It was a good spy read. I've read a few of this series and after awhile they all kind of seem the same. But that's not necessarily bad. Good for the beach. ( )

Ich habe alle Thriller der Gabriel Allen Reihe gelesen, ohne je den Wunsch nach Spannung oder einem guten Ende, einer Lösung etc. zu haben.

Tatsächlich vereint die Reihe eine sich wandelnde Sichtweise auf das Verhältnis zwischen Israel in Bezug auf die Welt des radikalen Islam - aus der Sicht des Mossad. Dabei wird deutlich, dass inbrünstiger Hass und religiöse Alleinstellungen lediglich eines erreichen: Opfer auf allen Seiten.

Es sind z.B. in diesem Roman die präzisen, unnachahmlichen Beschreibungen eines Selbstmordattentäters kurz vorm dem Abzug, die Zustände in den einzelnen Geheimdiensten, notwendige Maßnahmen, Recherchen und das Alleingelassenwerden wirklicher Top Spione.

Dabei wird in den Reihen insbesondere skizziert, wie islamische Netzwerke "ticken" und welche "emotionalen Bomben" unterwegs sind, wie diese zu dem wurden, was sie sind usw. "Der Hintermann" geht insbesondere auch ein auf Frauen im Islam und welche Rolle sie in Zukunft spielen könnten.

Bei den fast soziologischen Analysen (immer auch mit Verständnis für die Lage der Palästinenser, ihre Herkunft, Armut etc.) schwingt sich immer eine Spirale der Gewalt nach oben, deren religiöse Inbrunst sich netzwerkartig über unsere Welt ausbreitet. Diese vielschichtigen Beziehungen sind in der Lage, einem wirklich Angst einzujagen.

Alle Roman von Daniel Silva zusammen sind allemal besser als andere, oberflächliche Analysen der Beziehungen zwischen radikalem Islam und der westlichen Welt. Ganz hervorragend!

This might be my favorite of the series so far.
It has a little bit of everything, making it an all-around great read. ( )

A pretty typical Gabriel Allon story. He starts out minding his own business, then something triggers a reaction or a situation comes up that needs his expertise, he organizes an almost perfect operation that seems infallible, something goes wrong, he almost dies, but comes through in the end. Then there's the strong bias against the terrorists who cause all the problems for no reason other than historic hatred of Israel, a purely innocent country who does nothing to provoke them.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't know enough about what really goes on to say this is not totally true, and I do sympathize with Israel and the Jews in general (I'm Jewish myself), but I also have some sympathies for the Palestinians and Muslim people (though not the terrorists), and I feel that Israel is often too heavy-handed and unyielding. But to be honest, these stories have helped me understand why Israel is the way it is, and through these stories, I tend to forgive them more for their behavior. Basically, Israel is the only country where Jews are not second-class citizens, so they tend to be very protective.

So, in spite of these shortcomings, I always end up enjoying the stories and not being able to put it down once it gets going. Sometimes, the going is slow for a while, but the people carry it through. There is humor, culture, and lots of great people who are all outstanding in their fields. Ari Shamron, the semi-retired head of Israeli intelligence, is always good for some humor, and he seems like he will never fully retire even though he's lived forever, it seems. Gabriel is an artist both as a painter/restorer and a killer, and it's interesting to hear his thoughts and read about his actions. As a team, it seems like the characters in these stories can do anything. So, if you can forgive the overly political parts of the stories, give them a try if you like this type of book - they have a lot to offer. ( )

Gabriel is again retired when the novel begins--living in Cornwall with wife Chiara and restoring Old Masters again. While in London, he and Chiara see a personal bomber whom he tries to stop. Then he is asked by Adrian Carter to locate the new terrorist network that has arisen. He agrees, but partway through the operation, Adrian, at the request of the US president, insists that the CIA take over. Things do not go well from there. This appears to be another "formula" novel. ( )