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Read The Messenger (2006)

The Messenger (2006)

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Series
Rating
4.15 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0399153357 (ISBN13: 9780399153358)
Language
English
Publisher
putnam adult

The Messenger (2006) - Plot & Excerpts

Gabriel Allon, art restorer and spy, is about to face the greatest challenge of his life. Allon is recovering from his grueling showdown with a Palestinian master terrorist, when terrorism comes to find him once again. An al-Qaeda suspect is killed in London, and photographs are found on his computer - photographs that lead Israeli intelligence to suspect that al-Qaeda is planning one of its most audacious attacks ever, straight at the heart of the Vatican. Allon warns his old friend Monsignor Luigi Donati, the pope’s private secretary, and rushes to Rome to assist in security, but what neither he nor Donati knows is that the Vatican has been thoroughly penetrated. An extraordinary enemy walks among them…and he’s just getting started. In the days and weeks to come, Allon and his colleagues will find themselves in a deadly duel of wits against one of the most dangerous men in the world - a hunt that will take them across Europe to the Caribbean and back. But for them, there may simply not be enough of anything: enough time, enough facts, enough luck. All Allon can do is set his trap - and hope that he is not the one caught in it. Amazon.com Review Product DescriptionThe #1 national bestseller from the author of Prince of Fire On the trail of a deadly al-Qaeda operative, Gabriel Allon returns in a spellbinding story of deception, power, and revenge by the New York Times bestselling "world-class practitioner of spy fiction" (Washington Post). Amazon Exclusive Essay: Daniel Silva on Gabriel Allon and the "Accidental Series" Writers tend to be solitary creatures. We toil alone for months on end, then, once a year, we emerge from our dens to publish a book. It can be a daunting experience, especially for someone like me, who is not gregarious and outgoing by nature. But there is one aspect of promotion I truly love: meeting my readers and answering their questions. During each stop on my book tour, I reserve the bulk of my time for a lively conversation with the audience. I learn much from these encounters-indeed, some of the comments are so insightful they take my breath away. There is one question I am asked each night without fail, and it remains my favorite: "How in the world did you ever think of Gabriel Allon?" The answer is complicated. In one sense, he was the result of a long, character-construction process. In another, he was a bolt from the blue. I'll try to explain. In 1999, after publishing The Marching Season, the second book in the Michael Osbourne series, I decided it was time for a change. We were nearing the end of the Clinton administration, and the president was about to embark on a last-ditch effort to bring peace to the Middle East. I had the broad outlines of a story in mind: a retired Israeli assassin is summoned from retirement to track down a Palestinian terrorist bent on destroying the Oslo peace process. I thought long and hard before giving the Israeli a name. I wanted it to be biblical, like my own, and to be heavy with symbolism. I finally decided to name him after the archangel Gabriel. As for his family name, I chose something short and simple: Allon, which means "oak tree" in Hebrew. I liked the image it conveyed. Gabriel Allon: God's angel of vengeance, solid as an oak. Gabriel's professional résumé-the operations he had carried out-came quickly. But what about his other side? What did he like to do in his spare time? What was his cover? I knew I wanted something distinct. Something memorable. Something that would, in many respects, be the dominant attribute of his character. I spent many frustrating days mulling over and rejecting possibilities. Then, while walking along one of Georgetown's famous redbrick sidewalks, my wife, Jamie, reminded me that we had a dinner date that evening at the home of David Bull, a man regarded as one of the finest art restorers in the world. I stopped dead in my tracks and raised my hands toward the heavens. Gabriel Allon was complete. He was going to be an art restorer, and a very good one at that. Over my objections, the book was entitled The Kill Artist and it would go on to become a New York Times bestseller. It was not, however, supposed to be the first book in a long-running series. But once again, fate intervened. In 2000, after moving to G.P. Putnam & Sons, my new publishers asked me what I was working on. When I mumbled something about having whittled it down to two or three options, they offered their first piece of advice. They really didn't care what it was about, they just wanted one thing: Gabriel Allon. I then spent the next several minutes listing all the reasons why Gabriel, now regarded as one of the most compelling and successful continuing characters in the mystery-thriller genre, should never appear in a second book. I had conceived him as a "one off" character, meaning he would be featured in one story and then ride into the sunset. I also thought he was too melancholy and withdrawn to build a series around, and, at nearly fifty years of age, perhaps a bit too old as well. My biggest concern, however, had to do with his nationality and religion. I thought there was far too much opposition to Israel in the world-and far too much raw anti-Semitism-for an Israeli continuing character ever to be successful in the long term. My new publishers thought otherwise, and told me so. Because Gabriel lived in Europe and could pass as German or Italian, they believed he came across as more "international" than Israeli. But what they really liked was Gabriel's other job: art restoration. They found the two opposing sides of his character-destroyer and healer-fascinating. What's more, they believed he would stand alone on the literary landscape. There were lots of CIA officers running around saving the world, they argued, but no former Israeli assassins who spent their spare time restoring Bellini altarpieces. The more they talked, the more I could see their point. I told them I had an idea for a story involving Nazi art looting during the Second World War and the scandalous activities of Swiss banks. "Write it with Gabriel Allon," they said, "and we promise it will be your biggest-selling book yet." Eventually, the book would be called The English Assassin, and, just as Putnam predicted, it sold twice as many copies as its predecessor. Oddly enough, when it came time to write the next book, I still wasn't convinced it should be another Gabriel novel. Though it seems difficult to imagine now, I actually conceived the plot of The Confessor without him in mind. Fortunately, my editor, Neil Nyren, saved me from myself. The book landed at #5 on the New York Times bestseller list and received some of the warmest reviews of my career. After that, a series was truly born. I am often asked whether it is necessary to read the novels in sequence. The answer is no, but it probably doesn't hurt, either. For the record, the order of publication is The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, * Prince of Fire, * The Messenger, The Secret Servant, and Moscow Rules, my first #1 New York Times bestseller. The Defector pits Gabriel in a final, dramatic confrontation with the Russian oligarch and arms dealer Ivan Kharkov, and I have been told it far surpasses anything that has come before it in the series. And to think that, if I'd had my way, only one Gabriel Allon book would have been written. I remain convinced, however, that had I set out in the beginning to create him as a continuing character, I would surely have failed. I have always believed in the power of serendipity. Art, like life, rarely goes according to plan. Gabriel Allon is proof of that. From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Silva continues to warrant comparisons to John le Carré, as shown by his latest thriller starring Israeli art restorer and spymaster Gabriel Allon. Ahmed bin Shafiq, a former chief of a clandestine Saudi intelligence unit, targets the Vatican for attack, in particular Pope Paul VII and his top aide, Monsignor Luigi Donati, who both appeared in Silva's previous novel, Prince of Fire. Shafiq, who now heads his own terrorist network, is allied with a militant Islamic Saudi businessman known as Zizi, a true believer committed to the destruction of all infidels. Gabriel's challenge is to infiltrate Zizi's organization, a task he assigns to a beautiful American art expert, Sarah Bancroft. Gabriel promises he'll protect her, but plans go awry, and by the end Sarah faces torture and death. While Sarah's fate is never in doubt, the way Silva resolves his plot will keep readers right where he wants them: on the edges of their seats. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

My 4th Gabriel Allon/ Daniel Silva novel and 6th in the Allon series, this is just relentless creation and sustenance of suspense in this genre of spy thriller by Daniel Silva. Each book I finish, I keep thinking "how can he better this book". And every time I pick up the next Allon series, I am mesmerised , hooked and completely possessed by the book till I complete it! Hats off to Silva, he is just a master craftsman who can repeat the magic book after book.You have to accept a few authors shenanigans though. For Silva, Israeli intelligence is the best in the world of intelligence. Even the American counterparts come to them for help! Next, Allon would always be pulled into the thick of all the action reluctantly, as he is a part time spy and full time art restorer, both jobs which he is probably the best in the world! For the last 2 novels, the topic has been the Arab or Saudi or Palestinian muslim terrorists who are fanatical about blowing up,wait her the pope or Jews. In both these novels, silva first makes his spy cum assassin Allon make brilliant and elaborate plans to kill the bad guys for almost 80% of the book which turns out to be a wrong move. (But the elaborate plans and nature of steps and detailing is the exciting and interesting part of the book). The last 20%, the damage control mode kicks in, Allon somehow finds the real targets and kills them. I am an optimistic reader who would like to get more elaboration of how he rectifies the first failure of his plan and how he finds his enemies, in other words, the actual killing of the bad people should have at least 40% of the book without a quick end. My thoughts only, though I would not complain, as I get enough adrenalin reading through these novels.in this book, Gabriel goes after a billionaire Saudi, who is finances all terrorist activities with their oil money through a terrorist who is his right hand man and executioner of terror! Gabriel gets involved when they try to take out the Pope who shares a close friendship with Allon. Rest of the story deals with how Allon tracks down the terrorist who is almost a ghost and eventually kills him. The plot does look similar but Silva's prose if fast, so you are totally hooked. Great read and I have now the next 3 Silva/Allon in my hands.

What do You think about The Messenger (2006)?

I generally enjoy Silva's books, and this is one of his best. It's fast-moving easy reading, the plot holds together and the characters are fun. There's nothing like a really disagreeable villain, and the Saudis in this story fit the bill. They kill hundreds of innocents at the Vatican to start things off, then revel in the riches purchased with their petrodollars, capture and threaten to torture a nice American lady (a Dartmouth graduate, no less), and generally misbehave throughout. Silva explains at the end that, while this is a work of fiction, the Saudis really do finance international terrorism! True or not, this gives the reader an excuse to applaud the hero and his friends from "the Office" as they mow down jihadist after jihadist.
—Mike Harper

6th in the Gabriel Allon series.[return][return]Allon s cover has been blown, and he is now working as an art restorer in Israel. But Ari Shamron, Israel s ex-officio overseer of Israeli Intelligence, wants Gabriel to get back into the Service, as director of Special Ops. He shows Gabriel some interesting images taken off the laptop of a Palestinian agent: they are of the Vatican and Pope Paul VII, and are excellent indicators that both are targets for a massive terrorist attack. Monseignor Luigi Donati, the pope s private secretary is at that moment on his way to Jerusalem to meet with Allon to discuss the seriousness of the situation and the steps to be taken.[return][return]Allon goes to Rome, where he participates in the heightened security arrangements and tries to determine how the attack will be carried out. During an outdoor audience in St. Peter s Square, a terrorist attack occurs, which nearly kills the pope and succeeds in blowing a massive hole in the dome of St. Peter s Basilica.[return][return]So begins the story. [return][return]I had a hard time with this book initially because in general I dislike books that have as a central part of the plot an event in modern times that never happened. I can take a different pope not a problem but blowing up St. Peter s? It s not that I think it an unlikely event; it s just that it didn t happen, and I don t like stories that depend on such plot devices. It also seemed to me that Silva s writing was not up to his usual standard.[return][return]But once Allon gets into the field, all of Silva s strengths in plotting and writing such stories come to the fore. The story turned into a typical Silva gripping thriller, a page-turner, where you race through the book, tension at the max, to find out what happens next. Silva is at his best with the action-adventure parts; the characters are good enough to serve his plot purposes.[return][return]While I feel that this is not the best book in the series, it s certainly no slouch, so long as you can overlook fictional events happening to famous landmarks that re crucial to the plot. I found it hard to swallow, but otherwise thought the book was excellent.[return][return]Highly recommended.
—Joyce Lagow

A good book makes me care about a characters, has my heart and breath racing as their fates play out across the pages of the novel. This is the first Allon story that did that.As in all of Silva’s books, this one had too much art information – this time about Vincent Van Gogh – than I care to read. While art as a whole plays a large role in these novels, much of what's here could be cut with no loss (and possibly an improvement) in quality and tautness of the story.Also as in all the earlier books, Silva delivers a climax too early then spends many pages tieing up subplots before resolving the main plot of the story in a few short scenes at the very end. It keeps the reader reading toward a hoped-for high-tension faceoff between Allon and the bad guy(s) he’s been chasing over 300+ pages, but that never happens. Instead, Silva gives us a too neat, too brief ending that leaves the reader (this one anyway) feeling as if it’s rushed, written just to get everything out of the way.Again, Silva delivered a book that was just okay.
—Quillracer

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