The Order audiobook

Daniel Silva once again reminds readers why he’s one of the most gifted novelists of our time with his latest must-read thriller, The Order.It was supposed to be a vacation. A badly needed, week-long trip to relax and recharge. And after years of dedicated service that has no doubt taken a major tol

another excellent Gabriel Allon story ... in this one, Silva portrays the Catholic Church's horrible 2000 year history of Jew hatred and persecution, without which it is doubtful there would ever have been a Holocaust ... a hatred, by the way, based on utter nonsense incorporated into the Christian Gospels and later the Catholic liturgy, and perpetuated to support the political goals of the church and its leaders ... Vatican II (1965) changed the liturgy but the Gospels remain as evil as ever in their hatred of JewsI have dealt with the same themes in my novels, particularly The Heretic, and am doing so again in my new in-process novel.

Another outstanding piece of literatureI am a huge fan of Daniel Silva and The Order was another masterpiece. I found it suspenseful, historically accurate where it should be and a wonderful touch of fiction also where necessary to move the plot forward. I felt it a timely piece to address the issues no one wants to talk about in public. Read it, enjoy it, treasure the talented man who penned this.

For almost 2000 years, the Jews have been blamed for the death of Jesus. What if the gospel of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect that ordered the death of Jesus on the cross, existed? What would it reveal? The gospels are taken at face value by millions of people, yet many scholars and historians question their accuracy. For example, the author wrote that four of the gospels differently described the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus. Gabriel Allon, head of the Israeli secret intelligence service, is vacationing in Venice with his family. Gabriel is brought in to investigate the death of the pope, the disappearance of a Swiss Guard, and a missing letter and book. Alleged Islamic terrorist attacks are occurring in Berlin during a contested Chancellor election. Anti-Semitism is on the rise. The conclave is convening to pick the new pope. I have read the entire series and always look forward to the latest addition. Gabriel and his team get the job done no matter the barriers or timetable. An enjoyable read, but I found, without spoiling the details, that some of the scenes were implausible, especially within the Vatican. What if blaming the Jews for the death of Jesus is the longest lie that was perpetuated by the role of the Catholic Church? Would the awful and hateful Antisemitism that has continued to plague the Jews to this day exist? The author did a lot of research and listed many books and articles in his acknowledgments.

Bot this was a hard book to give a rating to lol. It kept going around in circles in my head as I read this book lol. I have read all 2o books lol. For starters this is not a typical Allon book. It is light and much leaner than recent books more like a earlier book in the series. I think it is the only book where his former boss is not mentioned thank god lol. His agency and his key support group played a very small part in this book it was mainly him and a friend from other books in the series. I was also glad to see his own personal religous and political views were kept out of the book for the most part-3 or 4 books ago he was getting some severe back lash for that and I was in that group. i was almost ready to give up on the series. Like I said this book is a lot leaner and has a quick pace to it. There is not a lot of your typical intense action that comes with this series-very low key. If this was my first book in the series I might have found it boring. I always say read a series in its proper order. I saw a couple of complaints where the book was bogged down in religion too much.I kind of agree with this-there was a about a 15 page section wow where I did not need lol. I will say it was a nice read and flowed well. The story was pretty good but not a normal story for this series. I gave it 4.0 stars on the dot, it was good enough to get that. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. This book also started the forshadowing in a big way of Allon retiring. I would like to see him have to deal with a bad Jewish/ Israel person or a double agent Jewish / Israel person .I am not sure he as the balls for that lol. I do say go ahead and give this book a big spin you will not be let down especially if you are a fan of the series.

The Pope is dead. While he was indeed ailing his private secretary, Gabriel’s longtime friend, Archbishop Luigi Donati, suspects the Pope did not die of natural causes and contacts Gabriel for assistance in finding the truth.Gabriel and his family are on a long overdue vacation in Venice but because of his long association with Donati and the Vatican he cannot refuse to help, nor does he want to!As clues unfold it becomes urgent that the truth be uncovered and exposed before the next Conclave begins.The writing is taunt as per all previous Allon novels. Each novel can be read as a stand-alone but it is so much more entertaining if the reader has read previous Allon books.Daniel Silva has not written an Allon novel that does not give the reader much to ponder. Always there is a historical factor involved and the author goes to great pains to offer the reader the historical facts in his author’s notes. The reader would be remiss in not reading those Notes.

As a frequent reviewer of soon-to-be released books, mostly from authors I've never heard of before, I'm always amazed at how good they are. It's rare, in fact, for me to give less than four stars out of the maximum five. Here and there, though, I try to work in something from a favorite author, usually one from a favorite series - like this one.And it is then that I realized the difference between good and, well, as perfect as a book can get. The writing is superb as always, and it doesn't hurt that it features Israeli spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon, who's held the No. 1 spot on my all-time book "hero" list ever since he was written into existence.It starts off with a shocker: The Pope, a good friend of Gabriel, is found dead. The official line is that he died of natural causes, but another of Gabriel's long-time friends, an archbishop and personal secretary to the Pope, thinks otherwise and asks Gabriel to meet him in Rome to discuss the matter. Among the topics is a not-so-secret organization called the Order of St. Helena, which is comprised of ultra-conservative Catholics, including some who live and work as Vatican higher-ups. Also on the agenda is the presumed existence of a priceless historical book - one that could hold the power to bring the Catholic church to its knees. Needless to say, Gabriel is intrigued; despite his beautiful and talented wife Chiara's misgivings about his giving up hard-earned vacation time, he agrees to at least look into things.Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Before long, Gabriel is up to his unusually green eyes in a dangerous endeavor, for which he asks for help from the crew from his Israeli agency (always happy to see their appearance together with more-than-usual involvement from Chiara). The action part seems a little slower and, to a degree, less physically dangerous than usual, but then let's face it: after 19 other books, Gabriel isn't exactly a spring chicken anymore and has the good sense to avoid potentially life-threatening confrontations when possible. Be advised, too, that the story has a political bent; if you believe the current U.S. leadership represents the Second Coming, or believe every word in the Bible is sacred truth that must be interpreted literally, you may take issue with parts of this book. Neither is an issue for me - and few topics intrigue me more than the history of Judaism and Christianity. Only hunger (my husband's, not mine) that forced me into the kitchen kept me from polishing off this one off nonstop.The ending brings a bit of a surprise, plus a few hints about what the future might hold for Gabriel, Chiara and their young twins. I'm already chomping at the bit for the next one so I can find out how all that plays out.

I received a complimentary copy of The Order with the understanding that I would review it honestly and honestly and without too many spoilers is what I promise. The Pope dies. That is not a spoiler! That is the reason for everything else that transpires. Conveniently Gabriel Allon is on a much needed vacation from The Office in Venice which was covertly planned by his beautiful wife Chiara. The plan and we all know about the best laid plans is for him to spend time relaxing, restoring famous masters and enjoying his family in the city he loves. But he's in Italy at the same time the Pope whom he also loves, and saved from terrorists, dies. Or was he murdered? And Why? And that's where those best laid plans go awry or shall we say flushed.There transpires the usual cloak and dagger and Gabriel being pulled into an investigation that he tries to avoid. This time his wife is there with him. And since she's a former Office trained agent and watcher who also has a history degree and knows how to use a gun so who better to help. Of course they can't do this alone and with the help of the Pope's trusted Secretary Luigi Donati and the usual cast and characters of Rome and The Office he is able to track down the truth about the death or was it murder? Instead of the politics of Washington, Russia and the UK (and believe me that's a relief because we can always catch up with that on CNN and that world famous journalist) this is about the politics of The Holy Catholic Church which has a 2000 year history of politics and cover-ups and murders to uncover dating back to the first murder; i.e. Jesus Christ. And The Holy Mother Church and all the right wing Popes who will do anything to ensure that they continue in power and that another upstart like The Accidental Pope does not assume the Papacy. They, of course, have powerful political pawns in other European countries who are depending on them to right the ship, no pun intended there, and to keep it 'right'. Germany, Italy, France all have politicians who play into this and there's money involved. Big money of course and the people who believe that the right must prevail and religion be damned; they will do anything to ensure that they take the Papacy through bribery and ensure that the countries of Europe return to the policies of their idol; Adolf Hitler. Neo-Nazism never dies; it just hides. As we used to say in the US in 1970's 'power corrupts; absolutely power corrupts absolutely'.Of course, there is a book to find. A lost gospel so to speak that the Right has to keep hidden because it would show them for the power hungry, right wing anti-Semites that they are. They've managed with the help of The Order to keep it hidden until The Accidental Pope discovers it with the help of someone like me who has a foot in both Catholicism and Judaism. Because I grew up hearing the stories of Italy and Facism and corruption of the Church and knowing that sometimes Jews hid in plain sight, this story made so much sense to me. It was logical as well as thrilling. Find the book, find the true story of that first murder and you have a chance to end the hatred and right the wrongs of history. Silva does that while keeping you on the edge of your seat. If you've never read any of the series you can still read The Order; there are enough references to the backgrounds of all the players without getting bogged down in minutiae and boring long time readers. Personally, I'm fond of the Easter Eggs that he drops in there. The 'famous journalist', the names of people the author loves (Nicholas in one form or another because that's his son's name). My favorite writing tool the author uses is repetition of phrases. They are always meaningful, well placed and definitely never overdone. In addition to finding the lost book (gospel?) and the murderer? Gabriel Allon, who at heart is a yenta and a restorer of souls as well as Old Masters finds a way into a love triangle and a way to restore at least one soul to its rightful place. Not everyone gets to be a Pope.This one is my absolute favorite in the Gabriel Allon series.

Daniel Silva continues to earn his title as "master of the genre". Once again, Silva manages to weave engaging story lines with philosophical discussion about incredibly complex and nuanced topics, all the while challenging our notions of what we think about a range of subject matter.As we follow Gabriel and Donati (a personal favorite) through some of my (and Gabriel's) favorite cities, they unravel mysteries pertaining to both ancient and not so distant history, in an attempt to fend off an internal attack at the very heart of Catholicism. The political game of chess both within and without the church is riveting. Silva also brings his almost professorial style to the novel as he delves into the possible root of antisemitism and the philosophical battles The Church and it's followers must face. Do we hold to the interpretations of traditional doctrines or evolve our beliefs to fit the modern world?As a bit of icing on the cake, we are also able to catch a glimpse into a possible future for Gabriel and his wonderful family once his term at the helm of The Office is over. The return to a previous career/hobby has me anxiously waiting for the next installment.It is an exciting time in the Allon universe and I can't wait to see what my favorite author has in store for us.

In the bars where locals gathered for coffee or a glass of brandy against the autumn chill, one rarely heard the dead pontiff’s name. Cynical by nature, few Venetians bothered to attend Mass on a regular basis, and fewer still lived their lives in accordance with the teachings of the men from the Vatican. The churches of Venice, the most beautiful in all of Christendom, were places where foreign tourists went to gawk at Renaissance art.Gabriel Allon, Director-general of the Israeli intelligence service, is on holiday in Venice with his family when he hears of the death of his friend, Pope Paul VII. Located on the lagoon at the norther end of the Adriatic, Venice is closer to Croatia than Rome – and his second wife, Ciara, daughter of the Chief Rabbi, is viewing apartments, hoping they will relocate there when Gabriel retires.Although the Pope was not in the best of health, his private secretary Archbishop Luigi Donati, has lingering doubts about the circumstances of the Pontiff’s death, given he was with him earlier that evening, and the half-hearted attempts to notify him. Mystery too surrounds the disappearance of the young Swiss Guard at the Pope’s chambers.The background here is the resurgence of the Far Right across Europe – inflamed by terrorist attacks in Germany. The upcoming Conclave to select the Pope’s successor is seen as an opportunity to align the Papacy with their political interests, in the same way that the papacy of Pious XII appeared to overlook the Third Reich’s genocide of the Jews, in the belief that the threat from communism was the greater evil.When Tel Aviv tracks the missing Swiss Guard’s mobile phone to Florence where he has gone to ground, Gabriel and Luigi try to intercept him before he can be silenced. His wallet leads them to a town in Switzerland, the influence of radical Catholic priests known as the Order of St Helena, and a smuggled letter the Pope was writing addressed to Gabriel.Therein the tale gets murky. Evidence found in the secret Vatican archives casts doubt on the Gospels of the New Testament, underpinning Christianity. Written centuries after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the works were selective, casting guilt on the Jewish masses, and indirectly fomenting anti-Semitism. This ‘undiscovered’ work, claimed to be written by Pontius Pilate, prelate of Judea and sent to Tiberias – turns this on its head.Published in 2020, author Daniel Silva was unable to travel due to COVID restrictions, and he draws heavily on previous novels set in Rome, Venice, Switzerland and Bavaria. The papal cover-up appears to be backed up by a volume of research – perhaps over years. The novel principally follows Gabriel and Luigi as they race to thwart the plans of “The Order” ahead of the Conclave, but includes a cameo appearance by General Cesare Ferrari, commander of the carabinieri’s “Art Squad” tracking down stolen art, introduces Colonel Alois Metzler, commandant of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, and features another character from his earlier books.Gabriel rang a friend who worked for the NDB, Switzerland’s small but capable foreign intelligence and internal security service. The friend, whose name was Christoph Bittel, was the head of the counterterrorism division. He answered guardedly. Gabriel had a long and distinguished track record in Switzerland. Bittel was still cleaning up the mess from his last visit.His own team “the Office” – specialising in abduction and interrogation – arrive in Munich for the heavy lifting. There is a lot of background but the author avoids drowning the reader in detail by the use of shorter chapters - although I found the fairy tale ending a bit far-fetched, this one was another good read.