Name: John Philpin's review of The Cellist by Daniel Silva
Item: The Cellist
Author: John Philpin

Daniel Silva

#1 New York Times Bestseller “The pace of “The Cellist” never slackens as its action volleys from Zurich to Tel Aviv to Paris and beyond. Mr. Silva tells his story with zest, wit and superb timing, and he engineers enough surprises to startle even the most attentive reader.“—Wall Street Journal From Daniel Silva, the internationally acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author, comes a timely and explosive new thriller featuring art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon. Viktor Orlov had a longstanding appointment with death. Once Russia’s richest man, he now resides in splendid exile in London, where he has waged a tireless crusade against the authoritarian kleptocrats who have seized control of the Kremlin. His mansion in Chelsea’s exclusive Cheyne Walk is one of the most heavily protected private dwellings in London. Yet somehow, on a rainy summer evening, in the midst of a global pandemic, Russia’s vengeful president finally manages to cross Orlov’s name off his kill list. Before him was the receiver from his landline telephone, a half-drunk glass of red wine, and a stack of documents.… The documents are contaminated with a deadly nerve agent. The Metropolitan Police determine that they were delivered to Orlov’s home by one of his employees, a prominent investigative reporter from the anti-Kremlin Moskovskaya Gazeta. And when the reporter slips from London hours after the killing, MI6 concludes she is a Moscow Center assassin who has cunningly penetrated Orlov’s formidable defenses. But Gabriel Allon, who owes his very life to Viktor Orlov, believes his friends in British intelligence are dangerously mistaken. His desperate search for the truth will take him from London to Amsterdam and eventually to Geneva, where a private intelligence service controlled by a childhood friend of the Russian president is using KGB-style “active measures” to undermine the West from within. Known as the Haydn Group, the unit is plotting an unspeakable act of violence that will plunge an already divided America into chaos and leave Russia unchallenged. Only Gabriel Allon, with the help of a brilliant young woman employed by the world’s dirtiest bank, can stop it. Elegant and sophisticated, provocative and daring, The Cellist explores one of the preeminent threats facing the West today—the corrupting influence of dirty money wielded by a revanchist and reckless Russia. It is at once a novel of hope and a stark warning about the fragile state of democracy. And it proves once again why Daniel Silva is regarded as his generation’s finest writer of suspense and international intrigue.

A Novel

The Cellist

John Philpin

Master of international intrigue Daniel Silva follows up his acclaimed #1 New York Times bestsellers The Order, The New Girl, and The Other Woman with this riveting, action-packed tale of espionage and suspense featuring art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon.

Fraser Simons

The fact that this is review bombed by people claiming Silva is “inserting his own politics” was what made me pick this up. I had not heard of this series at all previously. I just had to know what people were talking about because this is a espionage thriller. What is inherently more political and propagandist than that in commercial American literature? Maybe war and military fiction directly? Not much else…

Imagine my surprise when, upon reading this I found it to be completely serviceable commercial fiction espionage thriller, in line with all the others I’ve read. Though this is the first from this author, specifically. It’s frenetically paced, accessible, standard in prose work, and has a slightly contrived plot. Pretty much what I expected. 

Set in contemporary times, the fiction is far more critical of foreign powers, specifically certain Russians, than Trump, which in comparison is handled with complete kid gloves. Towards the very, very end other factors, foreshadowed, come to bare. But primarily that is to do with qanon. Trump in relation to the disturbing American phenomenon is referenced in regards to playing into the fracturing of political parties and rhetorics. Or perhaps a certain congresswoman embroiled in the plot had people angry? 

Either way, I think it’s good at vilifying powerful figures and political thought in both countries, ultimately. It’s message is decent and the handling of subjects completely fair. Especially in a genre where literally each person is the embodiment of a political machination, butting up against another. To believe that any of the works in the genre are apolitical is indefensible and absurd. And to be critical of components of the political apparatus is, arguably, what this genre has always been about. Baffling. 

And then, in the end, Silva provides actual citations, where he voices his own opinions concluded from the evidence he cites. That section is completely divorced from the fiction. It’s not any of the characters voicing any of it whatever. It’s like reading an introduction or afterward and then conflating it with the actual fiction. I doubt most of these reviewers even bothered to read the book. Laughable.

No John LeCarre … but I will try another Silva at some point.


Jeff Brown 

A much better book than his previous one (I will save you from reading the political thoughts by putting them at the end of the review). 

Gabriel Allon distances himself from the Vatican in this book, thankfully. Allon, who owes his life to Russian Viktor Orlov, wants to get to the bottom of Orlov's sudden death. And he does this through an interesting vehicle -- by recruiting one of the world's top cellists into his organization to infiltrate the Russian hierarchy. 

But, again, the aging Allon was hardly in the field (although he did endanger himself). Maybe it's time for an Allon Jr. to be introduced and Allon will become the mentor for him (or her) that Ari Shamron became for Gabriel. I don't see that happening, however.

Covid and the Pandemic, the U.S. Presidential election, and the purported Russian interference of said election, all provide interesting side vehicles for the main story. Silva redeemed himself for "The Order".



**** Politics ahead *****

I thought it rather bizarre all the one-star reviews until I read them -- all complaining about Silva's attack of Trump. As I went through the book, I chuckled at the 30-second comments about Trump, remembering that Silva also poked at Obama when needed. I thought I was smarter than these people.

That was until I got to Chapter 60 when Silva mounted a full-out blitz on Trump, and all the glorious savior comments he had for the President-Elect. A number of the Trump attacks have been disproven or shown not to be as presented by the media. I realize that Silva had to stop writing at some point, but I am sure he is surprised at all the pomp and circumstance he lauded upon Biden that have been proven inaccurate. For example, calling Trump a Fascist and an authoritarian, while Biden will be an uniter and (in the media's words) the adult in the room. It has been proven who is the Fascist and authoritarian and who has led the downfall of our nation. Whether we end up in a form of Fascism, Socialism, or Marxism, the moderate leader does not exist in the U.S.

I wonder if Silva will address these inconsistencies that he proclaimed the Biden administration would become, and have come far short, in a future book soon.

And one interesting point -- in his Author's notes, where he claimed proof of all his comments about the Russian involvement in Trump's campaign and administration came from the documents that led to the Mueller investigation? After a long rant about this, he admits (correctly) that the investigation showed no involvement that could lead to prosecution. At the start of his notes, he admits that this book is one of fiction. He was right about that.

Otherwise, a very good book!

Sahi K

I can’t say I find anything surprising in this series anymore, but it’s the familiarity of the formulaic storyline that gives me comfort. But many of real world situations made it into the book which were uncomfortable to relive. And this is my first book which has the plot taking place during the pandemic, but thankfully it’s more like an inescapable background. I don’t think I would have been able to handle a more pandemic focused story.

Simon Harrison

I think I made it all the way to 4 stars by the end. Initially, and this is my first Silva book, I thought the endless referencing of products and brands to be a bit too Alan Partridge, especially coming out of a Brad Thor novel, but once that actual spy stuff started, that felt less acute. 

I thought the coda was fun, massively silly and a bit unnecessary, as the main plot was far more interesting. Now I need to decide whether to start with this character from book one, or just the recent few - the geopolitical thriller seems much more what I was looking for after the macho man lunacy of the estimable Mr Thor's latest book

John Philpin &
The Cellist by Daniel Silva

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