The Order is the 23rd book in Daniel Silva’s stories about Gabriel Allon, who started as an Israeli assassin who had killed six of the twelve Palestinian terrorists who murdered the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Now, Allon has progressed to being the director in charge of The Office, headquarters for Israel’s secret intelligence and undercover operations. If you’ve been following the blog, you know that Silva is my favorite author in this genre. There are so many great authors that we’ve reviewed in the blog, but he’s the best. He publishes one new book a year, which I read in a couple days and then wait impatiently for the next installment.
Silva has surrounded Allon with a great cast of characters, from his wife Chiari and heir boy-girl twins to the various personnel in The Office which have been with him since the first novel. This book may have been the most impressive plot yet as he looks at anti-Semitism and the Catholic Church. In this book, he has created the Gospel of Pilate which presents a different story about the responsibility for the death of Christ as it was revealed in Matthew and Luke, a story that prior popes have hidden, much to the detriment of Jews. Silva’s knowledge of the inner workings of the Catholic Church is impressive, and importantly, the Pope he saved in an earlier novel, has now been murdered. A new Pope is about to be elected, and the sinister forces within the Roman Curia, the body that helps the Pope administer the Vatican, become quite active in their attempt to take control of the Pope’s election.
It’s a great story based on thorough research. I’ll write nothing further, except to encourage you to read this book. But damn, now I have a whole year to wait for Silva’s next book.
A year after the above was written, I decided to re-read The Order prior to reading Silva's next novel, The Cellist. In the review of The Order, I commented that I thought the book contained the most impressive plot yet, and I remain of that opinion. Silva's research is remarkable, and in reading this book, you'll get a good history of the world-wide antisemitic movement, as well as a snapshot of the its current status.
one of my favorites by Silva, this had a bit of Dan Brown Da Vinci code to it which made the work so never-ending engaging. Silva rarely disappoints and I would place this piece near the top of his impressive catalogue of projects. What Silva does with his writing to allow the reading to craft such beautiful landscapes and scenery in our mind is truly one of a kind, similar to Ludlums ability to make a book come alive. I have a clear vision of what each and every character looks like accept for the Hero, Gabriel, he has no face to me, this is what a gifted writer can do, and I am truly mesmerized by the authors ability to continuously craft such masterpieces. 2 flips to the right, and 2 to the left.
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