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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
it's a great thriller like the rest of the Allon series and clearly they're setting up a new adversary and possibly a new dynamic for the team but I missed the whole team working together aspect. I hope they get back to showing the team effort in the next one.
Boundaries between fiction and reality are blurred when reading this story. Another amazing Gabriel Allon story. At least it appears there will be another story coming (just have to wait a year...)
In what’s become a recurring plot line we have:
1. Gabriel’s investiture as Director being postponed due to terrorist attacks in Western Europe.
2. Only Gabriel can fix it.
3. the identification, training, and insertion of an agent- always a woman into the terrorist hierarchy.
This time it’s ISIS and the nemesis is a former Iraqi spy calling himself Saladin. The last quarter of the book is a fast, thrilling read set in the Washington, DC area.
Reading The Black Widow at this time is terrifying. The fictitious events in the book seem to have been taken from the real events that has happened with Orlando, Paris, Nice, and Brussels. His displeasure with the US and our handling of ISIS is disturbing. Mostly because I have to agree with much he has said. I didn't want to, but I found that I was highlighting all of those statements, and upon reviewing could not find fault with his displeasure with the way we have handled much of the middle east. He does not blame us for all the woes of the world, but definately writes from an Israeli perspective. Having the attack on US soil is disturbing and yet not surprising. It would not hurt the French, British and US leaders to read this book and see what they take away from it.
I have read all the Gabriel Allon series, and this is the most frightening of all. As Gabriel moves into the position of heading The Office I can't help but wonder what will happen without him in the field? I am awaiting the return of Gabriel and his friends!
I have read all the Gabriel Allon series, and this is the most frightening of all. As Gabriel moves into the position of heading The Office I can't help but wonder what will happen without him in the field? I am awaiting the return of Gabriel and his friends!
Uma intrincada trama sobre um espião lendário, uma organização terrorista e uma jovem que tem as habilidades certas no momento certo.
Um thriller de ficção que inicia com ataques terroristas do ISIS em Paris e prossegue retratando o Islamismo radical e o seu objetivo final de recriar um califado islâmico.
O autor, não se coibiu de opinar sobre o estado da política externa americana (especialmente a invasão do Iraque em 2003), fazendo a sua avaliação das falhas políticas do governo no que diz respeito ao terrorismo e das suas fraquezas perante a ascensão do ISIS.
Apesar de um começo algo "morno", o enredo acaba por ganhar impulso e mistério. Uma obra sobre espionagem, agências de inteligência, organizações criminosas, terroristas, mas baseada em fatos reais e, incrivelmente, premonitória.
Um thriller de ficção que inicia com ataques terroristas do ISIS em Paris e prossegue retratando o Islamismo radical e o seu objetivo final de recriar um califado islâmico.
O autor, não se coibiu de opinar sobre o estado da política externa americana (especialmente a invasão do Iraque em 2003), fazendo a sua avaliação das falhas políticas do governo no que diz respeito ao terrorismo e das suas fraquezas perante a ascensão do ISIS.
Apesar de um começo algo "morno", o enredo acaba por ganhar impulso e mistério. Uma obra sobre espionagem, agências de inteligência, organizações criminosas, terroristas, mas baseada em fatos reais e, incrivelmente, premonitória.
Mm. 2.5, really. Well executed but not my cup of tea, and filled with details that aren't for the non-series reader.
The Black Widow is outstanding, a true thriller. The story is so current and so real, about an ISIS attack and how they operate. A new character, Natalie, is wonderful. Her story is the main focus of the book about how she becomes involved in ISIS -- with Gabriel's help. The plot is superb, the storyline is chilling, and it is all extremely plausible. You will want to know the ending as soon as you read the first chapter, so you will be up nights reading it until finished and afterward as well, with very unsettled thoughts about it all. I really enjoyed this book.
The Black Widow is different from our other Gabriel Allon installments in that Gabriel is not the focus of the story. Prodigy French-Jewish doctor Natalie Mizrahi has just moved to Israel and because of her skills, she is approached by Gabriel to transform into a "black widow" and infiltrate an Islamic terrorist cell. Natalie is a fascinating character and, while I missed Gabriel, it was still fun to read as she takes on a new persona and takes a nosedive into life as a spy.
The pacing of this book is phenomenal and the last third had me on the edge of my figurative seat! It's always fun to get lost in Gabriel's spy world, I only wish that he was present in a bit more of it.
The pacing of this book is phenomenal and the last third had me on the edge of my figurative seat! It's always fun to get lost in Gabriel's spy world, I only wish that he was present in a bit more of it.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another satisfying dip into political intrigue and art. the politics were predominant in this. To retaliate and prevent reoccurrences of ISIS attacks on the west Gabriel is tapped and we get to witness the training of a new operative. Lots of heart pumping action throughout.