The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon Series Book 7)

Daniel Silva has yet again written a novel that at the same time will entertain and scare the hell out of you; a novel as well researched and believable as LeCarre in his Cold War glory days, but moving at the pace of Follett or Forsythe at the top of their story-telling skills.

In "The Secret Servant", Gabriel Allon, the avenging angel of Israel's formidable secret service, is back to do battle again with the ever-rising tide of radical Islam terrorism. Sent to Amsterdam on a seemingly routine mission to clean up after an assassinated undercover agent, Allon unwittingly uncovers an Al Qaeda-like plot which leads him to London and Elizabeth Halton, the daughter of the US Ambassador to The United Kingdom. Unable - barely - to thwart Elizabeth's kidnapping, Allon sets out with his familiar cast of "citizens of the night" from Tel Aviv's intelligence service, taking him on what I thought his most challenging and harrowing assignment since the days of his youth when he was summoned to wreck vengeance on the Black September perpetrators of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.

While the main course in "Secret Service" is harrowing suspense and action, told with brutal force and free-flowing blood, the venue here is the very real and very dangerous Islamification of Europe. And while Silva's popularity certainly suffers from blunt talk that may offend the more sensitive or liberal-minded readers, this is a straightforward and intelligent dissection of the threats facing the west today. But it is hardly simple, one-sided, Zionist rhetoric, for while there is no doubt on which side of the conflict Silva falls, he paints a surprisingly balanced picture of the enormity of the issue, wrapping his fiction around radical Islam's rise from the brutal poverty in ghettos in Middle east, fomenting hate fueled by the blunders of the west, and especially of the secular governments in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

In short, gripping fiction with all the right adrenalin charged superlatives. But while the ending may be predictable, and the story is one that you'll recall with each new tale of terrorism in the headlines, "The Secret Servant" falls short on redemption, knowing that while individual acts of terror may be thwarted, the larger war rages on just below the that level of collective conscience we'd prefer not to acknowledge.

I was surprised the difficulty I had finishing this book. Most of Daniel Silva' s books I have to force myself to put down. The Secret Servant was a well written story but the page turner like the others in this series. Not stopping me from reading th next Gabriel Allon book!!!

Although D . Silva's Gabriel Allon have always the same structure, each bok includes new aspects and perspective of what a thriller book shoyld be. Even asuming that characters are fictional, the plot enlights you about the eternal dispute between Israel and its islamic neighbours about their search for an stable and peaceful governance of its territory and nation.
The fact that in each book D.Silva/Gabriel Allon uses almost the same team & characters and explain again who they are, where they come from and why they act like they act helps in understanding the book even if you had not read any of the previous one.

Once again Mossad agent Gabriel Allon proves his mettle by courageously going unarmed into the devil's lair, but somehow manages to escape to prevail against the enemies who had killed Rosner. The author spins a tale which is difficult to put down until the ultimate victory of the forces of good prevail.

Once again Mossad agent Gabriel Allon proves his mettle by courageously going unarmed into the devil's lair, but somehow manages to escape to prevail against the enemies who had killed Rosner. The author spins a tale which is difficult to put down until the ultimate victory of the forces of good prevail.

Chapter I is named "Death of a Prophet".

This novel starts in Amsterdam, where a "Professor", who sounded the first alarm, and never thought his name would never be linked to the affair, except in the secure rooms of a drab office building in downtown Tel Aviv. Gabriel Allon would later observe that (the Professor) was the first asset to have proven more useful to "The Office" dead than alive.

Readers will find this novel boring until Chapter I0, when terrorists kidnap the American Ambassador's daughter, despite Gabriel's efforts to provent it. Gabriel is knocked out by a blow to the head and arrested.

This incident is followed, in Chaper11, by bombs exploding in several places in Europe, and 6 diplomats and security personnel are slaughtered by terrorists.

Unfortunately, things get boring for most of the remainder of the novel. The extended histories of Ari and Gabriel are very boring.

Things get very interesting at the end. A marriage takes place, although the extended details of the marriage planning are exceedingly boring.

Although not as boring as "Prince of fire", I cannot rate this novel higher than an O K read.

The plots are always creative, and the author's favorite heroes always thrill the readers with their courage, skills, and tenacity. One of my favorite heroes, Gabriel Allon out does himself in this greatly crafted book

From start to finish the series is presently 16 heart pounding books. The characters become part of our lives. The settings are exotic and often breathtaking. Take six or twelve months. It will be a marvelous reading year.

The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon) I ordered this item from a new seller. I often try to use a new seller to allow them to build up a record. Unfortunately, the book was never received and upon contacting the seller, she went over and above the line of duty to make things right. She sent me a new copy of this book and sent it by priority mail. I appreciate the way this was handled and would use this seller again. Hope this helps other potential buyers, don't be afraid to give the new sellers a chance. Bob

The Secret Servant is no doubt a work of fiction, but unlike its predecessors it has become at least in part a fulfilled prophecy. One of the points in the story is the uneasy alliance between the Egyptian’s governments from the 1970s till this date with the radical factions of Islam. It was pointed out in the book that someday Mubarak’s regime would be removed and replaced by an Islamic republic and that became a reality not long ago. What is uncanny is that Silva spoke about the Muslim Brotherhood as potential successors for Mubarak, among many others no doubt, and that also became true.

In The Secret Servant Gabriel becomes a hostage of jihadists and is brought to his knees by way of beatings and drugs. What makes Gabriel so different from other secret agents in literature is that Gabriel is not a superhero; he is utterly human, he makes mistakes, he gets into sticky situations way too often and has to be rescued by his team, he bleeds and he gets beaten so badly he needs months to recover. In this installment Gabriel questions the morality of the tactics he uses to extract information from his sources and his vulnerability becomes palpable.

"The Secret Servant" is another great book in the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva. The story is fiction but it certainly makes one think about the world today. Silva does not write "politically correct" fiction - he has the courage to tell it as it is and I thank him for that.

I like how Silva weaves characters from previous stories into this book. The only thing wrong is that I have finished reading "The Secret Servant" and now have to patiently wait until Mr. Silva writes and publishes the next book in this interesting series.

This book is an excellent read. Thank you, Daniel Silva!

Excellent writing, character and plot development. Information about how the Muslim extremists are infiltrating the European countries is quite eye-opening and terrifying. Unfortunately it appears that what we may be headed for another Dark Ages if they take over.

All of these books are gripping and worth it. Gabriel Allon is like James Bond but with a twist. He is a cold blooded killer you actually get to love. You can identify with him and follow on his great adventures. A page turner for real that is over much too quickly.

This one of Silva's better written stories. It is a good example for those who are starting a new author who has written several books in a series, to read them in the order that they were published.

I love reading Daniel Silva's series of books built around the Gabriel Allon character. In this crazy world of ours, with fanatics coming out of the woodwork wherever you turn, we could use more people with the directness of purpose of Gabriel Allon. He gives me some hope for the future.

I am currently reading the Gabriel Allon series in order and thoroughly enjoy each one. While they share a thematic history, there are always new characters and good development. The geographic and historical detail and accuracy make these a fun read.

Silva's Gabriel Allon books are always a good read, and this one is no exception. One wonders how Allon survives the incidents he encounters, but it would be tragic to see him assume the headquarters-bound director position, even if he gets married.

I run out of adjectives to describe the pleasure in reading Daniel Silva's books. The Secret Servant is one of the best and I am already looking forward to the next one. So far, this is the third one I've read. Just keeps getting better and better.

This one certainly met all my expectations and then some. Plot twists and turns abound. The expected becomes the unexpected. I never cease to be amazed by Silva and his writing style and story telling. Just Wow.