I like this series, and found this book to be similar to the previous ones, in that if you like the series, you'll like this book, too.

The ending was a bit abrupt, and I could have handled a bit more details on how it came about. It almost seemed as though Mr Silva got tired of writing it or something. The omission didn't really detract from the ending, but I just think it would have made for interesting reading. ( )

I'm glad I decided to read these in order. It's a lot of fun following Allon's career. ( )

There is much of the history of the Nakba and Palestinian terrorism dating back even before the Balfour Declaration in Daniel Silva's Prince of Fire. Some of that terrorism is centered on one family, the al-Khalifs: Asad al-Khalif, his son, Sabri al-Khalif, and his son, Khalid al-Khalif, AKA Dr. Paul Martineau, whom Gabriel Allon is tasked to find and kill in Prince of Fire. Daniel Silva explained in an author's note that the al-Khalif terrorists were "based heavily on real events ... a master terrorist ... Black September's Ali Hassan Salameh ..." Ali Hassan was the son of Shaykh Hassan Salameh, a notorious Palestinian fighter killed during the 1948 war.
Allon's hunt for the terrorist and the terrorist's hunt for him are exciting and interesting; but, for me, Allon's inner struggle, his devotion and fidelity to his mentally disabled wife, and to his mentor, Ari Shamron, in conflict with his passion for his art and for his lover Chiara, are what gives the novel its merit.

A bomb destroys the Israeli embassy in Rome and kills many people. Gabriel Allon is brought back to Israel to find out who did this. He and his team research the possibilities and mount a mission to stop the next terrorist act by the man responsible. Gabriel is still married to his wife Leah, who was severely injured in a car bombing in Venice 13 years previously and is permanently cared for in a mental institution in Great Britain, although Gabriel would like to marry Chiara, an Italian Jewish girl. ( )

Another great story in the series . . . ( )