prince of fire

The Prince of Fire is a Gabriel Allon novel from 2005 I found on my bookshelf, so it’s from an earlier stage in the overall story arc. It was interesting to go back and read this installment after reading some of the more recent efforts; it read like a prequel, but one that wasn’t forced. If you have the opportunity to back and infill one of the holes in a series like this, I’d recommend it based on this experience.

Allon as a character is not yet completely jelled and his position in his organization and in the larger world of spycraft is still developing. Much of the history that goes into making Allon what he is in the current books is playing out here in this earlier story. Silva, as an author seems a little younger, perhaps more excited, and to me, it seems as though he’s not as jaded about the plight of Israel as he appears to be in this one.

Allon’s work as an art restorer and his personal relationships keep him human in a way not often shown in spy novels and I wonder if that’s because other authors in the genre don’t bother to fill in these details or if it’s just not possible to have a life that keeps one human, grounded and whole when you also have to do this job. Maybe it’s wishful that Allon’s only loss is his inability to create original works of art. I don’t remember the back story exactly—it wasn’t part of this story—but I think it may be that he doesn’t trust himself to create new art for fear of the horror that may emerge on the canvas.

Allon’s complexity is his strong suit as a character and it’s what brings me back to this series.