Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon) (Hardcover)

by Daniel Silva (Author)
Key Phrases: Château de la Messardière, Ivan Kharkov, Elena Kharkov, Boris Ostrovsky (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Paul Gigante, who read Silva's Secret Servant, resumes his outstanding rendering of Gabriel Allon and his crew of Israeli counterterrorism experts. Once again, Gigante highlights Allon's strange blend of artist and assassin by giving him a quiet yet thoroughly persuasive voice. Gigante also deftly handles Silva's large, polyglot cast of arms dealers, terrorists, art dealers, wives, mistresses and even children. He does less well with the new Russian characters, Ivan and Elena, who speak with thick Russian accents, but use Anglicized pronunciations of their own names. Ivan sounds macho and threatening, but Elena is played with too much emotionalism, which detracts from the credibility of her decision to endanger her children and herself. Gigante's quick pace and narrative skill will keep listeners enthralled. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, May 26 ). (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. In New York Times best-selling author Silva's eighth Gabriel Allon thriller (following The Secret Servant, an LJ Best Audiobook of 2007), the master Israeli spy and talented art restorer must stop a former KGB colonel-turned-wealthy capitalist from selling Russia's most sophisticated weapons to Middle Eastern terrorists. Reader Phil Gigante (The Secret Servant) does an excellent job with the dialog-heavy text, effectively using different accents to bring the international cast of characters to life. Highly recommended for public libraries. [Audio clip available through library.brillianceaudio.com; the Putnam hc, released in July, was a #1 New York Times best seller and received a starred review, LJ 7/08.—Ed.]—Ilka Gordon, formerly with Marcell Community Coll., Cleveland
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 433 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition/First Printing edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399155015
• ISBN-13: 978-0399155017
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,069 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 8 in The Gabriel Allon Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I hoped for something more, July 25, 2008

By	T. Kunikov (United States) - See all my reviews

Being a former Soviet I had high hopes for this book as I am used to the large amount of research Daniel Silva usually goes through for his novels. Having read most, if not all, of the Gabriel Allon series, and, at the same time, having read about some of the operations described in Silva's books (operation Wrath of God, etc) I was looking for an accurate assessment of today's Russia. Sadly, while the story was good enough and moved at the usual pace that Allon novels do, I was very much let down by the author/editors of this book in a variety of ways.

First, the Russian newspaper represented in the book is entitled "Moskovsky Gazeta", it should be "Moskovskaya Gazeta." The character Olga Sukhova has a grandfather with the same last name, Sukhova. Sukhova is the feminine form, if it is a man, it should have been Sukhov. I also noticed that the AK-47 is purported to have been one of the reasons the Soviets won against the Germans. I could only interpret this as a reference to WWII, yet, the AK-47 was not developed until after WWII. These are just a few of the errors I found, there weren't many more, but they did take away from the usual interest I have when delving into the world the author is trying to create.

The major "mistakes" that I noticed, and to a degree, one might not be a mistake per se but rather something I do not agree with the author on. Russian journalists feature highly in this book and to a large degree there have been a large number of journalists killed, from a variety of causes. Yet, I cannot agree that all the journalists killed, Silva claims 14 have died during Putin's time as President, died because of the work they have been doing (be it against the government or a government agency). In truth, few have been killed in such a way as to raise suspicion that they might have died under "professional" hands. Others have been made to seem that way for a variety of propaganda purposes. What I vehemently disagree with the author on is the idea that a character like Ivan Kharkov, a gun runner and former KGB operative, could be one and the same and an oligarch to boot. The oligarch's in today's Russia (and of the 90's) are not former KGB (Berezhovsky, Gusinsky, Abramovich, Khodorkovsky, Smolensky, Luzhkov, Chubais, etc) but they do have former KGB and spetsnaz forces as their security. These men made their money through banks, speculation, natural resources (gas, oil, etc), TV channels, real estate, etc. I'm more than sure that all of them took illegal steps in one way or another, but that is the natural order of things in capitalism.

Lastly, I resent the fact that just because Russia is using her resources as a bargaining chip means she wants to become a super power once more. Russia has a sphere of influence just like the US does, their actions in foreign policy are dictated by self interest just like every other country in this world. While it is true that they helped arm the Middle East during the cold war when the Soviet Union was in existence it was the US that helped arm Islamic extremists the world over (especially those who flooded Afghanisan during the 80's to take up the war against the USSR, this of course doesn't take into account all the other covert operations undertaken by the US). I am not here to preach if what either country did/does is right or wrong, I just hate seeing a double standard at work.

My apologies if this review didn't cover the book as others have, I figure they did a good enough job and there was little I could add as to what the book was about/encompasses. But I do feel that what I mentioned above will take away from the usual accuracy Silva tries to delivery in his books. Russians can and want to live normal lives, otherwise how do you explain the millions living around the world? But it won't happen so soon in a nation which has been around for less than two decades and has been living off of perverted capitalistic ideals that the west helped usher in.

63 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moscow Rule: "Death solves all problems. No man, no problem, July 22, 2008

By	Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

(4.5 stars) In his eighth Gabriel Allon espionage thriller, Daniel Silva moves from investigating the historical crimes of the past, often related to the Holocaust, and their effects on the present, to crimes of the present and their possibly catastrophic effects on the future. In this intense and absorbing novel about uncontrolled arms sales, the biggest threat to the future comes from Russian arms dealers, aided by Russia's president and former KGB operatives who are now unimaginably wealthy independent brokers and contractors. These arms merchants operate with impunity, selling all manner of weapons to terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Gabriel Allon, formerly with the Israeli Mossad, is on his honeymoon in Italy when he is contacted by Ari Shamron, the grand old man of Israeli security. Allon, a trained art restorer, has been working for the Pope, but the recent assassination of a Russian journalist who may have had information he wanted to reveal to the West brings him out of retirement and back into action. When the murdered man's Russian editor-in-chief is also murdered, Allon travels to Russia, where he learns the name of a Russian arms dealer, Ivan Kharkov, who has been supplying Hezbollah, and who now appears close to selling sophisticated weapons to al-Quaeda.

Kharkov and his wife are collectors of Mary Cassatt paintings, and the fascinating art world which has added so much life to other Gabriel Allon thrillers in the past is also a major aspect of this novel. Art dealers, down-in-their-luck gentry who own prized artwork, and, in the case, of Allon, restorers, all play unexpectedly major roles in this effort to prevent Kharkov from selling advanced weapons to al-Quaeda. As the high-stakes plotting by the conjoined security services of England, the US, Italy, and France builds to a crescendo, Allon follows the action through various countries leaving multiple murders, beatings, car crashes, and betrayals in his wake. Always, the fine hand of the Russian mafia is pulling the strings, purportedly with the aid of the Russian president.

Silva keeps the action moving briskly, and his ability to convey the atmosphere of disparate locations adds depth and drama to the plot. The characters, even the minor ones, are paradigms of the countries they represent, imbued with the cultures of their homelands, rather than mere stereotypes. His major characters are complex and carefully drawn, and the action and underlying themes of the novel are intelligent and thought-provoking. As always, Silva creates a complex and exciting story, but this time the focus is on contemporary politics, rather than on the past. Providing evidence that future catastrophes are shockingly easy to inspire, given the venal nature of unscrupulous international arms dealers, Silva employs his formidable talents to create a terrifying picture of a cynical world--and a warning for the future. n Mary Whipple

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Silva's heart must be in the Middle East!, October 13, 2008

By	AJ "kkirving" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

I was so excited to read this book, but somehow it was tepid at best. Perhaps the push to publish novels each year means that even an author as good as Silva cannot keep up the quality. This book lacks passion, and on the Middle East and its horrid conflicts, he is always so very engaged and instructive. MOSCOW RULES is flat, and there is nothing in it that says the author really knows Russia. I have, however, loved all the other books starring Gabriel Allon. Perhaps the next one will return to form.