Portrait of a Spy

A Novel

By: Daniel Silva

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Haunted by his failure to stop a suicide bomber in London, Gabriel Allon is summoned to Washington and drawn into a confrontation with the new face of global terror. At the center of the threat is an American-born cleric in Yemen who was once a paid CIA asset.

Gabriel and his team devise a daring plan to destroy the network of death - from the inside - a gambit fraught with risk, both personal and professional. To succeed, Gabriel must reach into his violent past. A woman waits there, a reclusive heiress and art collector who can traverse the murky divide between Islam and the West. She is the daughter of an old enemy, and together they form an unlikely and dangerous bond.

Set against the disparate worlds of art and intelligence, Portrait of a Spy moves swiftly from the corridors of power in Washington to the glamorous auction houses of New York and London to the unforgiving landscape of the Saudi desert. Featuring a climax that will leave listeners haunted long after the final words, this deeply entertaining story is also a breathtaking portrait of courage in the face of unspeakable evil - and Daniel Silva's most extraordinary novel to date.

©2011 Daniel Silva (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Another Great Restoration

As with all Daniel Silva novels a picture is told to us stroke by stroke on the canvas. We as readers have to wait to the end to visualize the finished portrait. We are so wraped up in the production that we keep wanting more when the story is over. Portrait of a Spy is no different. I was hooked with the first novel and still with this one.

Boring story, poorly developed, unconvincing plot

What did you like best about Portrait of a Spy? What did you like least?

Best-the subject matter.
Worst-poor character and story development. Plot was unconvincing.

Would you ever listen to anything by Daniel Silva again?

Maybe.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Gabriel Alon

Did Portrait of a Spy inspire you to do anything?

Be more selective next time.

I always look forward to the newest Allon book

This is another excellent work by Daniel Silva. The stories are intoxicating. This is my second time through the series (and therefore no waiting for the next book) and they are still wonderful. There's not as much action in this book but that doesn't lessen the enjoyment.

I liked the way Simon Vance read most of the voices in this book but there are still some pronunciation errors that are distracting. If I had one complaint about the series it's that there is no consistency in narrators. I wish there was one narrator for all the books. I still love them though.

I miss Phil Gigante narration!

Did Simon Vance do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I felt lost with the new narrator. It is like I do not know the characters anymore because their voices are different. I really loved how Phil Gigante brought Gabriel and the other characters to life.

Great book and narration!

Another great Daniel Silva novel and the details on Saudi Arabia, et al are very interesting!

Simon Vance is just brilliant!

Great

The narrator, Simon Vance, was a perfect choice and made the listening experience one to be relished.

Just like eating candy

Daniel Silva is absolutely and wonderfully addictive. Reading him is little eating candy it's that good. I have been totally taken by his hero, Gabriel Allon, since the first of the series. I am just delighted that Simon Vance is now -at long last! - narrating. Till now, I read Daniel Silva's books because I didn't like the narrator. Now, I can listen to Simon Vance read one of my favorite spy novels' writer.
Dominique Hunter

Superb New Volume in Silva's Gabriel Allon Series

Those of us who have become passionate fans of Daniel Silva's Mossad agent Gabriel Allon's secret service work around the globe will love this book. Like John LeCarre, Silva writes with brilliance and subtlety--so there are none of the Tom Clancy style over-the-top action sequences for which some others have criticized this book. Instead, you get very nuanced, multi-layered, developed characters richly informed by Silva's experience as a UPI journalist based in the Middle East. , , , And I heartily disagree with those who criticize the narration. The reader paints pictures with words, and creates a world where it is easy to lose yourself.

If you have come this far in the series...

Would you try another book from Daniel Silva and/or Simon Vance?

Yes. Once you get this far. You have to finish. Since I started at book 1, and am now here, I must move forward even though this was my least favorite.

Simon Vance is awful.

What other book might you compare Portrait of a Spy to and why?

I have no comparison. It is the least favorite of mine so far in the series.

Would you be willing to try another one of Simon Vance’s performances?

Absolutely not.

Do you think Portrait of a Spy needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Any additional comments?

Worst narration I have heard so far. That is unless you like a narrator whose characters ALL sound like a terrible James Bond/Sean Connery imitation that went horribly awry. All of the characters were way too overplayed. It's as if the only voice he could use for every character was a play off of James Bond. This was a brutal book to get through. You should buy it and read it. Pass on the audio. Pick it back up in audio version when this narrator is not reading.

enjoyed it

Washington DC, London, Dubai, Riyadh and pionts in between. The Moassad, MI5, CIA, Islamic militants, international intergue, the lastest current events, a good description of how technology is ued in the spy world. What's not to like !