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Author : Daniel Silva Publisher : Putnam Adult Manufacturer : Putnam Adult
Description
The extraordinary new Gabriel Allon novel from the gold standard (The Dallas Morning News) of thriller writers.
Over the course of ten previous novels, Daniel Silva has established himself as one of the worlds finest writers of international intrigue and espionage a worthy successor to such legends as Frederick Forsyth and John le Carré (Chicago Sun-Times)and Gabriel Allon as one of the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series (The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Now the death of a journalist leads Allon to Russia, where he finds that, in terms of spycraft, even he has something to learn. Hes playing by Moscow rules now.
This is not the grim, gray Moscow of Soviet times but a new Moscow, awash in oil wealth and choked with bulletproof Bentleys. A Moscow where power resides once more behind the walls of the Kremlin and where critics of the ruling class are ruthlessly silenced. A Moscow where a new generation of Stalinists is plotting to reclaim an empire lost and to challenge the global dominance of its old enemy, the United States.
One such man is Ivan Kharkov, a former KGB colonel who built a global investment empire on the rubble of the Soviet Union. Hidden within that empire, however, is a more lucrative and deadly business: Kharkov is an arms dealerand he is about to deliver Russias most sophisticated weapons to al- Qaeda. Unless Allon can learn the time and place of the delivery, the world will see the deadliest terror attacks since 9/11and the clock is ticking fast.
Filled with rich prose and breathtaking turns of plot, Moscow Rules is at once superior entertainment and a searing cautionary tale about the new threats rising to the Eastand Silvas finest novel yet.
Customer reviews for 'Moscow Rules'
«Another Good Silva»
The characters are still compelling and the plot moves right along to the usual ending for this gendre.
[Friday, August 29, 2008]
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«Formulaic, tedious, and tied up quickly with a neat bow»
I really thought Silva would develop his Allon character in this outing, but it was not to be. I had a feeling of deja vu throughout most of the book. "Been there, read that," the script was often repeated verbatim from previous novels. How many times must we read that Shamron "fingers his old Bic lighter?" This is a small thing, but it's repeated in a multitude of ways. I could have lived with these irritations (and skimmed) perhaps, but larger issues were present.
I thought perhaps my copy was missing a chapter at the end of the book. But no, the pages were intact. It seems that Silva met his quota of necessary pages and decided to tie the story up with a brief summation, much like a bad movie. He gave us the "what," and then cheated us out of the "how."
The other issue that I couldn't get past was that Allon was warned of multiple death threats at the beginning and again at the end of the book--all for naught. The only reason for these mentions are very obviously to set the stage for the next book. It wasn't necessary for the content of this story and it never evolved--what's the point???
I'll buy the next book, though, still hopeful that the character will evolve. He has to eventually, right???
[Friday, August 29, 2008]
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«Once again, Gabriel saves the world as we know it»
In MOSCOW RULES, Israeli secret agent extraordinaire Gabriel Allon is minding his own business at an Italian villa restoring one of the Vatican's old painting masterpieces when his former boss at the Office, grouchy Ari Shamron, persuades him to drop his brushes and make contact with a Russian journalist who ostensibly has vital information to share regarding yet another threat to the West and Israel. In short order, Allon finds himself pitted against the Russian Federation's most unscrupulous arm dealer, Ivan Kharkov. (Ivan Kharkov? Is there a book that authors, just as expectant parents, consult to get unimaginative ideas for naming a new creation?)
The first half of this pot boiler fabricates the plot at a pedestrian pace to set up the second half, during which the novel becomes an engrossing nail-biter worth the reader's time. Indeed, I finished off the final two-hundred-plus pages in a single marathon session that left my wife feeling ignored. That's what you risk when marrying a bibliophile.
As Allon's ticklish maneuvering to neutralize Ivan's scheming played out, I was reminded of Smiley's operation to bring down Karla, his Soviet nemesis, in SMILEY'S PEOPLE (the novel, Smiley's People, and the film, Smiley's People) as well as Phelps' elaborately staged ploys in Mission Impossible - The Complete First TV Season. (Mind you, I don't mean to suggest that author Daniel Silva is yet in the same league as Smiley's creator, John Le Carre. But he's definitely on a par with or better than the MI screenwriters.)
In the opinions of some, MOSCOW RULES is arguably five-star entertainment. The reason I'm giving four is that, after five decades of reading examples of the espionage genre, it's too formulaic. I suspect that the undercover victories against the bad guys at the world's frayed edges are much messier and not so clear-cut in real life. That's why I prefer the thrillers by Gerald Seymour, which, if you want to do yourself a favor, you should check out.
[Thursday, August 28, 2008]
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