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The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon #1)
by
Daniel Silva
Fans of Daniel Silva's well-received earlier novels, especially The Marching Season, will welcome his newest novel of espionage, revenge, and Middle Eastern politics. Gabriel Allon is an art restorer who's persuaded out of retirement by Ari Shamron, the crafty Israeli spymaster bent on a deadly mission: killing a Palestinian agent named Tariq before he can carry out his pl...more
ebook, 428 pages
Published
April 6th 2004
by Penguin Group (USA)
(first published 2000)
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...espionage from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are stunning, all the men are ruthless, and all the children know spycraft.
I can't lie, though. I'm popping these puppies like cheesy-poofs.
I can't lie, though. I'm popping these puppies like cheesy-poofs.
"Se estivermos a vigiar um alvo a partir de um café, não devemos fazer coisas que nos façam parecer estar a vigiar um alvo a partir do café, tais como ficarmos sentados sozinhos durante horas, a fingir estarmos a ler um jornal."
Daniel Silva introduziu-me, da forma mais extraordinária, o mundo da espionagem. Pela primeira vez, este tema afigurou-se aos meus olhos, surpreendentemente sedutor, envolvente e enigmático. Cada vez que tive de interromper a leitura, para responder às minhas necessidades...more
Daniel Silva introduziu-me, da forma mais extraordinária, o mundo da espionagem. Pela primeira vez, este tema afigurou-se aos meus olhos, surpreendentemente sedutor, envolvente e enigmático. Cada vez que tive de interromper a leitura, para responder às minhas necessidades...more
9 likes · like · see review
2,5 estrelas
O Artista da Morte é a minha estreia com Daniel Silva e, para ser sincera, esperava gostar muito mais do que efectivamente gostei.
Em certos aspectos, este livro lembrou-me os de Dan Brown e de José Rodrigues dos Santos [note-se que dos autores mencionados apenas li Anjos e Demónios e O Último Segredo respectivamente], não por abordar temas relacionados com a Igreja Católica, mas por existir uma aura de conspiração ao longo do livro.
Porém, ao contrário dos livros desses autores, Danie...more
O Artista da Morte é a minha estreia com Daniel Silva e, para ser sincera, esperava gostar muito mais do que efectivamente gostei.
Em certos aspectos, este livro lembrou-me os de Dan Brown e de José Rodrigues dos Santos [note-se que dos autores mencionados apenas li Anjos e Demónios e O Último Segredo respectivamente], não por abordar temas relacionados com a Igreja Católica, mas por existir uma aura de conspiração ao longo do livro.
Porém, ao contrário dos livros desses autores, Danie...more
1 like · like · see review
This is the second Silva book I have read and is the best book that I read in last 3-4 months. I believe this is the book that made the writer famous. Protagonist is a high-value painting restorer and is also an ex-Israeli intel action man.
There is a Palestine terrorist who is killing innocents all over the world and the intel chief thinks Gabriel is the only one who can end it all. There is elaborate scheme to bring back the unwilling hero back into action.
The progress to climax, scene by scene...more
There is a Palestine terrorist who is killing innocents all over the world and the intel chief thinks Gabriel is the only one who can end it all. There is elaborate scheme to bring back the unwilling hero back into action.
The progress to climax, scene by scene...more
Gabriel Allon is an art restorer brought back from retirement to be a secret agent for Ari Shamron and to restore The Office by capturing Tariq. Gabriel agrees because he is seeking revenge on Tariq. Severla years beofre, Tariq planted a bomb in the car which Gabriel's wife and son were in thereby killing his young son and physicaly and mentally scarring his wife. Tariq is part of a terrorist network who is planning to kill the Palestinian prime minister and disrupt the Isreali/Palestinian peace...more
4 likes · like · see review
Jan 04, 2009
Eric_W
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mysteries-and-thrillers
The methodology of the art restoration expert is the same as that of the professional assassin: “study the target, become like him, do the job, slip away without a trace.” Just as retired Israeli agent Gabriel Allon must study the artist Vecellio in order to resurrect and restore The Adoration of the Shepherd, to make the painting just like the original so he must study again the work of his old nemesis Tariq, agent of the PLO wing that is angry and upset with Arafat’s peace initiatives. Tariq i...more
I’m always surprised when a premise of a book sounds so good – a perfect swish, and then the book itself is like a big old airball. Meet Gabriel Allon: super spy, art restorerer, tortured soul, handsome, ruthless, boring.
Daniel Silva’s book sounds great! A spy who restores masterpieces, who is out for revenge for his murdered family but doesn’t really like to kill people. He’s recruited from retirement by a ruthless Israeli agent who wants to stop an equally ruthless Palestinian terrorist. Ru...more
Daniel Silva’s book sounds great! A spy who restores masterpieces, who is out for revenge for his murdered family but doesn’t really like to kill people. He’s recruited from retirement by a ruthless Israeli agent who wants to stop an equally ruthless Palestinian terrorist. Ru...more
1 like · like · see review
The book is set in modern times, concerning an Israeli agent who's mastered the art of restoration as a cover to such a degree that he in fact became one of the world's best art restorers. The story does not circle around this fact. It is about the chase of an old rival bent on destoying the mideast peace process and the details involved in preparing and executing the mission from both sides.
There are some twists in the end of the story to be sure. It is a fast paced, action adventure story that...more
There are some twists in the end of the story to be sure. It is a fast paced, action adventure story that...more
Jan 23, 2012
Dlora
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adventure-action,
political-thriller
Gabriel Allon notes that the methodology of the art restoration expert is the same as that of the professional assassin: “study the target, become like him, do the job, slip away without a trace.” That same parallel is underlined by the chapter titles which refer to art restoration but are used to divide the elements of catching and foiling the dangerous terrorist Tariq from Allon's past. The action falls into: Acquisition, Assessment, Restoration, the same steps of Allon's work restoring the Ve...more
This the 7th of Daniel Silva's books I've read, was to me the most personal. In this story Gabriel Allon, who is back in Cornwall in what he hopes will be retirement from is job as a hired assassin for the 'Office' the euphemistic name for the Israeli Secret Service. He is absorbed in restoring a painting for Julian Isherwood, a retailer of high-end paintings. Allon has a rendevous with a man who he loves and dislikes in equal measure, Ari Shamron.
Shamron is Allon's mentor and boss in the offic...more
Shamron is Allon's mentor and boss in the offic...more
Nov 05, 2011
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List
I think what may have killed this book for me was I read this just after reading John Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold--and after having recently read Alan Furst and Eric Ambler while working through a recommendation list that included Silva among this number. I got spoiled and after reading the best in the espionage genre this struck me as nothing more than a generic pulp thriller with all the writing skill, complexity of characterization and plotting of a blow'm up rat-tat-tat of a...more
I read the 'Rembrandt Affair' a year ago and really enjoyed Gabriel Allon, the Israeli spy and assassin who just can't quit his job. I expect spies to have a lot of personal baggage - why else would they gravitate to a profession that requires isolation, deception, moral ambiguity and high ideals (whether it's for a country, a religious belief, or personal gain). He had a rich background and I slipped very easily into the story, enjoying every moment. And then I found out it was the eleventh in...more
As other reviewers have noted, the protagonist is Gabriel who is retired from the Mossad and now restores old art. He is pressed back into service to take out an old nemesis, Tariq. They have each killed relatives of the other so "this time it's personal." Gabriel presses into service a French/Jewish supermodel to go under cover with him. Another reviewer commented on the believability of that development, so I won't dwell on it here. The majority of the story takes place in Paris, although the...more
I found this narrative to be weak and the characters almost cardboard-like. I developed some empathy for the main character, Gabriel Allon, but in the end I felt he didn't have any real substance. As for the principal female character, Jacqueline Delacroix, etc., she was simply forgettable. I think the main problem with this writer is he doesn't get you inside his working characters (except for a peripheral one named Peel who is a boy in a village in Cornwall who winds up idolizing Allon) so it...more
There were some nicely developed characters in this book. The start is as with any spy story or thriller: you have the good guys trying to escape and catch the bad guys. But the characters get more light on the road, and how they have become what they are gets more sense after their personal or family history gets told along the story. And while that happens and the story progresses, it gets less clear who are the good and who are the bad guys actually.
In the beginning I liked the character of G...more
In the beginning I liked the character of G...more
Jun 08, 2010
Zohar - ManOfLaBook.com
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2009
"The Kill Artists" tells the story of Gabriel Alon, a former Israeli agent who has retired to a life of an art restorer, his former cover which became his occupation. Alon is called back for duty one last time to stop an old enemy who is on a murderous spree before he leaves this world. The story takes place in Europe, US, Canada and Israel and has many twists and turns where no character is left unharmed.
The book if an easy read, fast and a page turner even though somewhat predictable, yet it d...more
The book if an easy read, fast and a page turner even though somewhat predictable, yet it d...more
Nov 28, 2009
Kathleen Hagen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2009-audio-books,
2009-mysteries
The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva, a-minus, narrated by Jason Culp, abridged edition, produced byBooks on Tape, downloaded from audible.com.
I wanted to read this book for purposes of group discussion, and I could only get it as an abridged form unfortunately. Gabriel Allon is an Israeli who helped to protect against Palestinian terrorists. But when his wife and son were greatly injured in a bomb blast deliberately set by Tariq, a zealot who had a particular reason to hate Allon who had killed his...more
I wanted to read this book for purposes of group discussion, and I could only get it as an abridged form unfortunately. Gabriel Allon is an Israeli who helped to protect against Palestinian terrorists. But when his wife and son were greatly injured in a bomb blast deliberately set by Tariq, a zealot who had a particular reason to hate Allon who had killed his...more
Oct 28, 2011
Kandice
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-read-in-2011,
action-adventure
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Nov 06, 2012
Chaitra
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2012,
detective,
gabriel-allon,
part-of-a-series,
thriller,
spy,
espionage,
set-in-france,
book-at-wall
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
#1 in the Gabriel Allon series. For some reason, I had never read the first of the Gabriel Allon series about the art restorer/Israeli agent (now up to just released #12 as of August 2012). After reading series entries #2 through #11 when published, I went back to #1 and enjoyed it very much. Some things change and some don't, but the tricky plot and backstory were very enjoyable.
Gabriel Allon series - Ari Shamron sets an intricate plot in motion to lure deadly Palestinian assassin Tariq al-Hour...more
Gabriel Allon series - Ari Shamron sets an intricate plot in motion to lure deadly Palestinian assassin Tariq al-Hour...more
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 thri...more
My husband suggested this book to me and it is not the typical story I like to read, however, I am passionate about art and I'm Jewish. This book incorporated both in the story...about terrorist activity, the PLO, Israel, and spies. The main character, an assasin, is also an art restorer (that is his "cover" and he is good at it as well). The book is well written and concisely constructed. I'm going to be reading more from Daniel Silva!
When you read an Allon book, you know that one way or another the good guys are going to win out in the end. They are fairly predictable and this one, being the first in the series, more so. That fact doesn't stop one from enjoying the book. As with the other books in the series I've read, the characters are well written, their motivations are believable and the plot is not overly fantastic. And there is also a healthy dose of action and intrigue that keep the story moving forward to the inevita...more
I had been looking forward to starting this, the first book chronologically in the Gabriel Allon series, as my dog-days-of-summer spy thriller reading. I'm bit disappointed with this first story. The plot was very predictable, and even though the workings of Mossad provides the back story, there was not enough depth to the historical and political context. The bones of the characters were a good start - Mossad agent/art restorer, Mossad contract agent/supermodel - but again, not enough fleshing...more
The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva is the first Gabriel Allon book, although the character apparently appeared briefly in one of Silva’s earlier novels. I liked the book. I was both surprised by how refined the “Gabriel Allon template” was for the first book in a series like this, and found it edgier or rawer than its successors. I guess he hit on a good thing and stuck with it. Still, I would have thought it would have taken longer for Silva to find his voice for telling these stories.
The book ha...more
The book ha...more
Que dizer deste livro? Nem sei bem. Tinha as expectativas muito altas, tinham-me falado muito bem deste autor. Daí ter escolhido o suposto primeiro livro da série Gabriel Allon. Mas vamos a opiniões.
Não é o tipo de leitura a que estou habituado. Interessam-me bastante os livros com mistério e intriga, a procura do criminoso. No entanto este livro não é nada disso. É um típico livro de conspiração e "caça ao homem". E, nesse aspecto está muito bem. O desenvolvimento do livro está bem conseguido,...more
Não é o tipo de leitura a que estou habituado. Interessam-me bastante os livros com mistério e intriga, a procura do criminoso. No entanto este livro não é nada disso. É um típico livro de conspiração e "caça ao homem". E, nesse aspecto está muito bem. O desenvolvimento do livro está bem conseguido,...more
Nov 21, 2012
Khaya
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Khaya by:
Susan KG
Shelves:
mysteriesthrillers
Eh. Kind of an ordinary spy thriller, one I might have appreciated more had I read it 15-20 years ago when I was less jaded.
Like many of this genre, you have a good (and troubled) guy who works for Israeli intelligence working with his stunningly beautiful and capable heroine with whom he has a complicated (of course) relationship. And of course, you have the bad guys who are always one step ahead of the good guys, but then the good guys catch up, but then the bad guys catch on, etc., etc.
This...more
Like many of this genre, you have a good (and troubled) guy who works for Israeli intelligence working with his stunningly beautiful and capable heroine with whom he has a complicated (of course) relationship. And of course, you have the bad guys who are always one step ahead of the good guys, but then the good guys catch up, but then the bad guys catch on, etc., etc.
This...more
5 likes · like · see review
This book has such a real feel to it. I liked that the author made an effort to distinguish the way the different cultures think. The French think like French, etc. There are whole different attitudes in this book and it's refreshing.
I really enjoyed the writing of this author. It's absolutely effortless. It didn't matter who I was reading about, I was rapted. Silva makes the characters come alive and I was invested from page one. I wanted to know what happened in their doleful lives. There's a...more
I really enjoyed the writing of this author. It's absolutely effortless. It didn't matter who I was reading about, I was rapted. Silva makes the characters come alive and I was invested from page one. I wanted to know what happened in their doleful lives. There's a...more
So many people recommend this series that I had to try it. It wasn't as great as I had been led to believe. I did enjoy the premise - former Israeli spy/assassin turned art restorer comes out of retirement to take out a world class terrorist.
For me, there was too much build up to the excitement that finally arrived in the last few page turning chapters. It took a long time to become engaged with the characters (and there were plenty of those!) and the setting changed so often that I really didn'...more
For me, there was too much build up to the excitement that finally arrived in the last few page turning chapters. It took a long time to become engaged with the characters (and there were plenty of those!) and the setting changed so often that I really didn'...more
A solid book and the start of a series I hope to fully enjoy. The Kill Artist revolves around a retired Israeli spy/assassin who is brought out of retirement to finally kill his great nemesis. Not exactly original stuff, but I liked the background and the way many side characters were weaved in and out of the story.
Overall I liked the story and the spycraft involved. I thought there could have been more action, but the book felt more realistic than other similar types of books I have read. I wo...more
Overall I liked the story and the spycraft involved. I thought there could have been more action, but the book felt more realistic than other similar types of books I have read. I wo...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Allon series | 1 | 38 | Sep 08, 2012 06:23am |
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
More about Daniel Silva...
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Jan 15, 2013 01:28pm