The Rembrandt Affair

Daniel Silva has spun another international thriller together in The Rembrandt Affair with Gabriel Allon front and centre of the intrigue.

I'm an unabashed Gabriel Allon fan. I've been hooked since the first book, 'The Kill Artist' and I continue to be enthralled with the characters and stories. If I have a complaint, it's that since Gabriel is getting older (though he wears it well); I would like to see some of the other characters be brought more to the forefront. After all, Gabriel can't continue to be involved in field activities too much longer - not only is he chronologically challenged (and I can say that since I am as well) but he has also had his picture and person history plastered on the front page one to many times to remain anonymous. It's time for some of his team members to take point. He could still be involved in planning and run the operations from the background. It's time for a baby or two for the Allons while Gabriel continues to be Israel's Avenging Angel (just in a more cerebral capacity). Mikael is more than capable of giving us the action and taking revenge on Israel's enemies.Now the positives, once again the story is well researched and keeps the reader engaged. The book is truly a political thriller that makes you want to turn the next page. As always, the book is extremely well written and well edited. I can't tell you how happy that makes me after some of the offerings from other authors I have read this summer. And finally, the author always engages the reader on a psychological level; we understand the dichotomy between Gabriel the artist and Gabriel the child of a Holocaust survivor. Additionally, I really, really enjoy the joint opperations between Israel, Britan, and the USA - it give me hope for the future even if it is only fiction.My hope for the future of the series: keep Gabriel engage but in a less operational role - still the focal point for planning and running the op. Keep the ties to Art, that is what first engaged me about this series. Keep the sense of reality in the stories - I love that the books could almost have been ripped from the headlines. Allow Gabriel and wife to enjoy a family life and allow those wonderful genes to be passed on to another generation and keep them safe and under the radar (which is why I want Gabriel to have a less active operational role).I want Gabriel to live a rich and full life while continuing to protect the state of Israel. I want to see Gabriel more as a mentor and friend to his team, and his young friend in Cornwall. I don't want to see him become Shamron like, having fulfilled his duty to country at the expense of his personal life and family and with so many regrets.I want countless more Gabriel Allon stories that are well research, well written, and well edited. So far all of his offerings have pleased me - I want that to continue.My basic review - for what it's worth; once again the story keeps you turning pages until you finish the book. And once the book is finished you are sad that you have to wait another year for the next Gabriel Allon book. Worth the wait,and worth the money.I purposely try not to give away the story line in my reviews. But I will say this, once again we have the usual cast of characters, as well as a few new ones to flesh out the story. Once again we have a major piece of art that is at the center of the story. And once again, I fell a little bit in love with Gabriel Allon - how many 'assassins' could you say that about?

Der Spiegel hat mich mit einer durchaus wohlwollenden Kritik auf das Buch aufmerksam gemacht. Herrje, dacht ich erst, schon wieder eine "XY-Affäre" oder "ABC-Code"? Wurde dann doch schwach, aber nicht enttäuscht. Ich habe das Buch auf Englisch gelesen und kann dem interessierten Leser auch nur empfehlen, das auch zu tun; mit Schulenglisch plus ein Bisschen funktioniert das gut und macht Spaß. Alternativ gibt es natürlich die vorliegende deutsche Version, die allerdings noch deutlich teurer als das englische Paperback ist. Aber nun zur Story...Vorweg, "Die Rembrandt-Affäre" ist meiner erster Daniel Silva; inwieweit die Grundidee also in anderen Silvas schon mal da war (vgl. die anderen Rezensionen) kann ich nicht beurteilen. Dieser Silva hat mir außerordentlich gut gefallen, weil:* die Story stimmt: Agent im Ruhestand Gabriel Allon soll - ein Freundschaftsdienst - einen gestohlenen Rembrandt wiederfinden. Schnell wird klar, hinter diesem Rembrandt steckt mehr als alle dachten. Schon bald führen erste Spüren in die Vergangenheit, dann in die Schweiz, und schließlich in den Iran. Alles hängt zusammen und der Einsatz ist hoch. Mehr möchte ich gar nicht verraten, ich wusste vorher auch nicht viel mehr und das war gut so.* der Spannungsbogen: verläuft aus meiner Sicht auf hohem Niveau ohne Durchhänger; angenehm: Gewalt spielt nur eine marginale Rolle, im Vordergrund steht klassische Spionage mit Hightech-Mitteln* die Charakter: Gabriel Allon und seine Frau Chiara sind interessant gezeigt; klasse, dass sie nicht die einzigen Helden der Story bleiben, sondern viele andere helfen müssen, das Geheimnis des Rembrandt zu lösen* Hintergrundinformationen: gibt es vor allem zum Bereich Kunst, wie werden Gemälde restauriert, wie werden sie gefälscht, wie werden sie gestohlen* der Geschichtsbezug: ich musste und vor allem wollte nachlesen wie die Zusammenhänge während und nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg waren* aktuelle Bezüge: wie oben schon erwähnt, Allon und sein Team spielen um einen hohen Einsatz mit aktuellem Bezug; das Allon Agent aus Israel ist, wissen wohl alle, was es zu verhindern gilt* im Hinblick auf diese aktuelle Bezüge webt Daniel Silva seine persönliche Meinung geschickt ein, verdeutlicht sie am Ende der Story nochmals nachhaltigInsgesamt ein intelligenter Thriller, der sich auf der Masse der "Affären-und-Code-oder-Verschwörungs-Literatur" deutlich abhebt. Mal sehen, was im nächsten Silva auf Gabriel Allon zukommen wird.

Last June I stumbled onto one of Daniel Silva's novels about the fictional Israeli super spy/assassin, Gabriel Allon. By the end of September, I had devoured all nine of the Allon thrillers. I am not familiar enough with the genre of international intrigue to express an informed opinion, but many are calling Silva the new John LeCarre. All I know is that this guy can write an informed novel with marvelous pacing and fascinating characters that rivets my attention to the very end.I just finished Silva's most recent addition to the Gabriel Allon series, The Rembrandt Affair. Here Silva not only exhibits the expected skills of his famous Mossad operative, he displays his cunning brilliance in a game of wits against his antagonist - a Swiss billionaire with a dirty past.Silva's novels do have repeating plot points:1. The opening chapter describes a graphic murder.2. Allon is introduced while in another peaceful retirement from his brilliant career, practicing art restoration.3. His aged mentor appears and recruits him to return to the action one more time.4. Allon assembles his crack operatives and they plan out their operation.5. The action develops at a breathtaking pace with an inevitable setback almost destroying the operation.6. Allon fulfills his difficult task with some brilliant mental and physical exploits.I do not write the above as a criticism. Even though faithful readers will agree that this is the expected Silva plot line, we still keep coming back for more - because we genuinely care about these characters! Allon, his new wife Chiara, old boss Ari Shamron, spy-turned-archaeologist Eli Lavon, and all the rest. Each of these heroes has a tragic past that shadows their current heroic deeds.Silva is a master at weaving together Jewish/Israeli history, terrorism, the specter of the Holocaust, art history, and current socio-political attitudes in European countries. Are the plots familiar? Yes. Do we really care about that? No. Why? Because his writing is believable and it rivets us to the next page. We want to see, not just how it all turns out, but what finally happens to these characters who are as real as people we know.

Gabriel Alon travels the globe in search of answers.This is another work of art by Daniel Silva. # 10 in the series.Hard to put down.I would recommend this book.