The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Book 1) by Daniel Silva (Epub)

369

 

Ebook Info

  • Published: 2004
  • Number of pages: 514 pages
  • Format: Epub
  • File Size: 0.32 MB
  • Authors: Daniel Silva

Description

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Other Woman comes the first novel in the thrilling series featuring legendary assassin Gabriel Allon.

Immersed in the quiet, meticulous life of an art restorer, former Israeli intelligence operative Gabriel Allon keeps his past well behind him. But now he is being called back into the game—and teamed with an agent who hides behind her own mask…as a beautiful fashion model.

Their target: a cunning terrorist on one last killing spree, a Palestinian zealot who played a dark part in Gabriel’s past. And what begins as a manhunt turns into a globe-spanning duel fueled by both political intrigue and deep personal passions…

User’s Reviews

Review “[A] HEART-STOPPING, COMPLEX YARN OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AND INTRIGUE…A thrilling roller-coaster ride, keeping readers guessing until the mind-bending conclusion.”—Publishers Weekly“A writer who is bringing NEW LIFE TO THE INTERNATIONAL THRILLER.”—Newsday “A MASTER WRITER OF ESPIONAGE…[Daniel Silva’s] writing is clean, crisp, and compelling.”—The Cincinnati Enquirer “[A] THRILL-A-MINUTE SURE-FIRE BESTSELLER…[that] rips Middle East strife from the headlines.”—Kirkus Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ If you like graphic violence, explicit sex and foul language this is the perfect book for you. Children cut to pieces and the body parts placed in a circle with the head in the middle.

⭐ Although not a huge fan of spy novels, I had heard good things about Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series and decided to give the first three books a read because I’m always looking for exceptional series to discover. I’m always intrigued by the loner hero and Allon, an art restorer by trade, sounded like an interesting character to check out.”The Kill Artist” was certainly an intelligent and complex read with complex characters and plotlines. Gabriel Allon was a hard character to get to know inasmuch as his character is so detached and self-punishing for past sins. Puppetmaster Ari Shamron was a favorite character of mine because he has so many layers to plumb. Art dealer Julian Isherwood was a lovable but drunken wastrel. However, the notion a beautiful, high-profile supermodel as an undercover agent was completely unbelievable; she had spent most of her supermodel life snorting coke, bed-hopping, and wound up practically broke. I found it ironic that Julian would try to compare her as a work of precious art.Nevertheless, I found the basic plot foundation of intrigue, terror, and espionage was very insightful from a historical perspective that has even more meaning in a post-911 world. I found Silva’s rich and steady narrative appealing and believable. The story and conclusion resonated enough for me to continue onto the next two books.

⭐ One of the best spy thrillers I have ever read!This is the first Gabriel élan novel and what I believe is now a series of some 20 thrillers. I have become a fan of the last three and in total had read maybe seven Daniel Silva novels in the series prior to going back to this one. If you are already a fan of this series or even if you are new to Daniel Silva, this is a must read. It introduces our hero, begins with the critical scene involving his first wife and child, and then moves on to an exciting chase taking us from Europe to Montreal and then a closing scene in Manhattan. To my knowledge no one has yet made a movie of any of these Gabriel and Lon novels, and that’s real surprising to me. This is a great read regardless of whether you are looking for a beach book or want to be totally enthralled in your study. Catch up

⭐ I read this story on my Kindle while simultaneously listening to the Audible version. As such, I can provide comments on all three elements: the story, the writing, and the narration.The Story: 4.0 stars.I thought this was a great spy story that was expertly woven together with lots of suspense and intrigue. I was fascinated by how all the different characters eventually impacted the main plot. The ending was not predictable, which I particularly liked. Yes, I knew the good guys would win, but they won in a way that I had not expected.The Writing: 4.5 stars.In my opinion, Daniel Silva is an excellent writer. His descriptions sometimes get a little long-winded, but overall he tells a well-paced story with interesting characters.The Narration: 5.0 stars.George Guidall has a wonderful voice and was a wonderful narrator for this story. However, I thought his voice, tone, and inflection was much better suited for the character Ari Shamron than for the protagonist, Gabriel Allon.

⭐ I had problems with this novel. First off, it’s not my favorite kind of book. The only spy books I usually read are set in WWII against the Nazis (mostly Ken Follet books). The early chapters kept introducing new characters to the point that I was frustrated. Then, when it settled with the main characters, I had problems thinking of the Israelis as the good guys and the Arabs as the bad guys. Although Gabriel, the main character, has more of a conscience, I still saw reasons of both sides for hating the other side. Then, as the climax was unwinding, I felt the action became ridiculous. I just couldn’t believe it. I won’t give anything away (no spoilers) but I just felt it broke down and the ending (the final explanation) was plain stupid. It made the whole book pointless. I gave it three stars because it was well written and kept me entertained throughout. That is the point of reading. But as to meaning, I give it one star.

⭐ I choose this book for my book club to read. I had read several books with Gabriel as the main character and each one made me wanting to read more of his adventures and double life as a restorer of masterpieces/assassinatot of bad guys. As with me many of my fellow book club members were left wanting to read more of this character’s adventures. Our main complaint was the beginning was very confusing and several readers were ready to quit reading the book. Too many characters with little explanation of what their connection to the story was. I encouraged everyone to keep reading and all but one member did. If I had it to do over again I would read this one first and then follow the books in order.

⭐ I rarely venture out into the realm of modern spy fiction, but a World Magazine review induced me to try the first of Daniel Silva’s series: The Kill Artist.Silva is a good author and it is no surprise his writing has been well received over the last two decades. The Kill Artist is fast paced, interlaced with subplots and background stories, combining together to make a tight, well-oiled work. No part is overly cumbersome, every chapter fits into the overarching canvas. The characters are instantly intriguing:A former Israeli super agent who has left the spy world “for good”, A cutthroat department head brought back from retirement to restore respect; a french model whose career is in decline; an evil arch nemesis who is doing all he can to disrupt the peace process—all collide for an explosive and unexpected climax.The book is a fun read and the nature of its content allows it to be read quickly. There is language and sexual content, the latter of which caught me a bit by surprise. It is not that I expected a clean read, but the descriptions went further than I found necessary.Regardless, it is likely I will be back for more.

⭐ I have had this book on my shelf for some time now and decided to see for myself if Daniel Silva’s Israeli assassin, Gabriel Allon, was as good as I have heard. I can honestly say that Gabriel did not fit into my image of an assassin.As the story begins, a mysterious stranger moves into a old cottage in an isolated English village, Port Navas Cornwall. The first chapter is told from the viewpoint of Peel, a boy of around 10, who had also recently moved to the village with his mother. Therefore, it takes several chapters to find out the stranger is Gabriel Allon.Gabriel was a world renowned art restorer, the cover job he had in order to hide the fact that he worked for the Israeli intelligence service. However, he “retired” from the clandestine service nearly 10 years previously when a terrorist he was contracted to take out placed a bomb under his car, killing his son and turning his wife into an empty shell. After that, Gabriel went into a self imposed exile and immersed himself into restoring paintings in the hope of forgetting the past.Then the Israeli ambassador and his wife are killed by terrorists in Paris, and Ari Shamron, head of the intelligence service, discovers the assassin was none other than Tariq, the Palestinian who destroyed Gabriel’s family. Shamron trusts no one, and secretly goes to England to bring Gabriel back for one more mission. Gabriel can not refuse, even though he knows killing Tariq will not bring his family back.In other novels featuring assassins, they tend to be cold and calculating, justifying their actions by believing the target deserved to die for their transgressions. Gabriel, however, has flashbacks and feels guilty for what he has done. Benjamin Stone, a wealthy backer of the Israeli operation, describes Gabriel as “an assassin with a conscience.”Given all the baggage Gabriel is carrying around, I had my doubts as to whether he would be an effective assassin. Add in the fact that he has been inactive for nearly 10 years and he was at a distinct disadvantage.I thought the book started out slowly, but it gradually picked up its pace before finally reaching its climax. But even after the climax, there were more plot twists which tied the story into a neat little ball. Gabriel seemed to enjoy restoring paintings much more than his other line of work. Therefore, this is not the typical testosterone filled prose that one would associate with a story about an assassin, but rather paints a softer, more human side of the occupation.There are several more books in the series, so I am anxious to find out what would bring him out of retirement again.

⭐ The author adds depth of character seldom seen. The main character has been damaged deeply and must conceal it because of the savagery of his nemesis. He cannot allow even his allies to know of his vulnerability because of the presence of moles.This book brings home the solitude of spies who must operate alone under severe stress. It also clearly depicts what Israel faces in a world full of enemies.I not only enjoy the craftsmanship of the author, but the authenticity of the subject matter.It also makes me proud of those people that helped the Jews in WWII, hiding them from the Nazis. I am related to some of those brave Dutchmen. They also kept that hidden from me until I stumbled on it much later.I just wish that Amazon had a Hebrew-English dictionary without the Hebrew characters. Bad enough that I don’t know the language, now I must try to decipher Hebrew words into Hebrew characters before looking up the translation. Is there anyone out there that can figure that one out for me? Is there a Jewish person out there smart enough to tell me what to think about that?

⭐ I found this author while doing a search for similar authors to another favourite of mine. I think that because of the type of content, I won’t be binge reading these books but rather from time to time. The male lead Gabriel, is a retired Israeli assassin at the start of the book. He now works as a skilled art restorer quietly in Cornwall until his former boss makes contact after many years. It turns out that the man responsible for the death of Gabriel’s wife and child is at work again. Gabriel is reluctantly dragged into his former world and he has to create his own team to hunt the killer Tariq down. He calls on a model Jacqueline whom he worked with before to infiltrate Tariq’s inner circle. This requires Jacqueline to become the girlfriend of one of Tariq’s men. I mean in every way so it’s a little gross to read about. Especially since we read that Gabriel and her had had a fling on that last job. Anyway there is a lot of killing but I can’t deny that the story was a thriller in every sense of the word.

Keywords

Free Download The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Book 1) in Epub format
The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Book 1) Epub Free Download
Download The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Book 1) 2004 Epub Free
The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Book 1) 2004 Epub Free Download
Download The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Book 1) Epub
Free Download Ebook The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon Book 1)

Previous articleBerlin Game (Samson Book 1) by Len Deighton (Epub)
Next articlePrimal Fear by William Diehl (Epub)