Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've read all 21 of the Allon books. After finishing #20 (The Order--which was the worst one in the series and marked a steep drop off from the previous 19 novels), I intended to stop reading the series based on Cellist reviews. I held out for a while but eventually gave in (with the belief that no Silva novel could be as bad as the reviews). But The Cellist was even worse than the reviews described! It took me months to read it because I had to force myself just to get through it to the end…I would go weeks without reading it because the story wasn't good enough to care...and the story got worse as it went along…and the ending was preposterous and amateurish. And what a waste of a story to end the life of Viktor Orlov--an interesting character from all of the Russian-themed stories. How could the publisher approve this self-indulgent WAPO/NYT op-ed-esque excuse of a novel? Does the publisher just accept whatever Silva turns in? Maybe a 6-week rewrite before the deadline was not in the best interest of the book or considerate of his audience (who come from both sides of the political divide)? And why include Covid and politics and the politics of Covid in a series based on an escapist spy series centered around an old, skinny, short superhero who can pull a gun out of his waistband faster than it takes most men to clap their hands...and who can pick any lock and penetrate any security system...and can restore old paintings...and can take any beating (and get shot point blank multiple times as in this novel) and still make a full recovery? His graying of the temples seems to be the only physical, long-term ailment he’s ever had. His hands remain steady through old age no matter how many beatings he takes. Since Feb 2019 through present, we (the Silva fan base who pay for his lifestyle of traveling around the world with his family to research his novels) have been saturated with Covid and politics. We read Silva's book as escapism entertainment not further saturation! This book would be equivalent to returning to the movie theaters to see the new James Bond movie with 007 wearing a mask on screen!??? If Silva really needed to lean in on the Covid angle, then make it interesting--there were multiple real-world reports of Mossad traveling to China for supplies and taking a lead in developing, testing and implementing the vaccine in Israel. A Gabriel Allon mission in China would stand out from any other book in the series and feature numerous, juicy plot options (such as exploring the lab theory and getting into the China/Russia connection). And if Silva also needed to include the Oct. 6 events, then ask for an extension from the publisher and release the book in the fall instead of summer...make that a central part of the plot (instead of having “the insurrection” be something that the story’s characters watched on TV from a 10-hour time zone away). And on the subject of characters watching TV, having the cellist character—while she’s getting dressed to go risk her life as a civilian covert operative--turn on the TV in Geneva or wherever she was to follow coverage of the US presidential election was ridiculous and beyond the boundaries of believability even for an escapist novel. Silva frequently violated the “show, don’t tell” tenet of good novel writing. This book (like The Order) had a lot of those little instances…as if the author used every opportunity to show loyalty to his political tribe even at the expense of good writing. And in his afterword notes, Silva says his characters are not based on any real people (or something to that effect). Yet he names CNN’s Anderson Cooper by name and “Republican Liz Cheney” by name in the book. He didn’t name Trump and Biden but didn’t have to because his descriptions were obvious (and blatant in the author’s preference…you would think Trump’s military strike that killed Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani would be something the Director of Israel’s security service would applaud…but I guess Covid and US right-wing politicians are a bigger threat to Israel now than Iran? This despite conservative’s consistent support for Israel and left criticism of Israel, such as the online vitriol toward actress Gal Gadot because she served in the IDF ). In interviews about The Cellist, Silva claims that he pulls from real events in his stories. Yet in this story, a Republican Congresswoman tries to assassinate Allon and instead of the President Trump ordering strikes to kill Iranian Generals, Trump calls Putin to warn him about the cellist covert operative! Meanwhile, in the real world, in the United States, there were 683 hate crimes against Jews in 2020 and 963 in 2019 (according to adl.org). I would think that would be more important to Silva than Covid and politics. It seems the Allon character has run its course and Silva is just writing about what interests him (which is no longer Mossad or Israeli security). Perhaps Silva should end the Allon character and start a new series based on Christopher Keller—who is a more interesting character than Allon since Keller’s introduction into the series. Silva’s next novel is “Portrait of an Unknown Woman.” Unless the reviews (from people who have actually read the book, not those who give 5 stars before they even read the first page) show Silva has returned to form, he will be "Portrait of an Unknown Author" to me going forward.