrorism and the Middle East and how it makes things worse. The afterword, in particular, serves to alert the reader to the state of affairs in the world today regarding radical Islam and terrorism.
Although being somewhat bleak and dreary in its forecasts of the future, I loved the suspense and intrigue, the political machinations, and the characters. This is the seventh novel in the series, and I think that I will probably try and go backwards and read some of the earlier novels.
Silva does a magnificent job of using current headlines and trends to
Silva also gets the dialogue right. Books are so much better when characters speak like real people! Phil Gigante's narration is great.
Anyway, after four books, I've figured Silva out. For this book, I skipped the setup chapters, much of which is a
Gabriel is off on
But however long it has been on my bookshelf to read, it is a novel not only riveting and engrossing at the time of the 'read' but will remain thought-provoking particularly as the world stage continues to evolve. I would encourage everyone to read this novel 'sooner than later.' I would also encourage the reading of the Author's Note and Acknowledgments for further background and understanding of the depth of Daniel Silva's work.
It is also humbling to pause particularly on the July 4th holiday weekend and think not only of the military and law enforcement who have served and/or are in service to their country to protect our freedom and democracy, seeking justice, for the simple pleasure of attending a fireworks display last evening in peace and with ease of personal safety for myself and my family, but for all of those in service - whose names we do not know who have given their lives or are continuing to serve at home and abroad to keep us free. We should also never forget that particularly for those that go above and beyond more than we could conceptualize are not American citizens. I am thankful for all they give and all they and their loved ones endure as part of their daily lives.
This novel proves that Silva is among the best in the business at crafting thrillers. The Gabriel Allon series has at its core the persecution of Israel and the Jews, and while Silva leaves little doubt where he stands on the complex questions of the Middle East, his books are no less thrilling merely because they are about current events.
The Secret Servant a page-turner in the classic sense and Daniel Silva gets better with each book. His research and attention to detail makes this series one of the best spy thrillers out there. It's filled with fast paced, exciting entertainment. I've read the entire series and have been listening to them this time around. The narrator, Phil Gigante, did an okay job but not as great as some of the earlier ones done by George Guidall or John Lee. However, he's narrating the next few so I'm sure it will take just a little while to hear a new “voice” as Gabriel.
Silva's novel usually include some connection to the current events of the years in which they are written. This novel's terrorists are Egyptians attempting to eliminate the secular leadership of their country and replace it with an Islamic state. Appropriately, the leader of the terrorist is Dr. Yusuf Ramadan, professor of Near Eastern history at American University in Cairo who is known as the Sphinx.
Allon teams up with Adrian Carter, of the CIA who provides him with an assistant, Sarah Bancroft whom we met in The Messenger: "She had shoulder-length blond hair, skin the color of alabaster, and eyes like a cloudless summer sky." Of course, we know that Gabriel is faithful to only Chiara whom he is to marry in May and his mentally incapacitated ex-wife, Leah.
In a violent and fast moving attempt to find Elizabeth, Gabriel Allon lives up to his "legionary" status and then some.
Makes it all seem a little more realistic.