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jaxboiler's review against another edition
3.0
I finished the Mark of the Assassin while driving north for my Christmas Vacation. This was a fun book to listen to.
utbw42's review
4.0
I've been wanting to read Silva's books for a while, and I'm glad I did. Exciting book, moved quick....great read. I'll be tearing into more Silva books in the future.
jfranco77's review against another edition
3.0
Michael Osbourne is sort of like Jack Ryan (the movie version more than the book version). He was a field agent in the CIA, but was forced out of the field and into a desk job. While at his desk job, he is responsible for the Middle Eastern region. Michael is tasked with investigating an airliner shot out of the sky by the Sword of Hamas (or so they claim). One of the terrorists was shot 3 times in the face, which is the calling card of an assassin Michael is very familiar with, because he killed the love of Michael's life a long time ago.
None of the characters are super interesting (Delaroche the assassin is by far the most well-rounded and interesting) and the typical government conspiracy feels a little too obvious. The overall feel is more 'meh' than 'wow' even though the book has its moments of greatness. I could be talked into 3.5 stars but not 4.
None of the characters are super interesting (Delaroche the assassin is by far the most well-rounded and interesting) and the typical government conspiracy feels a little too obvious. The overall feel is more 'meh' than 'wow' even though the book has its moments of greatness. I could be talked into 3.5 stars but not 4.
joethebibliophile's review against another edition
2.0
First Daniel Silva’s book I read and Meh!!
I like crime and mystery books and somehow this is just one more… I kinda liked but this book doesn't stand out from others I've read before. The beginning is too slow paced and it ends too quickly. Kind of strange!!!
Felt no connection with either the story or the characters... Too many cliches...
After this one I don’t know if I want to read other books from the author.
I like crime and mystery books and somehow this is just one more… I kinda liked but this book doesn't stand out from others I've read before. The beginning is too slow paced and it ends too quickly. Kind of strange!!!
Felt no connection with either the story or the characters... Too many cliches...
After this one I don’t know if I want to read other books from the author.
quinnster's review
medium-paced
3.0
This was just a little better than *okay* for me. There were certain things that bothered me that kept me from fully enjoying it.
claudiaswisher's review against another edition
4.0
Rip-roaring adventure...conspiracies at the highest levels of government and industry. A merciless assassin who shoots his victims three times in the face. Wealthy powerful men who will do whatever it takes to get power and consolidate power. Gotta love a Daniel Silva novel. My friend and I think October is the prototype for Gabiel Allon...a small trim man, good with a gun, and a talented artist. We think that idea was too good to drop. So, out with October and in with Gabriel.
Some breath-taking suspense scenes. I liked this one a lot!
Some breath-taking suspense scenes. I liked this one a lot!
francisjamesx's review
4.0
A CIA personnel became the prime target of a high class assassin after unlocking clues that could lead to the masterminds behind the blowup of an American airplane killing more than 200 passengers and crew.
The book is a complicated story of interweaving conspiracy of lies and truths between government officials, politicians, businessmen, secret service teams, spies, assassins, and lawyers tailored delightfully by Daniel Silva in this very exciting book. What a first read!
The book is a complicated story of interweaving conspiracy of lies and truths between government officials, politicians, businessmen, secret service teams, spies, assassins, and lawyers tailored delightfully by Daniel Silva in this very exciting book. What a first read!
coolhand773's review against another edition
3.0
Tolerable spy fiction, but I have to admit I'm disappointed. There were parts which were taken directly from Tom Clancy and the cardboard-cutout evil Republicans were almost too much to handle.
I might try another Silva novel, but I handily prefer Clancy or Flynn.
I might try another Silva novel, but I handily prefer Clancy or Flynn.
brettt's review against another edition
2.0
Mark of the Assassin is a kind of prequel to Daniel Silva's headliner series about Israeli spy Gabriel Allon. Allon's mentor and boss Ariel Shamron makes a brief appearance, but the protagonist of the story is Michael Osbourne, a CIA case officer drawn into the investigation of a terrorist-downed jetliner that provides at least one body dead with a familiar bullet pattern. An assassin leaving the same mark killed a woman Osbourne loved many years ago, and he wants a chance to catch the man now. At the same time, political operatives throughout Washington want to use the attack to suit their own ends, some of which wouldn't be helped if Osbourne gets his man.
Osbourne is distracted by personal matters, as he and his wife are working with doctors to conceive a long-desired child and his wife wonders why other things always take the place of her and the baby they want to have. Silva's writing and characterization skills were already well-developed in this, his second novel. The story rarely, if ever, bogs down to relate details or explain things, but it doesn't need to because Silva knows how to bring a reader from point A to point B without going the long way.
The story itself, which relies at one point on a kind of international cabal of shadowy figures, is weaker than the Allon stories will be when it leans on these kinds of tired conventions, but is definitely strong enough to see why Silva keeps selling books.
Original available here.
Osbourne is distracted by personal matters, as he and his wife are working with doctors to conceive a long-desired child and his wife wonders why other things always take the place of her and the baby they want to have. Silva's writing and characterization skills were already well-developed in this, his second novel. The story rarely, if ever, bogs down to relate details or explain things, but it doesn't need to because Silva knows how to bring a reader from point A to point B without going the long way.
The story itself, which relies at one point on a kind of international cabal of shadowy figures, is weaker than the Allon stories will be when it leans on these kinds of tired conventions, but is definitely strong enough to see why Silva keeps selling books.
Original available here.
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