The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon)

Daniel Silva is one of the best writers of thrillers today, and The Secret Servant is another crowd-pleaser in his ever popular Gabriel Allon series. Allon would love to work fulltime as one of the best art restorers in Europe. Unfortunately, he is also a trained assassin for The Office, Israeli's secret service. Professor Solomon Rosner lives in Amsterdam and is a voice against jihadist Islam. He is also an "asset" to The Office, reporting on terrorist activities. When Rosner is murdered in his home city, Allon is sent to Amsterdam to purge his files of anything that may tie the former professor to Israel. But Allon finds much more than he expected, including an explosive plot orchestrated by The Sphinx to murder thousands in London, as well as to kidnap the daughter of the American ambassador. He is thrust into service with the American, the English and the Dutch intelligence communities, trying to prevent widespread death and destruction. But of course, this comes at great personal risk. Silva has a way of working his novels around the current events of the day. He speaks of the dying of Europe, "The Europeans thought they could take in millions of immigrants from the poorest regions of the Muslim world and turn them into good little social democrats in a single generation." According to Allon, "'Islamic extremism is just the latest virus to thrive in Europe's nurturing environment.'" The political situation in Egypt also figures prominently into The Secret Servant, as hard-line Muslims try to seize control of the country. But while much of The Secret Servant deals with very serious themes, there are some comical situations between the different intelligence branches, as well as a big surprise at the end. Also, the regular Silva characters are back including Adrian Carter (CIA), Ari Shamron, Uzi Navot, Chiara, Eli Lavon and even Sarah Bancroft makes an appearance (from The Messenger). There are many authors who produce a series book once a year or so--whether they have something to say, or not. But when Daniel Silva publishes a book, you can expect a story with quality.

Audio - Review of Secret Servant Plot - Quick, flowing, until the very end, the bit about the wedding could have been left out or confined to a quick five or ten minute, at the most a short chapter. It was nice to know they finally did get married but the details, I found to be unnecessary. The story was not only timely but also very realistic; the course of events could have easily been written in any newspaper. But we the reader or listener, get to hear or read all those little details that couldn't be released to the public. There's something tantalizing about knowing the details that the author stated that were not released in any official document. Pretend that only you and the characters are privy (along with the thousands of other people who read the book) to the book's `For Your Eyes Only' information. Characters - I will definitely read or listen to more books in the series. I loved the characters. I found the fact that the main character not only serves in an intelligence role but is able to maintain a separate and normal existence as an art restorer as a relief to all those other one dimensional James Bond types. Gabriel Allon, the main character is perfect for the simple reason he isn't. He has to do what he has to do. He is not without feelings but he knows when and where those feeling are appropriate. He's not some young stud that runs around bedding women without a second thought; he has an ex-wife with major problems, though I wasn't sure of details. But still it's wasn't dismal, sad but it didn't drown in self-pity. I plan to go back and read the rest of the books in the series after I read Moscow Rules. He's a man who's lost a child, a grown son, so you know he's not some young whippersnapper. He's intelligent, well organized, a man that you want to know, at least as an art restorer. The majority of the rest of the characters were well rounded, enjoyable and at times, scary. I wanted to know more about the characters and not just the good guys. It would be nice to learn what happened to them after the book ended which to me indicated an emotional investment that I developed for the characters. The use of characters were perfect, some had small but crucial roles. Settings - Wonderfully described, detailed without being boring or slowing the story down. Narrator - Excellent, I enjoyed the narrator's work a great deal, while the voices of the females character were not perfect, they within a tolerant range. It's not easy for a man to do a female voice without it sounding awful or laughable. Don't get me wrong it's no better for a female doing a male voice. It is truly an art when a narrator can nail the voice of a character of the opposite sex. Bottom line, a fantastic book with great characters and a terrific story.

The Gabrial Allon series keeps getting better and better. I have read them all, and this is the best yet. Fast action and a great perspective on Europe's growing problems with radical Islam and, as usual, on the Israeli penchant for survival. Also, we are now seeing characters develop as they reappear from novel to novel. Finally, it is interesting and informative to see Silva explore the terrorist mind as well as the Israeli. While Silva is clearly in Allon's camp, he gives some reasonably unbiased views of how the radical mindset develops from the poverty and sometimes brutal treatment the Muslims receive in some parts of the world. This is a great series. While it would help to start with the first, it is not necessary. Silva provides enough background in the narrative that the new reader will not feel lost.

Boa trama, prende o leitor

My sister loves this author. She prefers large print but they r not always available. Could I talk to someone about this (availability of large print paperbacks.)

After the slight disappointment of Daniel Silva's last Gabriel Allon novel, The Messenger, The Secret Servant is a pleasing return to form. Following Allon's attempts to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the US Ambassador to Britain, it is a tense and suspenseful tale, but also an intelligently written one. There's little recourse to deus ex-machina or outlandish action. This is a story that whilst undeniably a work of fiction maintains enough realism to remain frighteningly plausible. The book also marks a return to form for the character of Gabriel Allon. Having drifted in a somewhat purposeless manner for much of The Messenger, seemingly caught in a cul de sac as far as further character development went, here he is given a renewed sense of forward momentum. No longer the lone assassin, he seems far more comfortable as both a leader of men and a human being in The Secret Servant, suggesting that he is finally entering a new and interesting phase of his career. Of course that doesn't stop Allon from becoming involved in the heart of the action. Supported by a wide array of characters, some of whom recur from previous Silva novels, he is at the forefront of events. As usual Silva provides some wonderfully tense and exciting action sequences to go with the quieter periods, and its quickly apparent that Allon has lost none of his edge when it comes to doing what has to be done to complete his mission. As always with Silva's novels, there are very definite centre-right & pro-Israeli slants to the book's perspective. This may turn some readers off, depending on their political persuasion, but it should be said that at no point does the book espouse hard views in this respect. Everything is very much based in fact, Silva displays a detailed understanding of the politics of Europe, the US and the Middle East and he tries where possible to maintain balance in his portrayal of difference religious and political groups. Still, this is a book written by an American during the war on terror so the bad guys are Islamists and if the book has a weak point it is their portrayal. To a man they remain very much one-dimensional, (in some cases literally) faceless, emotionless killers, which is a shame considering the complexities Silva includes elsewhere. I can understand that he would not wish to give any suggestion of support for the Islamist cause or its methods, but to give even those willing to commit inhuman, monstrous acts, be they fanatics of not, some slight hint of humanity would have given the book even greater depth and porbably made it all the better. Still, despite this The Secret Servant is one of Silva's best novels to date and I would recommend it to anyone wanting an intelligent contemporary thriller. I would however, also recommend reading the previous Gabriel Allon novels first. Its not vital to do so, but readers will gain far greater enjoyment if they understand where this complex and fascinating character has come from.

A fast moving thriller

My first book by Daniel Silva. Interesting to read how the Israeli secret services might be used by the west to do heir dirty work. Good plot.