Product Description

On a bright morning in Rome, a terrible explosion rips a hole in the Israeli embassy. Moments later, four gunmen cut down survivors as they stagger from the burning building. Gabriel Allon is hastily recalled to Israel and drawn once more into the heart of the secret service he’d hoped to leave behind. For the blast has led to a disturbing revelation: a dossier that strips away Allon’s secrets and lays bare his history. A dossier that had fallen into terrorist hands . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21177 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

About the Author
Daniel Silva is also the author of the bestselling thrillers The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin, The Marching Season, The Kill Artist, The Confessor, The English Assassin and A Death in Vienna (the last three also published by Penguin). He lives in Washington, DC.

Customer Reviews

A slightly dissapointing read from Silva
The Prince of Fire is Daniel Silva's fifth "Gabriel Allon" novel. The story evolves after a bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Rome. Allon's "handler", Ari Shamron directs Allon to investigate. Allon is subsequently assigned to find and execute Khaled, who is thought to be behind many bombings of Jewish targets around the world. As with all of Silva's novels, it is extremely well written, and it certainly entertains. So, why the three-star rating? Szilva has set quite a standard for himself, particularly, in my opinion, with The Kill Artist and The Confessor. However, one gets the distinct impression in this novel that Silva is running out of ideas about what to do with Allon (not surprising perhaps after four excellent novels before this one!). Perhaps to compenaste for this, the novel suddenly gets buried in political/historical details. While these were always a feature of Silva's novels, they were usually very well "worked into" the story, and seemed a real part of the story. Now they appear to be there for lack of any other story to tell. Furthermore, there is noticably more political bias in this novel. While it was always there, since Silva is clearly pro-Israeli and pro-Zionist, it was never as apparent before as it is now. I feel that these two new developments detract from the pleasure of reading the book, and I found myself skipping a few pages now and then. Furthermore, the formal relationship between Allon and Chiara seems out of place in Allon's life, who Silva has always been at pains before to paint (no pun intended) as a loner. I believe that Silva should take care with Allon in his next novel (which is sure to come). Silva has spent a lot of time creating and developing a strong, compassionate, sensitive character with a profound sense of values. From this latest novel, this same character appears to weaken, lose his way, and seems a little dull at times. This is not the Allon we know! Take care Daniel.... don't ruin him! Having made these criticisms, The Prince of Fire remains an excellent read, and true to Silva fashion, we are taken on a wonderful journey to many enchanting places. I particularly liked the descriptions of life in Jerusalem, which I found quite accurate from my own experiences. I would recommend prospective readers, who have not read Silva before, to start with the first "Gabriel Allon" novels: The Kill Artist, The English Assasin, and The Confessor.

Gabriel Allon is back!
From the very first pages with a terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy in Rome, the book moves quickly forward with Gabriel Allon being forced to leave his beloved Venice to return to Israel after his identity is compromised and to track down the culprit. To the reader it is pretty obvious who the 'baddie' is but it does not detract from the story. The author cleverly weaves historical fact about the reasons behind the attack even bringing in Arafat of the PLO into the story and some background into the Israeli/Palastinian conflict. The story also brings Leah, Allon's badly-injured and traumatised wife from the earlier stories back. Shamron, Gabriel's mentor and friend also has a part to play with his past playing a major part in the terrorist's past. A good read, leaving me wanting more.

A thinking person's adventure thriller!
If you are looking for intelligent action/adventure novel, then this 4th novel featuring the art restorer, Gabriel Allon is it. Those familiar with the earlier books will find this another satisfying read, and those new to it should check it out!

This time out Allon is called back into action by the Israeli intelligence - his old employer. The Israeli Embassy in Rome has been destroyed by a massive truck bomb, innocent people gunned down as they tried to flee. Over 50 brutally murdered! The Israelis obtain a computer disk from a terrorist in Milan, it has on information about Allon, his real Identity, Photos of him and his lover, and info about killings of Black September Members! The story takes off from here and I don't want to ruin any of the surprises or twists and turns!

The novel does include many characters from past novels, but I do not think it will prevent a new comer from enjoying this novel as a stand alone. In spite of the complexity of the subject matter, the writer has a clean narrative style that keeps the story easy to read and the suspense level high. Which is especially amazing considering all the sub plots! It is also interesting because the writer gives plenty of historical context to the history of the middle east conflict.

I also recommend "A TOURIST IN THE YUCATAN" and adventure thriller with an archeological twist!