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marysues's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mtrl_girl's review
3.0
This type of book isn't my usual fare but it wasn't too bad. The plot had some interesting twists and the story was good.
andy_67's review
4.0
great story - interesting (real life) history, and more character
development than the kill artist. left me looking forward to more
of Gabriel's assignments...
development than the kill artist. left me looking forward to more
of Gabriel's assignments...
brughiera's review
3.0
A fast-paced thriller where both the hero, Gabriel Allon and the anti-hero, the English assassin of the title, are interesting characters. While Gabriel's sleuthing to unearth the mystery of the stolen paintings is riveting, the motivation of the assassin is less well-founded and his renunciation of the assignment to kill Anna Rolfe is never quite believable. The story seemed to lose pace as it progressed, although perhaps this was just a reflection of my distaste for the amount of violence inflicted, particularly on Allon and I ended up being somewhat disappointed in what had promised! at the outset! to be a particularly exciting read.
fredmoyer's review
4.0
Great characters. Interesting plot. Twisty, but rushed, ending.
This is the second book in a series of 20+ books showcasing Israeli intelligence operative Gabriel Allon. The first book, like any first-book-in-a-series, must introduce the reader to the main protagonist (Gabriel Allon) and some of his compatriots; and so the book only provided us with a relatively simple plot. With this second book, few character introductions were necessary; and so we were given a much more complicated and meaty plot. Thus, unlike the first book, with its single antagonist (Palestinian assassin Tariq), in this second book Gabriel Allon is up against a decades-old secretive organization – and even, to some extent, up against an entire country.
Like the first book, the writing is very good, the foreign locations are quite descriptive and the characters are superbly well-drawn. And there are twists. Not everything goes according to plan. Not all characters do what the reader might assume they would. But it seemed the author wanted the ending to have a sense of “justice prevailed” even though it meant a rushed ending with insufficient (or even nonexistent) information to how anyone managed to exact such vengeance.
Bottom line: Sophisticated plot. Really good characters. Rushed, twisty ending.
This is the second book in a series of 20+ books showcasing Israeli intelligence operative Gabriel Allon. The first book, like any first-book-in-a-series, must introduce the reader to the main protagonist (Gabriel Allon) and some of his compatriots; and so the book only provided us with a relatively simple plot. With this second book, few character introductions were necessary; and so we were given a much more complicated and meaty plot. Thus, unlike the first book, with its single antagonist (Palestinian assassin Tariq), in this second book Gabriel Allon is up against a decades-old secretive organization – and even, to some extent, up against an entire country.
Like the first book, the writing is very good, the foreign locations are quite descriptive and the characters are superbly well-drawn. And there are twists. Not everything goes according to plan. Not all characters do what the reader might assume they would. But it seemed the author wanted the ending to have a sense of “justice prevailed” even though it meant a rushed ending with insufficient (or even nonexistent) information to how anyone managed to exact such vengeance.
Bottom line: Sophisticated plot. Really good characters. Rushed, twisty ending.
jess_reads1000's review
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0