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jecamp86's review against another edition
5.0
Another winner
I love this series. This book in particular showed a lot of growth for our characters and the suspense held throughout the book.
I love this series. This book in particular showed a lot of growth for our characters and the suspense held throughout the book.
mpetruce's review against another edition
3.0
Another entry in this series to pass the time. I didn't like this one as much as others. Gabriel's ability to take a massive beating, especially at his age, has been ratcheted up a bit too much this time around. And the dedication to saving the single hostage seems a bit forced (his other motivation -- stop several other terrorist operations planned in conjunction with the kidnapping that gets the story going -- is more persuasive). This was one also a bit lecture-y. Like, people having these lofty conversations on the way to the bathroom or something. I just don't think that people, even these people, would talk that way all the time.
The formula of "Bad thing happens, Gabriel responds to bad thing, he miraculously figures out the big twist behind the bad thing, kill the guys doing the bad thing(s), then the epilogue of quietly killing the lone puppet master" is starting to get a little tired.
But, still an enjoyable series to read. Also great, we get the return of Gabriel's team from the previous book. We kind of need them since Gabriel is getting old, I guess.
The formula of "Bad thing happens, Gabriel responds to bad thing, he miraculously figures out the big twist behind the bad thing, kill the guys doing the bad thing(s), then the epilogue of quietly killing the lone puppet master" is starting to get a little tired.
But, still an enjoyable series to read. Also great, we get the return of Gabriel's team from the previous book. We kind of need them since Gabriel is getting old, I guess.
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
4.0
Yet another great installment in the Gabriel Allon series.
I have been working to catch up in this series; I'd fallen four books behind. I'm still working on the latest one, but the previous three have been great!
This time, the daughter of the American ambassador in London has been kidnapped by the Sword of Allah, an extremist Islamic group that wants to (what else?) bring down the infidels (esp. the Americans and their puppets, the Mubarak regime in Egypt) and institute the laws of Allah.
Once again, Gabriel does the dirty work that the CIA won't and in the process, he's taken hostage. Of course, Gabriel's cunning and calm-under-pressure demeanor help edge the bad guys and save the ambassador's daughter.
This book was exceptional in its portrayal of Gabriel's many facets. It's amazing how he's still able to maintain his humanity despite all the terrible things he's seen and done. Not to mention how he can turn off his emotions and become the cold, calculating assassin when necessary.
There is a particularly riveting scene near the end when, after he's been rescued from his captors by his crack team of cohorts, he stands over the injured bad guy and calmly shoots him numerous times in the leg in order to extract the whereabouts of the ambassador's daughter. The whole thing gave me chills.
Let me state for the record that I do not like Chiara, Gabriel's fiancee. I don't know why, really, except I find her irritating. (Maybe I just prefer my heroes lonely and miserable?) But they finally get married in this book and the way the wedding comes about did make me smile.
Silva is a great spy/suspense writer and I will definitely read whatever he writes. I haven't been disappointed yet.
I have been working to catch up in this series; I'd fallen four books behind. I'm still working on the latest one, but the previous three have been great!
This time, the daughter of the American ambassador in London has been kidnapped by the Sword of Allah, an extremist Islamic group that wants to (what else?) bring down the infidels (esp. the Americans and their puppets, the Mubarak regime in Egypt) and institute the laws of Allah.
Once again, Gabriel does the dirty work that the CIA won't and in the process, he's taken hostage. Of course, Gabriel's cunning and calm-under-pressure demeanor help edge the bad guys and save the ambassador's daughter.
This book was exceptional in its portrayal of Gabriel's many facets. It's amazing how he's still able to maintain his humanity despite all the terrible things he's seen and done. Not to mention how he can turn off his emotions and become the cold, calculating assassin when necessary.
There is a particularly riveting scene near the end when, after he's been rescued from his captors by his crack team of cohorts, he stands over the injured bad guy and calmly shoots him numerous times in the leg in order to extract the whereabouts of the ambassador's daughter. The whole thing gave me chills.
Let me state for the record that I do not like Chiara, Gabriel's fiancee. I don't know why, really, except I find her irritating. (Maybe I just prefer my heroes lonely and miserable?) But they finally get married in this book and the way the wedding comes about did make me smile.
Silva is a great spy/suspense writer and I will definitely read whatever he writes. I haven't been disappointed yet.
m3l89's review against another edition
4.0
The Secret Servant was the first Gabriel Allon novel I read after stumbling across it in a charity shop in Essex. I enjoyed it so much I decided to buy and read the rest of the series and now I own every single one (except maybe the most recent one).
While now reading the series in chronological order, this is my favourite out of the first 7. I feel like it’s a change of tone from the first books which are quite heavy on the history and politics, whereas TSS is more character based and those characters are in the here and now.
Definitely my favourite in the series so far. Very readable, fast paced plot and the overall story arc is very much still there.
While now reading the series in chronological order, this is my favourite out of the first 7. I feel like it’s a change of tone from the first books which are quite heavy on the history and politics, whereas TSS is more character based and those characters are in the here and now.
Definitely my favourite in the series so far. Very readable, fast paced plot and the overall story arc is very much still there.
jeregenest's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty typical for these books. Enjoyable but not that deep.
martyfried's review against another edition
4.0
I "read" the audiobook version of this, which was very well read, like the previous books in the series, by John Lee.
I like the series, and have been reading them in order. I think it helps to read it this way, especially for this book, to understand the characters and their past relationships.
Some people think Mr Silva is "over the top" in the way he portrays Israeli intelligence as being better than everyone else, but what about James Bond, or Sherlock Holmes, or many other series? It's fiction, people, and this series is about a very talented agent. He's not made out to be perfect, but he's good and he understands the people he is dealing with due to previous experiences. But he's not shown as being perfect.
I feel that by reading this series, I have come to better understand Israel's outlook and rationale for what's going on there. I don't necessarily agree with all of their methods, but I think it's good to understand their point of view, and this book helps, I believe.
I like the series, and have been reading them in order. I think it helps to read it this way, especially for this book, to understand the characters and their past relationships.
Some people think Mr Silva is "over the top" in the way he portrays Israeli intelligence as being better than everyone else, but what about James Bond, or Sherlock Holmes, or many other series? It's fiction, people, and this series is about a very talented agent. He's not made out to be perfect, but he's good and he understands the people he is dealing with due to previous experiences. But he's not shown as being perfect.
I feel that by reading this series, I have come to better understand Israel's outlook and rationale for what's going on there. I don't necessarily agree with all of their methods, but I think it's good to understand their point of view, and this book helps, I believe.