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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Considering there are sixteen entries (and counting) in the Gabriel Allon series, I'm guessing they improve as they go along, because this one reads like an author still finding their feet.
Allon himself is, like a lot of the book, a bit of a cliche - the tortured master spy/assassin who is an absolute genius at everything he does, but can never forget the loss of a loved one. How much tolerance you have for this archetype will tell you how much you'll enjoy The Kill Artist, which is full of things that may still have had some life in 2000 but are beyond old hat now. Here are a few: the sexy femme fatale (Jacqueline Delacroix) whose feelings for Gabriel are powerful but can never amount to anything; the rogue assassin (Tariq Al-Hourani) with the beliefs too radical for the average "bad guys"; the gruff and manipulative handler (Ari Shamron) who always has another angle.
Silva is good at establishing the global scale of his story and creating an atmosphere of spycraft at play, with a lot of procedural elements and code words. There's a decent amount of politics thrown in, but Silva knows better to commit to one side or the other; he simply lays them out as motivations for his characters, whom he tries hard to give nuance beyond simple "good guy vs. bad guy." You want Tariq to fail because Allon is our hero, but his motives make sense and his past - as well as his fate - rather tragic.
In the end, though, it's not enough. The dialogue alternates between corny and didactic, and there's a plodding, repetitious nature to the writing overall that becomes tiresome after a while. The book is roughly 50/50 between telling and showing, which isn't the most conducive approach, especially since it takes nearly 100 pages to set up the main plot. Except for a fairly major twist near the end, the plot is nothing special - a lot of cat-and-mouse between Gabriel and Tariq that relies on circumstance and even contrivance at times to work. None of these things can really sink the book, but they can't elevate it beyond a brief diversion.
But then, maybe that's all it needs to be. Sixteen entries (and counting) kind of speaks for itself in that regard, doesn't it?
Allon himself is, like a lot of the book, a bit of a cliche - the tortured master spy/assassin who is an absolute genius at everything he does, but can never forget the loss of a loved one. How much tolerance you have for this archetype will tell you how much you'll enjoy The Kill Artist, which is full of things that may still have had some life in 2000 but are beyond old hat now. Here are a few: the sexy femme fatale (Jacqueline Delacroix) whose feelings for Gabriel are powerful but can never amount to anything; the rogue assassin (Tariq Al-Hourani) with the beliefs too radical for the average "bad guys"; the gruff and manipulative handler (Ari Shamron) who always has another angle.
Silva is good at establishing the global scale of his story and creating an atmosphere of spycraft at play, with a lot of procedural elements and code words. There's a decent amount of politics thrown in, but Silva knows better to commit to one side or the other; he simply lays them out as motivations for his characters, whom he tries hard to give nuance beyond simple "good guy vs. bad guy." You want Tariq to fail because Allon is our hero, but his motives make sense and his past - as well as his fate - rather tragic.
In the end, though, it's not enough. The dialogue alternates between corny and didactic, and there's a plodding, repetitious nature to the writing overall that becomes tiresome after a while. The book is roughly 50/50 between telling and showing, which isn't the most conducive approach, especially since it takes nearly 100 pages to set up the main plot. Except for a fairly major twist near the end, the plot is nothing special - a lot of cat-and-mouse between Gabriel and Tariq that relies on circumstance and even contrivance at times to work. None of these things can really sink the book, but they can't elevate it beyond a brief diversion.
But then, maybe that's all it needs to be. Sixteen entries (and counting) kind of speaks for itself in that regard, doesn't it?
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Gabriel Allon worked as a political assassin for Israel's enemies. He is also the most sought-after art restorer which also doubled as a cover for his more sinister activities. He is however retired from this dark game and works full time in restoring paintings back to their original glory.
Ari Shamron, also retired, is called back to be the head of Israeli intelligence again to stop a Palestinian fanatic, Tariq from a plot to murder a President. However Tariq, a master of disguise is not easy to catch.
Tariq and Gabriel have a bloody history together, and Ari Shamron hopes to use this as a weapon in killing Tariq. Gabriel is dispatched for this job with the aid of Jaqueline; a Jewish model who works as an undercover agent for the Office.
The story is intermingled with politics, racial tensions between the Arabs and the Jews, power and revenge. There's one plot twist after another and will leave you gripping the edges of your seat at the rapid pace of the novel.
Ari Shamron, also retired, is called back to be the head of Israeli intelligence again to stop a Palestinian fanatic, Tariq from a plot to murder a President. However Tariq, a master of disguise is not easy to catch.
Tariq and Gabriel have a bloody history together, and Ari Shamron hopes to use this as a weapon in killing Tariq. Gabriel is dispatched for this job with the aid of Jaqueline; a Jewish model who works as an undercover agent for the Office.
The story is intermingled with politics, racial tensions between the Arabs and the Jews, power and revenge. There's one plot twist after another and will leave you gripping the edges of your seat at the rapid pace of the novel.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Could see everything like a movie in my head, but it was a long read, i finished at least 3 other books while reading this one, but i loved it, cant wait for more
I always see these books at the store/library/resale, and I was wondering what all the hype was about. I enjoyed this in that way that bestsellers are usually filled with action with a little bit of dark and a little bit of light thrown in.
I can understand why these books are so popular, at least with people like me, who are suckers for action-packed spy stories (as opposed to realistically slow John Le Carre, which while good, I cannot describe as "fun"). In my opinion, this book was a good balance between action/thriller bits, and enough character development/seriousness to make me able to suspend my disbelief as necessary in a spy novel.
This book was also interesting to read so long after it was published, considering how much and how little Palestine/Israeli relations have changed.
I can understand why these books are so popular, at least with people like me, who are suckers for action-packed spy stories (as opposed to realistically slow John Le Carre, which while good, I cannot describe as "fun"). In my opinion, this book was a good balance between action/thriller bits, and enough character development/seriousness to make me able to suspend my disbelief as necessary in a spy novel.
This book was also interesting to read so long after it was published, considering how much and how little Palestine/Israeli relations have changed.