What do you think?
Rate this book
Gabriel Allon #5
Prince of Fire
Few recent thriller writers have excited the kind of critical praise that Daniel Silva has, with his novels featuring art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon.
Now Allon is back in Venice, when a terrible explosion in Rome leads to a disturbing personal revelation: the existence of a dossier in the hands of terrorists that strips away his secrets, lays bare his history. Hastily recalled home to Israel, drawn once more into the heart of a service he had once forsaken, Gabriel Allon finds himself stalking an elusive master terrorist across a landscape drenched in generations of blood, along a trail that keeps turning in upon itself, until, finally, he can no longer be certain who is stalking whom. And when at last the inevitable showdown comes, it's not Gabriel alone who is threatened with destruction-for it is not his history alone that has been laid bare.
A knife-edged thriller of astonishing intricacy and feeling, filled with exhilarating prose, this is Daniel Silva's finest novel yet!
Now Allon is back in Venice, when a terrible explosion in Rome leads to a disturbing personal revelation: the existence of a dossier in the hands of terrorists that strips away his secrets, lays bare his history. Hastily recalled home to Israel, drawn once more into the heart of a service he had once forsaken, Gabriel Allon finds himself stalking an elusive master terrorist across a landscape drenched in generations of blood, along a trail that keeps turning in upon itself, until, finally, he can no longer be certain who is stalking whom. And when at last the inevitable showdown comes, it's not Gabriel alone who is threatened with destruction-for it is not his history alone that has been laid bare.
A knife-edged thriller of astonishing intricacy and feeling, filled with exhilarating prose, this is Daniel Silva's finest novel yet!
432 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2005
About the author
Daniel Silva
121 books8,842 followersDaniel Silva was born in Michigan in 1960 and raised in California where he received his BA from Fresno State. 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 won critical acclaim. He turned to writing full time in 1997 and all of his books have been New York Times/national best sellers, translated into 25 languages and published across Europe and the world. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Series:
* Michael Osbourne
* Gabriel Allon
Series:
* Michael Osbourne
* Gabriel Allon
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 988 reviews
August 17, 2018
“We have prayed for impossible things. Peace without justice, forgiveness without restitution, …love without sacrifice.”
In “Prince of Fire”, the 5th novel in the Gabriel Allon series, you can tell that the author, Daniel Silva, has had it with Palestinian terrorism. He broaches the topic in a very different manner than he did in the first novel in the series.
In this text, Silva unflinchingly depicts Yasir Arafat for what he was…a two-bit terrorist whose goal was the extermination of the Jews. Arafat is given the unflattering portrait he deserves in this book. Silva makes clear that Arafat’s rejections of peace cost many people their lives.
However, what makes Mr. Silva such an interesting writer is that he turns that unflinching eye on both sides of the conflict. He details the Palestinian grievance in Israel with honesty and truth, which does not often happen in books that deal with this issue. An Israeli character gives his reasoning for the brutal expulsion of some Arabs from their homes in 1947/48 and you the reader can hear his argument and decide for yourself what to make of it.
I have propelled thru this series because Dan Silva is a good writer and a good storyteller. In the world of thriller fiction, that is a rare combo. Some examples from “Prince of Fire” include a section where the protagonist (Gabriel Allon) analyzes the case he is working on in the same manner he would a piece of art that he is restoring. It is an excellent analogy and the writing in this section is top notch. In another section, a victim of Hamas terrorism gives a bitter and passionate account of a bus bombing that is chilling to read.
This series keeps getting better. I will be sure to move on to number 6 soon!
In “Prince of Fire”, the 5th novel in the Gabriel Allon series, you can tell that the author, Daniel Silva, has had it with Palestinian terrorism. He broaches the topic in a very different manner than he did in the first novel in the series.
In this text, Silva unflinchingly depicts Yasir Arafat for what he was…a two-bit terrorist whose goal was the extermination of the Jews. Arafat is given the unflattering portrait he deserves in this book. Silva makes clear that Arafat’s rejections of peace cost many people their lives.
However, what makes Mr. Silva such an interesting writer is that he turns that unflinching eye on both sides of the conflict. He details the Palestinian grievance in Israel with honesty and truth, which does not often happen in books that deal with this issue. An Israeli character gives his reasoning for the brutal expulsion of some Arabs from their homes in 1947/48 and you the reader can hear his argument and decide for yourself what to make of it.
I have propelled thru this series because Dan Silva is a good writer and a good storyteller. In the world of thriller fiction, that is a rare combo. Some examples from “Prince of Fire” include a section where the protagonist (Gabriel Allon) analyzes the case he is working on in the same manner he would a piece of art that he is restoring. It is an excellent analogy and the writing in this section is top notch. In another section, a victim of Hamas terrorism gives a bitter and passionate account of a bus bombing that is chilling to read.
This series keeps getting better. I will be sure to move on to number 6 soon!
November 14, 2019
The end is the best part of this novel. The toll of lives along the way is painful. 5 of 10 stars
I reread this and deem it worthy of 3 stars instead of my original 2. Overall, 6 of 10 stars
I reread this and deem it worthy of 3 stars instead of my original 2. Overall, 6 of 10 stars
May 21, 2013
Another good one. Going to have to take a break from this series. Am beginning to suspect even the dachshunds are spies.
January 12, 2024
It is difficult and somewhat arrogant for someone like me---a well-off middle-income American Christian suburbanite from Ohio---to have an opinion about the Middle East, especially in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. I don’t even know what to call it, so I’ll just call it an “issue”. (Is “war” appropriate? Is “hatred” accurate? Is it politically incorrect to call it “genocide”? What the hell do you call it without offending either or both sides?)
There’s so much I don’t know or understand about what is going on in the Middle East, mainly because there is so much I don’t know or understand about what is going on in my own country most of the time that the events happening hundreds of thousands of miles away, across the ocean, are all just white noise. I hate to say that, but it’s the truth.
I like to pride myself on being someone who tries to stay current with what is going on in the world, but most of the time---and especially lately---I have had this frantic isolationist approach to the world. I just want to hole up with my wife and daughter, “bunker down”, stay socially distant, and the government’s “recommendation” to stay at home is strongly influencing these thoughts.
Silver lining: I’m getting a lot of reading done, especially of some books that I had set aside, with every intention of someday reading them. Now that libraries and bookstores are closed, that “someday” is now.
I was, a few months ago, on a Daniel Silva reading kick, and then I just stopped for no apparent reason. So, I’m picking up where I left off, which was the fifth book in his series featuring Israeli super-spy Gabriel Allon, “Prince of Fire”.
After a Jewish embassy is bombed in Rome, leaving many dead, Allon is called in to spearhead the manhunt of the person or persons behind the bombing. Allon is given a hand-picked team, under the supervision of his boss and mentor, Ari Shamron.
Connecting dots of similar bombings---a community center in Buenos Aires and a synagogue in Istanbul---and significant dates that are too significant to be coincidental, Allon’s team discovers that the man behind the bombing is a man whose very existence has been reduced to a myth, a man who has been shaped by a violent history between Palestinians and Israelis.
It is a history in which Allon is complicit, and one for which he feels some guilt. It is a history, on the other hand, in which his boss, Shamron, takes pride. Shamron, like his Palestinian counterpart, Yasir Arafat, are part of the old-school hard-line militants, slowly dying off, but too slow for Allon.
Going into further detail would be spoilers, but it’s needless to say that Silva has written another fast-paced edge-of-the-seat espionage action thriller, one that tackles timely subjects in an intelligent and compassionate manner.
There’s so much I don’t know or understand about what is going on in the Middle East, mainly because there is so much I don’t know or understand about what is going on in my own country most of the time that the events happening hundreds of thousands of miles away, across the ocean, are all just white noise. I hate to say that, but it’s the truth.
I like to pride myself on being someone who tries to stay current with what is going on in the world, but most of the time---and especially lately---I have had this frantic isolationist approach to the world. I just want to hole up with my wife and daughter, “bunker down”, stay socially distant, and the government’s “recommendation” to stay at home is strongly influencing these thoughts.
Silver lining: I’m getting a lot of reading done, especially of some books that I had set aside, with every intention of someday reading them. Now that libraries and bookstores are closed, that “someday” is now.
I was, a few months ago, on a Daniel Silva reading kick, and then I just stopped for no apparent reason. So, I’m picking up where I left off, which was the fifth book in his series featuring Israeli super-spy Gabriel Allon, “Prince of Fire”.
After a Jewish embassy is bombed in Rome, leaving many dead, Allon is called in to spearhead the manhunt of the person or persons behind the bombing. Allon is given a hand-picked team, under the supervision of his boss and mentor, Ari Shamron.
Connecting dots of similar bombings---a community center in Buenos Aires and a synagogue in Istanbul---and significant dates that are too significant to be coincidental, Allon’s team discovers that the man behind the bombing is a man whose very existence has been reduced to a myth, a man who has been shaped by a violent history between Palestinians and Israelis.
It is a history in which Allon is complicit, and one for which he feels some guilt. It is a history, on the other hand, in which his boss, Shamron, takes pride. Shamron, like his Palestinian counterpart, Yasir Arafat, are part of the old-school hard-line militants, slowly dying off, but too slow for Allon.
Going into further detail would be spoilers, but it’s needless to say that Silva has written another fast-paced edge-of-the-seat espionage action thriller, one that tackles timely subjects in an intelligent and compassionate manner.
December 26, 2018
Shortly before his departure he dressed in one of Herr Klemp’s egregious suits and stalked the discos and nightclubs along Sheinkin Street in Tel Aviv. Herr Klemp was all that he, and by extension Mario Delvecchio, was not – a loquacious bore, a womanizer, a man who liked expensive drink and techno music. He loathed Herr Klemp, yet at the same time welcomed him, for Gabriel never felt truly safe unless wearing the skin of another man…
Gabriel Allon is in Venice, working as art restorer Mario Delvecchio, and living with Chiara, daughter of the chief Rabbi, when the Israeli Embassy in Rome is the target of a car bomb, followed by gunmen firing on those attempting to escape. When Italian authorities track the perpetrators to an abandoned apartment in Milan, they find there an encrypted CD, which they hand over to Tel Aviv. Decoded, it holds a dossier on Gabriel with photos of him and Chiara in Venice.
The pair are recalled to Israel, and under the watchful eye of former spy-chief, Ari Shamron, Gabriel assembles a team to hunt the mastermind behind the Rome attack, and it is Dina who suggests a link to the "Black September" terrorist group. Gabriel goes undercover as a German businessman, to follow up a lead in Cairo...
On one level author Daniel Silva produces a thriller as two men stalk each other in a cat and mouse game of the highest stakes: Gabriel the reluctant assassin in the service of his country, is ably supported by his team; his adversary al-Kalifa, a man paranoid of betrayal, clinically uses and disposes of anyone to further his cause. At another level and in long passages we learn the history of the establishment of the State of Israel and the conflict that arose in Western Galilee, from both the Jewish and Palestinian perspective.
There are references to earlier books in the series, with London art dealer Julian Isherwood and aging Israeli academic and spy Eli Lavon playing minor roles, but this one can be read as a stand alone.
Gabriel Allon is in Venice, working as art restorer Mario Delvecchio, and living with Chiara, daughter of the chief Rabbi, when the Israeli Embassy in Rome is the target of a car bomb, followed by gunmen firing on those attempting to escape. When Italian authorities track the perpetrators to an abandoned apartment in Milan, they find there an encrypted CD, which they hand over to Tel Aviv. Decoded, it holds a dossier on Gabriel with photos of him and Chiara in Venice.
The pair are recalled to Israel, and under the watchful eye of former spy-chief, Ari Shamron, Gabriel assembles a team to hunt the mastermind behind the Rome attack, and it is Dina who suggests a link to the "Black September" terrorist group. Gabriel goes undercover as a German businessman, to follow up a lead in Cairo...
On one level author Daniel Silva produces a thriller as two men stalk each other in a cat and mouse game of the highest stakes: Gabriel the reluctant assassin in the service of his country, is ably supported by his team; his adversary al-Kalifa, a man paranoid of betrayal, clinically uses and disposes of anyone to further his cause. At another level and in long passages we learn the history of the establishment of the State of Israel and the conflict that arose in Western Galilee, from both the Jewish and Palestinian perspective.
There are references to earlier books in the series, with London art dealer Julian Isherwood and aging Israeli academic and spy Eli Lavon playing minor roles, but this one can be read as a stand alone.
August 8, 2018
Fast-paced and action packed entertainment.
December 21, 2021
Israeli spy and master art restorer Gabriel Allon is back in this fifth of the series and my fifth Daniel Silva this year.
Allon must track down a super terrorist under the tutelage of Yasser Arafat who has exposed Allons identity and threatens to wreak all sorts of havoc.
Five of these in one year may have been a bit much as the formula felt stale in the first half of the novel but Silva turned it up a notch in the second half and roped me all the way in. Silva is a good thriller writer and I enjoy his perspective on world events - he writes with intelligence and insight. And Gabriel Allon is a great character worthy of making the jump to the silver screen. Only about 16 more to go in the series!
Allon must track down a super terrorist under the tutelage of Yasser Arafat who has exposed Allons identity and threatens to wreak all sorts of havoc.
Five of these in one year may have been a bit much as the formula felt stale in the first half of the novel but Silva turned it up a notch in the second half and roped me all the way in. Silva is a good thriller writer and I enjoy his perspective on world events - he writes with intelligence and insight. And Gabriel Allon is a great character worthy of making the jump to the silver screen. Only about 16 more to go in the series!
December 2, 2009
This is not the best book that Silva has done. There is lots of history in this book. Most of this is correct and it is in keeping with what actually happened in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Unfortunately, it takes away from the story. The story almost seems secondary to the historical perspective of the story line. Even though it is a Gabriel Allon book, it seems that there is lack of focus in this book, where it drifts along. Not as focused or as quick moving as the rest of the Silva books!
However, it is a part of the development of the Allon character books. That was fun and was worth the read. But, this is far from Silva's best work!
Unfortunately, it takes away from the story. The story almost seems secondary to the historical perspective of the story line. Even though it is a Gabriel Allon book, it seems that there is lack of focus in this book, where it drifts along. Not as focused or as quick moving as the rest of the Silva books!
However, it is a part of the development of the Allon character books. That was fun and was worth the read. But, this is far from Silva's best work!
May 18, 2019
Another great entry in the Gabriel Allon series.
April 2, 2020
One either enjoys the deep comfort of the repetition of the same plot or despair. I found this the book equivalent of a lovely piece of toast, it’s not fancy or original but Allon scurrying around after formidable but ultimately flawed terrorists great.
March 16, 2021
Best of the series...in my opinion
April 21, 2013
This is a more serious book than any of the later books in the series (at least, of the ones I've read). Daniel Silva is more evidently on a soapbox, linking more of the story's fiction to his version of history and reality. Unfortunately, this reminds me of efforts such as The Da Vinci Code in which the author professes that the fiction is based on facts --- but which facts, and whose interpretation of facts? As with the scientific method, which eschews all aspects of bias in its blind test, any hint of tainting invalidates the results. And so I can only approach such books as Prince Of Fire as entertainment, discounting whatever the author claims to be truth.
Taken in this light, the novel is engaging, in the nature of a frivolous feel good action movie, where good prevails over evil, and the righteous are justified. Silva writes with a panache that is quite apt for spy thrillers. His is opposite the tongue-in-cheek machinations of Ian Fleming, hewing more to John le Carré and filled with gravitas, quite sure of his message and purpose.
Here, the main protagonist, Gabriel Allon, an Israeli assassin who is also an expert art restorer, is set to end his career. His wife, the victim of a terrorist attack meant to kill him, is abducted, in a delightfully convoluted plot by master jihadist Khaled. With the skill of a trained killer, Allon escapes the trap set by Khaled, saves his wife, and kills some terrorists. Silva's writing is spare and hi-res clear, placing readers in the middle of the action. The rest of the book seems to be a setup for the retirement of Allon, with an offered promotion to operational administration of the Israeli spy service, the return of his wife's memory and the departure of his young lover, Keira, and his relocation to Jerusalem. But, of course, we know that retirement for Allon is far in the horizon as the number of follow up books featuring this popular hero attest. The book concludes with an uninspired (from the writing viewpoint) assassination by Allon of Khaled. This last seems a superfluous element but underlines the author's concept that the cause represented by his main character Allon is just with closure achieved only by a victorious Prince of Fire.
January 2, 2015
The fifth book of Daniel Silva’s series featuring art-restorer and Israeli avenger Gabriel Allon shows in small ways his growth as a writer. In Prince of Fire, the technical aspects of the plot play second fiddle to the people side of the story, although the plot doesn’t lack for suspense or mystery.
The ongoing battle against Palestinian terrorism plays itself out on the battlefield of Allon’s guilt over the loss of his son and the injury suffered by his wife Leah. An incidental consequence of his obligation to Leah, despite the fact as this novel begins she has not said a word to him in more than a dozen years, is the aborted legal consummation of his relationship with Italian-born Chiara.
Another aspect of the human side of the story is the relationship of Allon to Shamron, his father substitute. The latter continues to manipulate Allon to serve his ends, knowing Allon can’t say no to him. Shamron wants him to take over running the “Office,” while Allon just wants to restore medieval art.
Prince of Fire doesn’t paper over the suffering of the Palestinian people but accurately places the bulk of the responsibility for the refugee problem on the Arab leaders of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt who refused to allow ten percent of the British mandate to be allocated as a Jewish state and instead sought to drive the six hundred thousand Jews living in Palestine in 1947 into the Mediterranean.
Then failing to accomplish that goal, those same leaders refused to integrate the refugee population into their countries, forcing them into squalid camps which became the breeding grounds for terrorism they remain nearly seventy years later.
Allon explains the problem to a member of his team: “The only difference between Hamas and Hitler is that Hamas lacks and power and the means to carry out an extermination of the Jews.”
That doesn’t mean the Palestinians have any interest in a peaceful settlement, which is why Daniel Silva continues to find fertile territory for his brilliant story telling. It always comes back to the people who didn’t ask for war, but for whom war can’t be escaped.
The ongoing battle against Palestinian terrorism plays itself out on the battlefield of Allon’s guilt over the loss of his son and the injury suffered by his wife Leah. An incidental consequence of his obligation to Leah, despite the fact as this novel begins she has not said a word to him in more than a dozen years, is the aborted legal consummation of his relationship with Italian-born Chiara.
Another aspect of the human side of the story is the relationship of Allon to Shamron, his father substitute. The latter continues to manipulate Allon to serve his ends, knowing Allon can’t say no to him. Shamron wants him to take over running the “Office,” while Allon just wants to restore medieval art.
Prince of Fire doesn’t paper over the suffering of the Palestinian people but accurately places the bulk of the responsibility for the refugee problem on the Arab leaders of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt who refused to allow ten percent of the British mandate to be allocated as a Jewish state and instead sought to drive the six hundred thousand Jews living in Palestine in 1947 into the Mediterranean.
Then failing to accomplish that goal, those same leaders refused to integrate the refugee population into their countries, forcing them into squalid camps which became the breeding grounds for terrorism they remain nearly seventy years later.
Allon explains the problem to a member of his team: “The only difference between Hamas and Hitler is that Hamas lacks and power and the means to carry out an extermination of the Jews.”
That doesn’t mean the Palestinians have any interest in a peaceful settlement, which is why Daniel Silva continues to find fertile territory for his brilliant story telling. It always comes back to the people who didn’t ask for war, but for whom war can’t be escaped.
November 15, 2017
Either the series and the characters are growing on me, the author (Silva) has finally hit his stride, the series is steadily improving, or, I dunno, it's some combination of the above. In any event, I really enjoyed this one and, frankly, once I started it, I had no interest in putting it down. I can't say I read it in one sitting, but (particularly given the book's length) it flew by pretty quickly.
I took the bait from the opening pages, the plot was complex enough such that I didn't see the big diversion coming, the pacing worked great, some familiar characters evolved in satisfying ways, and the conclusion and springboard to the next installment were sufficiently gratifying such that I'm looking forward to it.
Like the others, most of the familiar elements are here - plenty of Israeli intelligence cloak and dagger and murder and mayhem - a healthy dollop of Arab/PLO/Palestinian displacement and politics and forks in the road - some Holocaust and Middle Eastern history spiced up with historical fiction spanning the evolution to modern terrorism - a dabble into art, art history, and art restoration - and some fun travelogue/passport punching, including Israel, France, Egypt, and, of course, Italy....
DON'T START HERE, you'll be sorry to, in effect, be dropped into the middle of a long-running conversation. Start with the first book - it's worth it - and stick with it because, at least to my mind - the books keep getting better.
I took the bait from the opening pages, the plot was complex enough such that I didn't see the big diversion coming, the pacing worked great, some familiar characters evolved in satisfying ways, and the conclusion and springboard to the next installment were sufficiently gratifying such that I'm looking forward to it.
Like the others, most of the familiar elements are here - plenty of Israeli intelligence cloak and dagger and murder and mayhem - a healthy dollop of Arab/PLO/Palestinian displacement and politics and forks in the road - some Holocaust and Middle Eastern history spiced up with historical fiction spanning the evolution to modern terrorism - a dabble into art, art history, and art restoration - and some fun travelogue/passport punching, including Israel, France, Egypt, and, of course, Italy....
DON'T START HERE, you'll be sorry to, in effect, be dropped into the middle of a long-running conversation. Start with the first book - it's worth it - and stick with it because, at least to my mind - the books keep getting better.
March 31, 2020
Pretty much what I thought it would be. I placated my father by reading this book, which was, ultimately disappointing. I can see why people enjoy Silva's novels, they are fast paced, action filled and easily digestible. But like fast food, ultimately dissatisfying for those who must have good writing.
August 21, 2020
DNF. The writing is horrifically bad.
August 6, 2018
Another solid Allon novel! I liked to see Gabriel's character progress into a new place. I would like to see the books head into a different direction than the Israel-Palestine conflict.
4 stars!
4 stars!
July 24, 2022
Another Silva winner. Fast paced with intense plot twists. This is a good one.
July 17, 2018
The Israeli assassin Gabriel Allon has been outed. His cover as the art restorer Mario Delvechhio has been blown. His enemies know who he is and where he is which puts him in mortal danger.
Responding to the threat, the Israeli intelligence service hastily extracts Allon and his lover, who is also an Israeli agent, from Venice and brings them back to Israel where they are given new quarters and Gabriel must go to the "Office" every day to participate in an inquisition as to how the latest debacle happened.
There had recently been several terrorist bombings of Israeli facilities around the world, bombings that were attributed to Palestinians, but the Israelis must figure out who is planning and executing these attacks. There is an urgency about doing this before another attack takes place.
Meanwhile, Gabriel has made arrangements to bring his wife, Leah, who has been in a nursing facility in England for thirteen years since the explosion that killed their son and seriously injured her, back to Israel. And his current lover is pressuring him to finally divorce Leah and marry her. All the necessary papers have been drawn up; all he has to do is sign them.
The search for the person responsible for the current wave of terrorist attacks leads back to the Black September Movement and to Allon's first assignment as an assassin - to kill those who attacked and killed members of the Israeli Olympic team in Munich in 1972. At length, Gabriel becomes convinced that the perpetrator of these latest attacks may be the son and grandson of earlier terrorists, that it may, in fact, be the son of one of the Black September terrorists that he killed.
Daniel Silva provides quite a fascinating history of how Black September came to be as well as its forerunners. This "history" is fictionalized, of course, and has a definite Israeli bias, but then the protagonist/hero is Israeli, so it could hardly be otherwise. No doubt if he were Palestinian, the "history" would slant a bit differently. Nevertheless, the backstory provided by Silva is based on verifiable historical events and it gives considerable context to the current and ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis over the blood-soaked unholy land of the Middle East.
In my opinion, this fifth book in the Allon series is the best one yet, to a great extent because of the historical background that is given, but also because Silva seems to have a firmer, more sure-handed grasp of his characters this time. And that is to be expected, of course. The more one writes about a character, obviously the better known that character becomes to him.
I found the plot of this book more gripping and compelling than some of the others in the series. It was also pretty straightforward and easy to follow. The moment when Allon learns that his physically and mentally damaged wife has been kidnapped was a turning point in the story and in the series for me. It made Allon somehow more human and sympathetic, not the pitiless automaton that he has occasionally seemed.
Prince of Fire was a thriller in the best sense of the word. It was a book that, once started, I didn't want to put down.
Responding to the threat, the Israeli intelligence service hastily extracts Allon and his lover, who is also an Israeli agent, from Venice and brings them back to Israel where they are given new quarters and Gabriel must go to the "Office" every day to participate in an inquisition as to how the latest debacle happened.
There had recently been several terrorist bombings of Israeli facilities around the world, bombings that were attributed to Palestinians, but the Israelis must figure out who is planning and executing these attacks. There is an urgency about doing this before another attack takes place.
Meanwhile, Gabriel has made arrangements to bring his wife, Leah, who has been in a nursing facility in England for thirteen years since the explosion that killed their son and seriously injured her, back to Israel. And his current lover is pressuring him to finally divorce Leah and marry her. All the necessary papers have been drawn up; all he has to do is sign them.
The search for the person responsible for the current wave of terrorist attacks leads back to the Black September Movement and to Allon's first assignment as an assassin - to kill those who attacked and killed members of the Israeli Olympic team in Munich in 1972. At length, Gabriel becomes convinced that the perpetrator of these latest attacks may be the son and grandson of earlier terrorists, that it may, in fact, be the son of one of the Black September terrorists that he killed.
Daniel Silva provides quite a fascinating history of how Black September came to be as well as its forerunners. This "history" is fictionalized, of course, and has a definite Israeli bias, but then the protagonist/hero is Israeli, so it could hardly be otherwise. No doubt if he were Palestinian, the "history" would slant a bit differently. Nevertheless, the backstory provided by Silva is based on verifiable historical events and it gives considerable context to the current and ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis over the blood-soaked unholy land of the Middle East.
In my opinion, this fifth book in the Allon series is the best one yet, to a great extent because of the historical background that is given, but also because Silva seems to have a firmer, more sure-handed grasp of his characters this time. And that is to be expected, of course. The more one writes about a character, obviously the better known that character becomes to him.
I found the plot of this book more gripping and compelling than some of the others in the series. It was also pretty straightforward and easy to follow. The moment when Allon learns that his physically and mentally damaged wife has been kidnapped was a turning point in the story and in the series for me. It made Allon somehow more human and sympathetic, not the pitiless automaton that he has occasionally seemed.
Prince of Fire was a thriller in the best sense of the word. It was a book that, once started, I didn't want to put down.
March 16, 2017
Another great read - by Daniel Silva. His writing style involves great action, with what must be and endless amount of research and investigation into historic events, and cities. The Israeli-Palestinian history and turmoil is well handled in “The Prince of Fire”, and he delves deep into Gabriel Allon’s life and background in this one. I have enjoyed all of his seven books that I have read so far, some just a little more than others.
His writing style requires a break from book to book for me, as there is so much action – that before I continue on a bit of a breather is a must before picking up the next story!
His writing style requires a break from book to book for me, as there is so much action – that before I continue on a bit of a breather is a must before picking up the next story!
April 15, 2018
This book was more about the history (fictitious???hummm) and about Gabriel and his interaction with Black September....lots of background to Gabriel (again) and a possible preamble to his future. One quote that I liked (regardless of this book being pro-Israeli" is that quote from an Arab "My holocaust is as real as yours, and yet you deny my suffering and exonerate yourself of guilt". I don't believe that the Arabs can call what happened to them as a Holocaust, strange that Silva would think that. There is even mention in the book of "genocide".
So having been to Israel and Syria and Egypt...well, I struggled with this book more so this one than any of his previous books.
So having been to Israel and Syria and Egypt...well, I struggled with this book more so this one than any of his previous books.
June 16, 2011
I didn't love the book but it's context was compelling. It's fictional but includes many factual elements related to Israeli-Palestinian conflict/history. I learned a lot in reading it and feel such compassion for both sides.
July 20, 2018
You could say that there are two different parts of this book, one being fiction about Gabriel Allon’s pursuit of an Arab murderer, and the other covering the history of the Israel/Palestinian conflict after WWII. I wasn’t able to figure out whether the historical part was totally correct or not but it was interesting. However, it seemed to me a distraction from the fictional plot flow.
Overall I enjoyed the read but it didn’t seem up to par with Silva’s usually excellent writing.
Overall I enjoyed the read but it didn’t seem up to par with Silva’s usually excellent writing.
February 1, 2022
While I don't always understand all the politics involved in these stories, I do enjoy me a good Gabriel Allon novel. 3 is too low, 4 is too high so it's somewhere in between.
Silva takes the story along a fine line of what's right and what's wrong - or at least that's how I'm interpreting it. I like this novel and how we learn more about Leah and how Gabriel deals with things.
This is a long series, I see book 22 is coming out soon so I have some reading to do.
Silva takes the story along a fine line of what's right and what's wrong - or at least that's how I'm interpreting it. I like this novel and how we learn more about Leah and how Gabriel deals with things.
This is a long series, I see book 22 is coming out soon so I have some reading to do.
July 19, 2018
This is the fifth volume in Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series. I am reading them in order and was pleased to find Prince of Fire to be the best and strongest one yet.
Gabriel Allon is an Israeli and a part-time assassin for Israeli intelligence, known as The Office. His cover and other passion is as an art restorer. In the earlier volumes the reader learns of his past and how he came to be a spy for Israel, how his son was killed in a reprisal by Palestinian terrorists that put his wife in an institution. Gabriel Allon carries enough loss and sorrow to break a man.
Prince of Fire opens with a massive explosion in Rome. Investigations by The Office reveal that Allon's cover has been blown and he is pulled back to Israel and put into full time service.
An intricate plot and a fuller history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict make this a completely absorbing read. As always, I feared for Gabriel's life. It is only knowing that there are 13 more books in the series that kept me confident he would somehow come out alive. In fact #18, The Other Woman, was published just the other day.
Despite everything, something good finally happens in the personal life of this fearless and competent assassin. I experienced a deeper understanding of the conflicts in Israel than I had before. I think these books give a more balanced picture than do the news reports. They explain from both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides the complexities that make it seem so insoluble.
I have lately been slowly making my way through the fourth volume of Will Durant's Story of Civilization: The Age of Faith. I was reading the section on Islam, 569-1258 AD during the time I read Prince of Fire. The conflicts between Islam and Judaism go back much father than most people realize today.
It is undoubtedly too much to ask that current world leaders should study this history but it would surely help if they did.
February 17, 2014
This 5th thriller in the Gabriel Allon sees a change as Allons alter ega gets outed and he has to leave Venice and live in Israel. In the opening of this book the embassy of Israel in Rome is hit by an murderous attack with a high bodycount, and of course Allon with a small team gets picked to figure out who is behind it. Of course they quickley find a possible lead and when they follow it Gabriel Allon finds himself under fire.
This book is a decent thriller, and in my humble opinion a failure in making it a really great thriller. The background of this book is the creation of the state of Israel and the trouble that came from it. Instead of going into the source of the trouble we get a somewhat shallow, for my taste, explanation which in itself lacks any heart. It therefor restricts itself to chasing a killer whose roots lie in the old Palastine.
A missed opportunity, but perhaps mr Silva's interest lies more with the world of art and less with any geopolitical ideas. It makes this book easily one of the lesser of the series and a bit of a put off.
This book is a decent thriller, and in my humble opinion a failure in making it a really great thriller. The background of this book is the creation of the state of Israel and the trouble that came from it. Instead of going into the source of the trouble we get a somewhat shallow, for my taste, explanation which in itself lacks any heart. It therefor restricts itself to chasing a killer whose roots lie in the old Palastine.
A missed opportunity, but perhaps mr Silva's interest lies more with the world of art and less with any geopolitical ideas. It makes this book easily one of the lesser of the series and a bit of a put off.
March 12, 2019
The fifth book in series, featuring Gabriel Allon, an art restorer, and an assassin is called back to Israel when terrorists bomb the Israel embassy in Rome and discovered that Palestine has uncovered Gabriel Allon identity. Based on a history of Israel and Palestine conflict after world war two, Silva explained the conflicts from both sides. Couldn't put it down.
March 14, 2007
This books goes deeper into Gabriel's past and delves into his open emotional wounds about his wife, son, lover... it is simply remarkable as the reader learns that Gabriel was a young assassin chosen to be a part of the Black September operation. If you've seen "Munich", you'll love this story!
March 25, 2020
Daniel Silva's great spy Gabriel Allon is one of the more distinctive and enduring characters in the genre. He began his association with the Israeli secret service as an assassin ridding the world of the Black September terrorists, moved into more 'traditional' and dangerous roles, retired and unretired, and eventually ascends to the top of the spy pyramid. He's a sort of anti-Reacher in that he's relatively slight in stature and, in the course of his many experiences in this fine series, been shot, tortured, gotten his ass kicked and bones broken, and his son has been killed and wife severely injured in a terrorist assassination attempt. In his free time, or during his retirement phases, he's a world-class art restorer, which is what he's working at in Venice at the beginning of 'Prince of Fire'. It's the 5th book of the 20 in the series, so Allon is relatively early in the game but already a legend.
'Prince of Fire' begins with a huge terrorist suicide bomb attack in Rome. During the course of the following investigation, it's determined that the masterminds had in their possession a dossier containing all the details of the career of Gabriel Allon and this attack, as well as others, were timed to coincide with the anniversaries of specific acts committed by Allon. His mentor and uber-legend, Shamron, reaches out and pulls Gabriel from the relative safety of his retirement, places a team in his charge, and the tracking of the nearly invisible/never-photographed leader of the terrorist cell begins. The group he's leading is small but mighty with world class brains and brawn, and using a combination of technology and human sources they figure out who the terrorist leader is and create a plan to take him down before the next anniversary. Except, there's a bit of a glitch....
There are 3 things I really enjoy about this series. The Allon character, with his quirky backstory and huge talent, is the first. The second is Silva's prose. He has a very distinctive writing style that's on the florid side but very strong and direct otherwise. Thirdly, the descriptions of the inner workings of the Israeli secret service, whether fictional or not, are very cool and often seem to be at the opposite end of the spectrum from the CIA/MI6 crowd. They're like the 'little engine that could'.
'Prince of Fire' has a couple conclusions as the devious plan of the terrorist group only partially succeeds and then final justice is meted out at the very end. It's an exciting chapter in the long and fiery career of Gabriel Allon, the real Prince of Fire.
'Prince of Fire' begins with a huge terrorist suicide bomb attack in Rome. During the course of the following investigation, it's determined that the masterminds had in their possession a dossier containing all the details of the career of Gabriel Allon and this attack, as well as others, were timed to coincide with the anniversaries of specific acts committed by Allon. His mentor and uber-legend, Shamron, reaches out and pulls Gabriel from the relative safety of his retirement, places a team in his charge, and the tracking of the nearly invisible/never-photographed leader of the terrorist cell begins. The group he's leading is small but mighty with world class brains and brawn, and using a combination of technology and human sources they figure out who the terrorist leader is and create a plan to take him down before the next anniversary. Except, there's a bit of a glitch....
There are 3 things I really enjoy about this series. The Allon character, with his quirky backstory and huge talent, is the first. The second is Silva's prose. He has a very distinctive writing style that's on the florid side but very strong and direct otherwise. Thirdly, the descriptions of the inner workings of the Israeli secret service, whether fictional or not, are very cool and often seem to be at the opposite end of the spectrum from the CIA/MI6 crowd. They're like the 'little engine that could'.
'Prince of Fire' has a couple conclusions as the devious plan of the terrorist group only partially succeeds and then final justice is meted out at the very end. It's an exciting chapter in the long and fiery career of Gabriel Allon, the real Prince of Fire.
September 27, 2017
This was my least favorite of the Gabriel Allon series to date. Gabriel's cover is blown. He is dragged back to Israel, kicking and screaming all the way, because he wants his work to be art restoration, not killing on command. It soon becomes apparent that he has to take this job. Not only had a bomb blown up the embassy in Rome, but it appeared as though an old enemy of Gabriel's, one thought dead, was coming back to haunt him. Part of the problem was that I didn't like the reader. It took me a while to get used to the last reader so this one felt very off. His accents were not distinguishable enough and many times I didn't know who was talking. It's possible I would have enjoyed this more if I had read it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 988 reviews