Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Super fun thriller, mystery with Art and morally ambiguous characters.
The most interesting thing about this book to me is that it is marketed as being about a spy named Gabriel Allon when in fact he is probably the most blasé of all of the characters in the book. Spy with a tortured past is trope that has been explored in many other books, but the other characters picked up the slack easily. Ari Shamron is a total delight, and I want more.
This book was a good read. It took a while for me to get into because of background of Gabriel. The beginning seemed to be a tad confusing. It picked up the pace once Ari comes into the picture. I never suspected the ending and it was a real twist to me. I hope the next book is a bit quicker of a pace than this one.
None other than James Ellroy, one of my favorite living authors, has been crowing about the quality of Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series.
In the New York Times "By the Book" column, Ellroy manages to trash William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy as cats he "doesn't dig," while effusively praising best-selling spy novelist, Daniel Silva as "gooooooood." It's a hilarious column, if you're so inclined: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/books/review/by-the-book-james-ellroy.html
Based solely on that recommendation, I picked up the first Gabriel Allon, THE KILL ARTIST, and have to say that it is indeed good - though I'd shorten the praise by about six o's. The book is well written and well paced. The character of Allon - a restorer of old master paintings and a coldly effective Israeli hitman - is entertaining. I liked the book enough that I've put the second one on hold at DCPL.
In the New York Times "By the Book" column, Ellroy manages to trash William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy as cats he "doesn't dig," while effusively praising best-selling spy novelist, Daniel Silva as "gooooooood." It's a hilarious column, if you're so inclined: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/books/review/by-the-book-james-ellroy.html
Based solely on that recommendation, I picked up the first Gabriel Allon, THE KILL ARTIST, and have to say that it is indeed good - though I'd shorten the praise by about six o's. The book is well written and well paced. The character of Allon - a restorer of old master paintings and a coldly effective Israeli hitman - is entertaining. I liked the book enough that I've put the second one on hold at DCPL.
This is my first Gabriel Allon book and I'm not disappointed. The end could've been a bit better, but considering the series is at book 21 as of now, with the 22nd installment close at hand, I'm sure Allon has had the opportunity to grow and improve, and Silva as well. I'll be back for more.
dark
mysterious
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
Good read. A little too much swearing, but good nonetheless.
A well written and complicated Israeli spy novel. I liked it and I'll look for the others in the series.
I'm not typically in to spy political thrillers, but this story was well-written and fast-paced. I definitely plan to read more in the series.