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A review by fredmoyer
Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva
4.0
Gabriel Allon spends some times in Moscow.
“Moscow Rules” is the eighth book in the Gabriel Allon series. But this time the main antagonist isn’t an Arab terrorist or a Nazi sympathizer; instead, Gabriel must contend with a Russian arms dealer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the arms dealer is selling weapons (indirectly) to Arab terrorists; but still, the story’s focus is on Russia and Russians. And it’s clear that Moscow is a dangerous place for spies to operate.
The book’s characters, both the “good guys” and the “bad guys”, are well-drawn and interesting – and through their conversations with each other, exhibit their individual touches of humanity and/or cruelty. Indeed, it’s the characters, in addition to the descriptions of the locations where they are operating, that give these books both a sense of realism and a sense of the exotic. It’s a winnng combination.
As with some other Gabriel Allon stories, Gabriel is impossibly noble and so once again eventually puts himself selflessly in harm’s way (and once again allows his adversaries to beat the crap out of him). But this time, escape seems impossible. That made for a very exciting final set of pages (until the near miraculous ending, which may have you thinking “give me a break”).
Bottom line: Another high-quality Gabriel Allon story. An entertaining story, though with an ending that comes out of left field.
“Moscow Rules” is the eighth book in the Gabriel Allon series. But this time the main antagonist isn’t an Arab terrorist or a Nazi sympathizer; instead, Gabriel must contend with a Russian arms dealer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the arms dealer is selling weapons (indirectly) to Arab terrorists; but still, the story’s focus is on Russia and Russians. And it’s clear that Moscow is a dangerous place for spies to operate.
The book’s characters, both the “good guys” and the “bad guys”, are well-drawn and interesting – and through their conversations with each other, exhibit their individual touches of humanity and/or cruelty. Indeed, it’s the characters, in addition to the descriptions of the locations where they are operating, that give these books both a sense of realism and a sense of the exotic. It’s a winnng combination.
As with some other Gabriel Allon stories, Gabriel is impossibly noble and so once again eventually puts himself selflessly in harm’s way (and once again allows his adversaries to beat the crap out of him). But this time, escape seems impossible. That made for a very exciting final set of pages (until the near miraculous ending, which may have you thinking “give me a break”).
Bottom line: Another high-quality Gabriel Allon story. An entertaining story, though with an ending that comes out of left field.