• Prince of Fire

  • Gabriel Allon, Book 5
  • By: Daniel Silva
  • Narrated by: Guerin Barry
  • Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,452 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Prince of Fire  By  cover art

Prince of Fire

By: Daniel Silva
Narrated by: Guerin Barry
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Few recent thriller writers have elicited the kind of critical praise that Daniel Silva has received, with his "provocative and deeply satisfying" ( The Miami Herald) novels featuring art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon, "a man whose depth and passion make him one of the most fascinating characters in the genre" ( Chicago Sun-Times)

Now Allon is back in Venice, when a terrible explosion in Rome leads to a disturbing personal revelation: the existence of a dossier in terrorist hands 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, Allon finds himself stalking an elusive master terrorist across a landscape drenched with generations of blood, the trail turning on itself until, finally, he can no longer be certain who is stalking whom.

And when at last the showdown comes, it will not be 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.

Take another thrill ride with Gabriel Allon.
©2005 Daniel Silva (P)2005 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"In a story that seems ripped from the headlines, Silva delivers both chilling suspense and a thoughtful if grim history lesson." ( Booklist)
"[A] a passionate, intelligently crafted entry that cements the series' place among today's top spy fiction." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Guerin Barry skillfully juggles the many accents, even personifying the late Yassir Arafat with wit and energy." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Prince of Fire

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,491
  • 4 Stars
    707
  • 3 Stars
    195
  • 2 Stars
    35
  • 1 Stars
    24
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,141
  • 4 Stars
    492
  • 3 Stars
    235
  • 2 Stars
    86
  • 1 Stars
    62
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,338
  • 4 Stars
    489
  • 3 Stars
    153
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

great book, horrible audio

The book is great, but the audio quality and narration is really substandard. Sounds like telephone quality audio, the first time I've seen this after some 20 downloads. Worse, the narrator mispronounces almost every Arabic and Hebrew word, both personal and geographic. My favorite stumble was when he called MI-5 M-fifteen. Aside from the audio reproduction and mispronounciations, he did a good job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Narrator ruins it -Better read this one :-(

As a big fan of Daniel Silva and the Gabriel Allon series, I was excited about purchasing this audible title. I was busy, knew I didn't have a lot of time to read, so despite the negative reviews on the narrator I purchased and downloaded Prince of Fire. I should have skipped this title until I had time to read it. Normally I've been able to "get used to " poor narrators and still get engaged in the story. This Silva book had such long passages of history and political background information that it was hard to stay focused. The information was vital to understanding the motives, actions and reactions of countries and ethnic groups involved, but the narrator made it feel at times like I was listening to a second rate college lecture. Normally I love this type of back ground information, and this would have been enjoyable in book form, or with a decent narrator, but Guerin Barry is a very difficult narrator to listen to. He is actually PAINFUL to listen to. His female voices are HORRIBLE, and NONE of the accents he gives his characters, male OR female fit the personality of the character. If this is the first Gabriel Allon book for you, you will end up disliking the characters because the voice and attitude the narrator gives each character overshadows what the author was trying to portray. There are times the narrator doesn't give enough change between characters for you to know who is speaking.
So, save your credit, save your money, this title has been ruined by the narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator detracts

If you could sum up Prince of Fire in three words, what would they be?

Gripping, as usual.

Did Guerin Barry do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The narration was the weakest part of the audiobook. The main character, Gabriel, was voiced slightly hoarse and almost monotonal. It seemed such a bad characterization that getting immersed in the book was very difficult. The characters were switched in some dialogue and the pronunciation of Hebrew names was amazingly bad.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Poor sound quality

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I am a huge fan of Daniel Silva's books. So, I would definitely recommend the book.
I might suggest reading this one instead of listening. The sound quality and performance were a hindrance.

How could the performance have been better?

First better sound equipment! Second have John Lee perform the reading.

Could you see Prince of Fire being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes and definitely NOT Tom Cruise! Matt Damion, Hugh Jackman,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • A
  • 01-15-11

slow start

I found the audio quality excellent and the quality of the narration excellent. I am not qualified to notice poorly pronounced Arabic or Hebrew. I did catch the "m fifteen" instead of "MI-5" though. The narrator does an excellent job of rendering different voices for each character.

The action is much slower in this book than in some of the other Allon novels. Lots and lots and lots of Palestinian history. Lots of background information, more than usual.

Still, expertly written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed it

I enjoyed this book. It started a little slow for me, but picked up speed quickly. I've read a few history books on the Israel/Palestine struggle, and it was nicely blended into the story. My only criticism is that I didn't appreciate the use of the F word multiple times. I wish authors would at least keep it pg-13!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bad audio quality and bad narrator

How could the performance have been better?

This sounds like it was recorded from a speaker phone and the reader is not "professional quality"

Any additional comments?

Don't skimp on quality or settle for a sub par reader

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite Allon book - but OK

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes - if you like Silva and want to read the entire Gabriel Allon Series. No - if this is his only book you plan to read by him.

Would you be willing to try another book from Daniel Silva? Why or why not?

Absolutely

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This guy is TERRIBLE. But, I've been listening to some great readers lately (I'll listen to anything read by George Guidall - who incidently, read Daniel Silva's most recent book). The audio quality is terrible and the reader sounds like a robot. He isn't the worst reader I've ever heard, but he's pretty close. I would expect the author to force the publisher to have this book re-read / re-published.

Did Prince of Fire inspire you to do anything?

Learn more about Israeli history / Palestine

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good despite lack of past tenses,mispronunciations

It is hard to go wrong with a Silva novel. His intensity, correlation with history, and continuing story line make most listens compelling. I didn't realize that I had missed this one in the lineage of his books, and found it wanting. Not because of the story line, but because of the annoying narration.

I have come to know the characters as familiar, as Silva does such an excellent job in fleshing them out. However, when this narrator pronounces their names entirely differently, it is unsettling. It is hard for me to grasp how such an accomplished writer as Silva could momentarily forget the correct past tenses of most verbs ("spring, sprang, sprung", etc.), so I have to believe it was the narrator who furnished the tense most comfortable, even if incorrect, to him. He also put the emphasis on wrong words in the story, completely changing the meaning of many sentences. Somehow, Gabriel wasn't Gabriel when voiced by this narrator.

But, for everyone who loves Silva books, it is still a necessary listen, even though occasionally a grating one. Good story, bad narration and characterization.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mispronunciation detracted from the experience

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The author went to so much trouble to familiarize a new reader with the characters and themes that I thought I was 're-listening' to a story I had already heard.

Who was your favorite character and why?

After hearing 8 in the series, they're all old friends

Would you be willing to try another one of Guerin Barry’s performances?

NO. Not in this series. Mispronounced too many words and names. Why wasn't this edited??
He did the voices well so probably should not do accents.

Do you think Prince of Fire needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

More Gabriel Alon

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful