Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
A pretty good spy novel. I liked the twists and turns. I didn't know so much about the Israel Palestine conflict at the time but it does want me to learn more about it. Reminds me of Tom Clancy thrillers and James Bond to a little extent. Women don't get the best treatment but they do get a little work and action for themselves. Will be interesting to see if I continue in the series and if I would compare this to Dirk Pitt. Also reminded me a ton of the movie Munich, which deals with related subjects.
Gabriel Allon, once a key operative in secret Israeli-intelligence, is now a restorer of priceless works of art. He is being called back into the game to find a Palestinian terrorist named Tariq. Gabriel is teamed up with a French fashion model who has deep ties with Israel and whom has been involved with Gabriel romantically in the past.
Decided to go back to the beginning to see how it all began. Whilst this book shows all the signs of what was to develop into one of the great spy series, it is clear it’s just a beginning. Gabriel is not fully fleshed out, lacks (by definition) the hard-nosed experience, and it lacks the back story of deep characterisation of the latter books. But still flows with ne’er a mis-step, and is a worthwhile first step.
If you love spy intrigue novels this is your book. It reads super fast from many perspectives.
This is really more of a thriller than a mystery: spy versus spy, John LeCarre with an Israeli accent. The writing is fast-paced but includes a lot of clumsy exposition. At first, I thought it was going to be entirely formulaic, and I was prepared to pass the time with the book and move on.
Where the author won me over was the part where he has a character explain exactly how a Palestinian might view the events that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The bad guys in this book are not stereotype KGB types, and the good guys are not only complicated but they make mistakes, do things they regret, and get old. That lifts it above most of its genre.
Where the author won me over was the part where he has a character explain exactly how a Palestinian might view the events that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The bad guys in this book are not stereotype KGB types, and the good guys are not only complicated but they make mistakes, do things they regret, and get old. That lifts it above most of its genre.
Entertaining spy/thriller. Exactly what you would expect, great for the beach or travel. I enjoyed it and would recommend.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is utter garbage. I could only get through about twenty pages. Just too awful for words. I'd rather stare at a wall than read this drivel.