The Defector

Excellent audiobook with a fine vocal performance from Phil Gigante. In this continuing series of Gabriel Allon, we finally get to see his dark side, and dark it is indeed. The story crosses the usual assortment of countries and brings back all the previous characters in the series.

I like Silva a lot. I like this book. The end made me angry. This isn't a mini-series where I get to see the rest tomorrow. If the story takes 2 books, make it 1 long book... please.

As far as it went this is excellent book with gripping action and suspense throughout, makes you want to hear what comes next but the ending is in the middle of a thought like the Sopranos, and leaves you hanging. You must buy the next book to know what happens. this feels like the way to make more money - even though the choice belongs to the listener. I won't be buying the next one as I am offended by this ploy.

If it is not a ploy and I as the listener am to guess at the ending I won't be buying the next one because I don't like to guess, thank you. I have been cheated.

An excellent example of the post cold war era spy thriller. Good character development and almost believable scenarios. Tension is held and builds to a strong conclusion. An entertaining read.

A word of caution though: this is a sequel to "Moscow Rules". The entire plot and outcome of Moscow Rules is retold as part of the development of this novel. So, once you have read The Defector you will not be able to go back to Moscow Rules, so read it first.

If you like the thriller genre, you will like Daniel Silva. His latest book, The Defector, is another winner. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat and has enough mini conclusions spread out to keep your interest to the very end. The Defectors is a follow up to Silva's last book,Moscow Rules and, while it isn't necessary to read first,it would help in setting the context for The Defector.

The critic's note and the other critiques here just don't jive. The author doesn't put you IN the book. It more like a narrator reading from a script while you try to visualize what is going on. The plot was excellent and story line good. It was just not exciting. There was a lot of murder and violence without suspense. The way it ended.... It ended right in the middle of the action. I went back and re-read the last part of the book twice to make sure I didn't miss anything trying to figure out why it ended where it did.

If you want to picture someone standing at a podium, reading from a script, this is for you.

Phil Gigante's pronunciation of Hebrew words was so inaccurate, I was astonished at the translation that followed. A reader must take the time to learn how to pronounce the foreign words in every book he reads. It makes the story telling much more satisfying.

A very exciting political thriller starring my favorite art restorer/assassin, Gabriel Allon. This story is narrated by a very fine actor by the name of Phil Gigante. Mr. Gigante has the formidable task of reading this book using voices for each character in many accents, including British, British gay, Israeli, Italian, Russian, Southern American, and four different women each with their own nationality accent. His superb rendition is very believable. It is probably a good idea to read Silva's book "Moscow Rules" first, as "The Defector" takes off from where the former ends.

Gabriel Elon is one of the most interesting thriller heros -- a brilliant art restorer and a brilliant Mossad assassin. In this book, Silva seems to be just going down his list of bad guys -- Nazi torturers, Arab terrorists, Drug Cartels, and now Russian KGB/Mafia. I think that the next novel will have to address U.S. Skinheads, but Gabriel is running out of relatives to be kidnapped by bad guys. Nonetheless, the plot moves along well and Phil Gigante does a good job of dramatizing the book. I actually like his accents (except for the southern lilt of the CIA agent). The plot is complicated and Silva has to pull the fat out of the fire at the end with a "deus ex machina" that is less than satisfying. But...I still love Silva and Gabriel and cannot wait for the next one -- hoping it will be a little more polished than this one that seemed to be rushed out for the summer reading season.

This was a very disappointing Daniel Silva book as he spent half the book retelling scenes from former books. It could have been half as long and would have been much better.