Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
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.
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
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:
Complicated
My first time reading Silva. Liked the story and the movement of it. Although, there were a few times that I got a little confused. Although I've been told that his books can be formulaic, I will probably read others at some point.
You know, I think I've almost never read a book of this type -- mysteries and intrigue are not my genre. But this was a hell of a lot of fun and one I could not put down. Bill Clinton, an avid reader of history, mentioned on a Today segment that Gabriel Allon was his favorite fiction character of all time. So I checked it out. I haven't read a lot of these types of books so I cannot compare them to say if this one is better than most or if I have entered a different time in my life when spy thrillers now appeal to me in a way they never have. But, what appealed to me in this story and will cause me to get #2 in the series is that Allon is a world-renown art restorer. It's his cover -- one he was trained in by his agency and couldn't help but excel at. And, he is a reluctant assassin. He is older and wants to retire, but they keep pulling him back in. That there is a Jane-Eyresque wife hidden in a mental hospital, a daring French model 15 years younger who has fallen in love with him and a boy who looks up to him as the father he never had just makes it a fun tale. Suddenly, I understand men who read these books one after the other -- this is their chick lit.
I don't read a lot of spy thrillers. This one I read after my wife did (she heard Gabriel Allon, the main character, mentioned on NPR as Bill Clinton's favorite spy). There are a lot of books in the series and I don't know if I'll read all of them, but this one was interesting enough (in that spy-who-leaves-after-tragedy-then-gets-an-unusual-vocation-athat-he's-best-at-but-reluctantly-comes-back-for-one-last-mission way).
I was so in mood for a spy novel a few weeks back and my friend recommended THE KILL ARTIST// Daniel Silva, and boyyyyy it didn’t disappoint