There are not enough positive adjectives in the English language to describe my personal assessment of Daniel Silva as a writer and storyteller. If I had more or better words, I’d use them to describe his latest novel. The Cellist is an amalgamation of some of the greatest books in the series, while also being incredibly timely by exploring the greatest threats to today’s geopolitical landscape.
When Victor Orlov, our favorite Russian billionaire, is murdered in his London home, clearly the victim of a Kremlin hit, Gabriel Allon is pitted against one of his oldest and most dangerous foes. When all the evidence points to an anti-Kremlin investigative journalist, Gabriel isn’t convinced and requests the opportunity to track the woman down. When he hears her side of the story, he is presented with the chance of a lifetime. Along with the help from his friends at The Office and allied European intelligence agencies, Allon aims to deal a blow to the foundation of the Russian leader’s power and at the same time stifle the attacks on Western institutions of democracy.
Each reader comes to a Silva book with certain expectations and preferences from subject matter to characters, and even locales. Daniel manages to lay out a sort of tapas style platter of goodies for every type of reader. There is just a bit of everything we’ve loved from Allon’s adventures over the years.
Did you fall in love with the series because of how art & music play a role in past novels… prepare to swoon again. Did you stay up all night reading previous books because of the complexity and daring nature of Allon’s plan… better get some coffee ready. Do you keep coming back because of an unhealthy connection to his fictional characters (perhaps that’s just me)… well great, there are so many of our favorites involved in one way or another.
Silva’s uncanny ability to outline and explain the complex nature of threats to Western democracies, we are propelled through the novel through incredible pacing, deep connection to the characters (both new and old), and the two ever present questions; how will Allon pull this off? And what will he have to sacrifice to do so?
With an unvarnished and, at times biting, criticism of the current American political climate, Silva walks that fine line between fiction and reality as he outlines the truth of our reality through the lens of his fictional characters. With friends and family who live around the world, the same sentiments and viewpoints that Allon holds within the pages are the same opinions that have been expressed to me time and time again. I feel that Daniel’s portrayal of what our allies and enemies have seen and learned over the past few election cycles is spot on. Whether you agree with that or not… that’s up for you to decide.
The overall reading experience of this novel was like going to see your favorite band growing up who have reunited for a single concert. Sure… they’re going to play all the greatest hits and you’ll love every second of it. You’ll sing along to all the words, you’ll play air drums when the beat takes hold of you, but it’s not exactly how you remember. In fact, it’s even better. Why? It’s the bits of improvisation and raw emotion the musicians are playing with today that make the songs almost new, while at the same time incredibly familiar.
Like a family member who comes to visit for a weekend once a year, upon completion of the book we are left yearning for more on Gabriel. Alas, we are simply left to wait. Always the waiting.
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