weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
A compelling way to remind us of the story of the Holocaust!
Eli Lavon, an old friend of Gabriel Allon, Israeli master spy, lies near death, the victim of an explosion in the Wartime Claims and Inquiries office in Vienna. When Israeli spymaster, Ari Shamron, asks Allon to track down who was behind the bombing and bring them to justice, a twisted international trail of clues and history leads Allon to tales of his own mother's death march to Auschwitz and traces of Sturmbannführer Erich Radek, now living as Ludwig Vogel, a prominent high profile, wealthy and very influential businessman in Vienna. During the latter stages of WWII, when Hitler and all of his senior staff knew that Germany was losing the war to the squeeze between advancing western Allied and Russian forces, it was a sadistic, psychotic Radek's overwhelming and horrifying job to literally eradicate the existence of the Holocaust from history, to erase the evidence that it ever existed, to bury the camps and to destroy the bodies and mass burial sites.
Like many other spy vs spy espionage thrillers set either in the 1940s or set in the present but related to the context of the events of WWII, the plot of A DEATH IN VIENNA is not a simple one - a complex trail of clues and events, intermingling of historical events with current day happenings, a seemingly endless cast of characters, the mystifying motives of political, racial and military imperatives and a literal maze of globetrotting travel and communication. Who's on whose side, why somebody is doing what they're doing, who's gunning for who, who's telling the truth and who's twisting the facts for their own unstated purposes is never obvious and a reader, if they hope to take anything away from the story, will have to pay close attention from first page to last.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that Silva's Nazi thriller stories are acceptable but not great in comparison with the likes of Jack Higgins or even Ken Follett, for example. But (and I believe this is much more important) this remarkable thriller also allows Silva to continue his story of the Eastern European death camps, the brutal genocide that was the Holocaust and the heartbreaking tale of one woman's courageous story. The way in which Silva tells the story of the plight of the Jewish people during the war, far from being a distracting side story or merely a side bar essay, lifts A DEATH IN VIENNA from a routine and probably unremarkable thriller to a moving and entirely outstanding tale of both mystery, passion and heartbreak.
Even if you are not a particularly big fan of the thriller genre, A DEATH IN VIENNA, as the culmination of the series that includes THE CONFESSOR and THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN, is well worth reading for the history and the back story alone. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Eli Lavon, an old friend of Gabriel Allon, Israeli master spy, lies near death, the victim of an explosion in the Wartime Claims and Inquiries office in Vienna. When Israeli spymaster, Ari Shamron, asks Allon to track down who was behind the bombing and bring them to justice, a twisted international trail of clues and history leads Allon to tales of his own mother's death march to Auschwitz and traces of Sturmbannführer Erich Radek, now living as Ludwig Vogel, a prominent high profile, wealthy and very influential businessman in Vienna. During the latter stages of WWII, when Hitler and all of his senior staff knew that Germany was losing the war to the squeeze between advancing western Allied and Russian forces, it was a sadistic, psychotic Radek's overwhelming and horrifying job to literally eradicate the existence of the Holocaust from history, to erase the evidence that it ever existed, to bury the camps and to destroy the bodies and mass burial sites.
Like many other spy vs spy espionage thrillers set either in the 1940s or set in the present but related to the context of the events of WWII, the plot of A DEATH IN VIENNA is not a simple one - a complex trail of clues and events, intermingling of historical events with current day happenings, a seemingly endless cast of characters, the mystifying motives of political, racial and military imperatives and a literal maze of globetrotting travel and communication. Who's on whose side, why somebody is doing what they're doing, who's gunning for who, who's telling the truth and who's twisting the facts for their own unstated purposes is never obvious and a reader, if they hope to take anything away from the story, will have to pay close attention from first page to last.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that Silva's Nazi thriller stories are acceptable but not great in comparison with the likes of Jack Higgins or even Ken Follett, for example. But (and I believe this is much more important) this remarkable thriller also allows Silva to continue his story of the Eastern European death camps, the brutal genocide that was the Holocaust and the heartbreaking tale of one woman's courageous story. The way in which Silva tells the story of the plight of the Jewish people during the war, far from being a distracting side story or merely a side bar essay, lifts A DEATH IN VIENNA from a routine and probably unremarkable thriller to a moving and entirely outstanding tale of both mystery, passion and heartbreak.
Even if you are not a particularly big fan of the thriller genre, A DEATH IN VIENNA, as the culmination of the series that includes THE CONFESSOR and THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN, is well worth reading for the history and the back story alone. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
ryodragon20's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
marlo_c's review against another edition
4.0
This is not my normal go-to genre. I usually lean toward historical fiction and biographies, so maybe it was the historical elements of this novel that made it so interesting to me. The thriller/spy factor was amped up by the interesting Nazi/Jew history that was woven into the story. It was compelling. I realize that this book is part of a series, but it was the first Silva book I've read. I plan on reading more.
jeg_a's review against another edition
2.0
Meh.
This read was only valuable to me in that it exposed me to some new ideas and themes around the Holocaust like the complicity of the Catholic Church and the Austrian government in aiding Nazis running from justice.
As a thriller/work of fiction is was uninspiring. Silva's treatment of women is extremely problematic. The plot seemed like it was more influenced by the author's desire to have Allon travel the world than anything else. It felt like Silva started with a list of locations and themes he had to get in and then built a weak plot to connect those dots. Allon's trip to Argentina was particularly perplexing and seemed to halt the progression of the story.
This is a mediocre work of fiction.
This read was only valuable to me in that it exposed me to some new ideas and themes around the Holocaust like the complicity of the Catholic Church and the Austrian government in aiding Nazis running from justice.
As a thriller/work of fiction is was uninspiring. Silva's treatment of women is extremely problematic. The plot seemed like it was more influenced by the author's desire to have Allon travel the world than anything else. It felt like Silva started with a list of locations and themes he had to get in and then built a weak plot to connect those dots. Allon's trip to Argentina was particularly perplexing and seemed to halt the progression of the story.
This is a mediocre work of fiction.
jecamp86's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not an emotional person especially when it comes to different kinds of media but I can’t help but be moved by this story and where it draws from. I’m not Jewish but I can tell you reading this book is uncomfortable bringing sadness and anger at atrocities that were committed not so long ago.
In terms of thriller and action the mystery wasn’t anything great and the action is light but the emotion and the meaning is where this book is so effective and why I gave it 5 stars.
In terms of thriller and action the mystery wasn’t anything great and the action is light but the emotion and the meaning is where this book is so effective and why I gave it 5 stars.
elisabethei85's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mpetruce's review against another edition
3.0
Gabriel Allon is back and fighting Nazis in Austria, who are alive and well and active (albeit very old). Still, an OK entry in the series. Silva seems to be painting countries' personalities -- mostly Austria, in this case -- with a pretty broad brush, but I don't really know enough about European politics to know what is more or less accurate or evocative and which is dramatic license.
One odd thing I notice about these books, considering they were written in the early 2000s, at least this one was, I get a sense that they should take place in the 90s or even the 80s. Judging by the timeline, Allon should be in his 50s (and his girlfriends seem to be half his age) yet he still bounces around like a kid. And hardly anyone has or uses a cell phone. Which is weird for the 21st century. Cell phones and email show up when they're needed to move the story ahead to a certain degree and then they disappear. It's not a huge problem, but it just feels kind of ... off.
One odd thing I notice about these books, considering they were written in the early 2000s, at least this one was, I get a sense that they should take place in the 90s or even the 80s. Judging by the timeline, Allon should be in his 50s (and his girlfriends seem to be half his age) yet he still bounces around like a kid. And hardly anyone has or uses a cell phone. Which is weird for the 21st century. Cell phones and email show up when they're needed to move the story ahead to a certain degree and then they disappear. It's not a huge problem, but it just feels kind of ... off.