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The Defector (Gabriel Allon #9)
Over the course of a remarkable career, Daniel Silva has established himself as one of the world’s finest writers of international intrigue, a craftsman worthy of comparison to John le Carré and Graham Greene. His latest bestseller, Moscow Rules, was not only superior entertainment, but a prescient cautionary tale about the emergence of the New Russia. Now he takes that ta...more
MP3 CD, 0 pages
Published
July 21st 2009
by Brilliance Corporation
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The Defector by Daniel Silva (pp. 480)
The latest installment of Daniel Silva’s thriller series starring Gabriel Allon, a conflicted Isreali spy is a near sequel to last year’s Moscow Rules. After finding a somewhat normal life with his new wife, Allon gets thrown back into the mix when the man he rescued in the previous book is kidnapped by a Russian arms dealer.
After nine books using the same main character, Silva shows that he IS master of the genre. When other series are...more
The latest installment of Daniel Silva’s thriller series starring Gabriel Allon, a conflicted Isreali spy is a near sequel to last year’s Moscow Rules. After finding a somewhat normal life with his new wife, Allon gets thrown back into the mix when the man he rescued in the previous book is kidnapped by a Russian arms dealer.
After nine books using the same main character, Silva shows that he IS master of the genre. When other series are...more
First off, this is five stars based on it being part of a series, and based on the fact I just finished it and am still feeling the adrenaline. If you haven't read the others it won't make sense, but if you have read this one NOW!
Holy crap I can't even catch my breath. I love Gabriel, but I never knew what he was capable of, or that I would question whether he was doing the right thing. Vengeance is clearly neither black or white.
I basically see this as part two of Moscow...more
Holy crap I can't even catch my breath. I love Gabriel, but I never knew what he was capable of, or that I would question whether he was doing the right thing. Vengeance is clearly neither black or white.
I basically see this as part two of Moscow...more
Audiobook on the Indiana road trip. It's a decent story if you've read the others in the series. Otherwise, too much back story and not enough new plot.
These days, Gabriel Allon spends more time reminiscing about his past adventures than jumping into new ones.
These days, Gabriel Allon spends more time reminiscing about his past adventures than jumping into new ones.
Daniel Silva is very good writer, and Gabriel Allon is a captivating character with a complex mind. However, the author seems to have run out of ideas because Gabriel is doing the exact same things that he's done time and time again. There is very little originality in The Defector. The plot has a boiler-plate predictability that should make the author blush. Unless Silva can create a new arena for his enigmatic protagonist (or at least develop a major departure in the storyline) I think it's ti...more
I generally reserve my highest ratings for more literary works, but I had to give this the full five stars to set it apart from other popular suspense/thriller books. This is the best one yet in the Gabriel Allon series. Exciting, fast-paced international action. Silva has really outdone himself with this one. If this turned out to be the last one ever in the series, I would be content.
The amount of research done and the descriptions of the places really make this story shine.
...more
The amount of research done and the descriptions of the places really make this story shine.
...more
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I swear, just when I think Silva can't get any better, he does. He pulls out another amazing, heart-stopping thriller which you can't put down until you're finished. Although I would say that I am glad that this is the end of the Ivan Kharkov story - I wouldn't have wanted this to go on for a third book.[return][return]At the end of the previous book, Moscow Rules, Gabriel Allon has humiliated the Russian arms dealer Ivan Kharkov and taken away everything he owns and holds dear. His wife an...more
Isn't it astonishing how you don't know variation in a genre is possible until you discover that variation? For example, until I read this book I hadn't ever considered the possibility of writing a thriller with an infallible hero. And lo, here Silva has done it. Well, well, well.
Do you know why I hadn't ever considered a perfect hero? Because it makes for a CRAP story. This novel is about 30% awed praise for the almighty and magnificent Israeli special agents and their special age...more
Do you know why I hadn't ever considered a perfect hero? Because it makes for a CRAP story. This novel is about 30% awed praise for the almighty and magnificent Israeli special agents and their special age...more
I can't remember the last time I got so excited about a book...but when I picked this one up at the library after reading Moscow Rules I was practically dancing down the aisles in delight and anticipation. It starts where Moscow Rules left off...so I would recommend reading Moscow Rules before this, because it reads like Part 2 and part of the overall enjoyment, for me, at least, is revisiting characters from before.
In fact, I would suggest starting earlier on in the series, because t...more
In fact, I would suggest starting earlier on in the series, because t...more
Generally speaking, it's safe to say that a few hours spent with Daniel Silva and Gabriel Allon will be hours well spent. This ninth outing for the Israeli art restorer and spy is every bit as good--if not better--than its predecessors. The setting for the bad guys is once again Russia, and the main thorn in the Israeli side is one of those mega-rich "new Russian" types who have benefited--by any means necessary--from Russia's new economy and the various Wild West-like aspects of it. W...more
This novel will pass as an ordinary spy thriller, following the adventures of a vengeful protagonist as he pursues targets throughout the world, unless the reader decodes the contents to understand the knavery and symbolism afoot within. Daniel Silva’s book is a masterful construction and an allegorical writing.
The story begins with the sudden disappearance of Grigori Bulganov, a chess-playing Russian defector living in England. The format of the book indicates Silva’s game play wi...more
The story begins with the sudden disappearance of Grigori Bulganov, a chess-playing Russian defector living in England. The format of the book indicates Silva’s game play wi...more
There is no any sophistication of real spy novel in this particular book and in "Moscow Rules". Before these two, I read "The Secret Servant" and what still OK with it for long flights but starting from "Moscow Rules"... Probably 99 of 100 reviewers who put 4 or 5 stars on this page have never seen Moscow apart from the TV screen. I'm sure from reading your reviews that same percentage never dared to dig deeper to understand what really happens in Russia beyond what...more
This is Daniel Silva's twelfth book, eleven of which I have read already. Wish I had read his 11'th book - "Moscow Rules" - before, as this one is a sequel.
The plot is staightforward - a Russian defector living in the UK disappears suddenly. Gabriel Allon, who's life the defector once saved and who in return has a promise to keep, get's to know of it and goes about trying to locate the mysteriously vanishing defector.
A good initial part of the book - as Silva ...more
The plot is staightforward - a Russian defector living in the UK disappears suddenly. Gabriel Allon, who's life the defector once saved and who in return has a promise to keep, get's to know of it and goes about trying to locate the mysteriously vanishing defector.
A good initial part of the book - as Silva ...more
Gabriel Allon is one of the thriller genre’s most charismatic characters. He’s something of an oxymoron: the soft hearted, intellectual, humanist, cold blooded assassin. Author Silva has also surrounded Allon with other appealing characters, and the political backgrounds are always compelling. This is what keeps me reading the series. As many other reviewers have noted, Silva’s plots have grown predictable. The Defector is the sequel to Moscow Rules, but, except for the change in the identity of...more
Excellent thriller in the Gabriel Allon series. These are not the kind of books you read back-to-back. For one thing, they're pretty intense, and very violent. They can also be, as someone else remarked, somewhat repetitive because they run to a defined pattern. Read at wide intervals, that familiarity of terrain is precisely what makes them welcome: you know roughly what you're going to get; you just don't know when or how.
Silva's writing is tight, lucid and clear. There's hardly a...more
Silva's writing is tight, lucid and clear. There's hardly a...more
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I read the last few Daniel Silva books more out of habit just to see what hell he was going to put Allon through. It seemed he was just repeating the pattern he had established in his early books - the ones I had read and enjoyed. Part of my difficulty of was the fact that Gabriel and I are probably around the same age and there is no way I would be able to do what Silva's main character does in the course of the books. Fortunately, he is back on form in The Defector. At times reminiscent of ...more
Silva does it again, literally, with another extremely formulaic tale of the Israeli super-assassin and world-class art restorer Gabriel Allon and his supporting cast of vastly competent assassin's helpers. Poor Gabriel! After whacking more bad guys than usual at the author's behest, he finds himself embarrassingly short of the end of the novel and sets out on another, even bloodier, killing spree that leaves him so drained and emotionally broken he may not ever be fit to kill again. But, betray...more
I love Gabriel Allon! Silva has created a memorable and interesting character in this series....well, I think all the characters are well-developed and interesting but Allon is the center. 'The Defector' follows the same formula that seems to be present in the previous Allon books...Allon is working on his paintings/restorations, Shamron and The Office come calling, Allon doesn't want to get involved but can't refuse, Allon gathers his team, and they basically kick ass and take names. I don't e...more
I read every Daniel Silva book that comes out. It is a little like TV for me. However, even given that I don't read Silva for its breathtaking prose this was a disappointment. This book, relative to many of his others, was quite weak. I am not sure how much longer he can keep up the Gabriel Allon books. With that said, I'll buy his next book on the first day it's out and read it quickly. I just hope it's better next time.
Grigori Bolganov saved Gabriel Allon's life as well as the wife of a Russian arms dealer when they were captured in an escape attempt from Russia. During the escape, Grigori asked Gabriel, that if they were ever captured, Gabriel should never allow Grigori to be buried in unmarked grave. Now, Grigori is missing and the British secret service thinks he has re-defected back to Russia. Gabriel thinks otherwise and he sets out to prove them wrong.
Learning that the Russian arms dealer was behi...more
Learning that the Russian arms dealer was behi...more
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Recommends it for:
Silva fans, fans of spy fiction
Shelves:
spy-novels
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I read The Defector because Daniel Silva is the author slated for presentation this week at my book club. I had read3 or 4 of his books previously and liked them, although I'm really a spy/espionage reader. Why I stopped, I can't recall. This book, I thoroughly enjoyed. I became somewhat enamored with Gabriel Allon, the art restorer/ Israeli spy and assassin. Mr. Silva's writing is very descriptive, putting a clear picture of the locations and characters into your imagination. I learned about so...more
Taking place six months after the events in "Moscow Rules", "The Defector" finds Gabriel Allon once again facing off against Russian arms dealer Ivan Karkov, this time with the personal stakes for Allon as high as they have ever been.
Silva delivers another briskly-paced, tautly written thriller and, as with the preceding book, seems to benefit from taking on Cold War villain, avoiding the string of Middle Eastern terrorists that have mired some of the recent entri...more
Silva delivers another briskly-paced, tautly written thriller and, as with the preceding book, seems to benefit from taking on Cold War villain, avoiding the string of Middle Eastern terrorists that have mired some of the recent entri...more
If you take Jason Bourne and reduce the hand-to-hand violence by about 1/3, and up the political intrigue by a factor of 10 you'll get something very like the Israeli spy Gabriel Allon.
The Defector, Daniel Silva's latest installment in the Gabriel Allon cannon, is a fast paced political thriller ranging from the Israeli deserts, to sophisticated London neighborhoods, to the gritty underside of a bitterly cold Moscow in the winter.
The pacing is relentless, but the characters are so well...more
The Defector, Daniel Silva's latest installment in the Gabriel Allon cannon, is a fast paced political thriller ranging from the Israeli deserts, to sophisticated London neighborhoods, to the gritty underside of a bitterly cold Moscow in the winter.
The pacing is relentless, but the characters are so well...more
This is, I believe, the 9th book in a series with protagonist Gabriel Allon, who is a Jewish assasin/operative of the Israeli version of the CIA who repairs paintings for the Vatican when he's not on assignment to kill someone. Really, who could make up a character like that but it totally works! These books need to be read in order as Allon's co-workers and family are an important part of each story. You certainly need to read Moscow Rules first as the books have the same main villan, Ivan Kha...more
This was the best Silva I've read in a while. I felt Moscow Rules fell a bit flat, but the Defector did not disappoint. Silva is never really one for serial novels, and for the most part you don't have to have read Moscow Rules to follow the Defector, but having read both makes the story here that much richer.
Suspense throughout and this time an emotional connection to a very real danger. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but I will say even though I suspected what w...more
Suspense throughout and this time an emotional connection to a very real danger. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but I will say even though I suspected what w...more
I had a friend recommend Silva's books--and this one has been sitting in my stack of unread books for a long time. I took it on the plane to Tucson, thinking that if I finished my professional reading (I didn't think I would), I would still have something to read. Once I started it, it was hard to put down. The author has a unique style that (mostly) I appreciate. The repetition might be a little heavy-handed at times, but I still liked it because I understood that it was for effect. The story w...more
Book 9 in the Gabriel Allon series
Daniel Silva provides once more an exciting and captivating tale that will keep the readers focused in an endless need to see what will come next, the series is very addictive. The 9th instalment is an edge of the seat thriller, able to compete with the best for the reader's attention. Although "The Defector" is a sequel to "Moscow Rules, there is just the right amount of background given so this novel can fly on its own, no doubt it ...more
Daniel Silva provides once more an exciting and captivating tale that will keep the readers focused in an endless need to see what will come next, the series is very addictive. The 9th instalment is an edge of the seat thriller, able to compete with the best for the reader's attention. Although "The Defector" is a sequel to "Moscow Rules, there is just the right amount of background given so this novel can fly on its own, no doubt it ...more
Gabriel Allon and his compatriots take on Russian Arms dealer and all around nasty when defector Grigori Bulganov disappears from a London Street 6 months after he defects from Russia with Gabriel's help (See Silva's novel "Moscow Rules". As is often the case with Allon, there is lots of killing, but the story moves along across Europe and in the US as the Israeli, British and American clandestine organizations join forces to get Grigori back. And it ends up it's not just Grigori tha...more
Gabriel Allon is one of the most interesting characters in suspense/thriller fiction. A world renowned art restorer for the Vatican, under a pseudonym of course, who regularly is called to his other job by the Israeli covert ops group to eliminate individuals and groups who are threats to the Israeli state. The Defector paints a conflicted and gifted Allon who just wants to restore art but his second gift of figuring out how to bring his Russian nemesis to justice turns personal when Allon's wif...more
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Daniel Silva began his writing career as a journalist for United Press International (UPI), traveling in the Middle East and covering the Iran-Iraq war, terrorism and political conflicts. From UPI he moved to CNN, where he eventually became executive producer of its Washington-based public policy programming. In 1994 he began work on his first novel, The Unlikely Spy, a surprise best seller that w...more
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