Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva

Good guy Gabrielby katknit

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June 11, 2009: Artist/not-so-secret agent Gabriel Allon is lured from his idyllic Umbria honeymoon by a request for a "small favor" from his mentor/father surrogate, former head of the Mussad. The favor turns out to be lethal. Although the mission that develops is a crucial one, involving covert arms sales and global terrorism, Gabriel has learned to subjugate what his heart tells him in order to do what he deems right. Somehow, Moscow Rules is missing the edge that all previous Allon novels have offered. While there is menace and violence to spare, Gabriel himself seems to be going through the paces because, well, that's what he does. The villain of the piece, Ivan Kharkov, seems a caricature designed to personify all the tyrannical elements that persist even in modern Russia, and his wife, who rats him out, doesn't come across as strong or committed enough to fulfill her mission. Nevertheless, I'd rather read a Silva covert-ops novel than one by virtually anyone else writing today, and Moscow isn't bad, simply not quite as sharp as its predecessors.

I Also Recommend: Secret Servant.

Fantasy rulesby Anonymous

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November 25, 2008: Daniel Silva lives in a world of fantasy. He is not going to Moscow (as one of his readers pointed out) and he has never been there, nor is he aware of what is going on in Russia.
As for terrorism, Moscow has suffered not less that New York City from the terrorist attacks. By the way, it is one of the duties of the KGB to fight terrorism.
Maybe instead of making up stories Silva should learn something from the real sources of information.
The majority of people in Russia share the same concerns and have the same values as people in the US or anywhere in the world.
If you want to know about Russia read the books based on facts not sick imagination. There are many now in English by American and British journalists and not only.
As an example, "Red Moon Rising" by Matthew Brzezinsky describes the dramatic events of the Race in Space in the late 50's and early 60's, the events that actually did take place and are more exciting than fiction.