#1 New York Times Bestseller • #1 Wall Street Journal BestsellerFrom Daniel Silva, the internationally acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author, comes a riveting new thriller featuring art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon.It was nearly one a.m. by the time he crawled into bed. Chiara was reading a novel, oblivious to the television, which was muted. On the screen was a live shot of … into bed. Chiara was reading a novel, oblivious to the television, which was muted. On the screen was a live shot of St. Peter’s Basilica. Gabriel raised the volume and learned that an old friend had died …
Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into Venice for a much-needed holiday with his wife and two young children. But when Pope Paul VII dies suddenly, Gabriel is summoned to Rome by the Holy Father’s loyal private secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati. A billion Catholic faithful have been told that the pope died of a heart attack. Donati, however, has two good reasons to suspect his master was murdered. The Swiss Guard who was standing watch outside the papal apartments the night of the pope’s death is missing. So, too, is the letter the Holy Father was writing during the final hours of his life. A letter that was addressed to Gabriel.
While researching in the Vatican Secret Archives, I came upon a most remarkable book …
The book is a long-suppressed gospel that calls into question the accuracy of the New Testament’s depiction of one of the most portentous events in human history. For that reason alone, the Order of St. Helena will stop at nothing to keep it out of Gabriel’s hands. A shadowy Catholic society with ties to the European far right, the Order is plotting to seize control of the papacy. And it is only the beginning.
As the cardinals gather in Rome for the start of the conclave, Gabriel sets out on a desperate search for proof of the Order’s conspiracy, and for a long-lost gospel with the power to put an end to two thousand years of murderous hatred. His quest will take him from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, to a monastery in Assisi, to the hidden depths of the Secret Archives, and finally to the Sistine Chapel, where he will witness an event no outsider has ever before seen—the sacred passing of the Keys of St. Peter to a newly elected pope.
Swiftly paced and elegantly rendered, The Order will hold readers spellbound, from its opening passages to its breathtaking final twist of plot. It is a novel of friendship and faith in a perilous and uncertain world. And it is still more proof that Daniel Silva is his generation’s finest writer of suspense and international intrigue.
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Only Daniel Silva could write the complexity of the Jewish/Catholic religions in a novel that contains all the twists and turns to makes very interesting story.
Good, but not quite as good as previous novels in this series. Worth reading just not top notch.
I’ve read the whole series and just love Gabriel Allon and his little family. I’ve learned some Israeli history and enjoyed seeing the world from that perspective. The cast of characters is terrific and consistent through the series, like old friends.
Not giving anything away. I read every book of his!
About the inner workings of the Catholic Church. Very complicated & really bogs down.
I always read whatever Daniel Silva puts out but for some reason this was tough reading. Can’t really put a finger on any one thing. Perhaps it was all the Italian names and I found it hard to keep up with everyone. I will say that it got better the closer I got to the end. So if you like Silva, you should read it and decide for yourself.
Wanders off main theme.
Overall, good read
I like this character and the plot is interesting. Recommend
Not his best – he clearly was making a personal statement through this book. Informative but at times a bit much.
Another excellent page-turner in the Gabriel Allon series!!
Book Review: The Order by Daniel Silva (2020) (Fiction) 3 Stars ***
Shades of Dan Brown, blending facts with fiction so the reader doesn’t know what’s a fact and what’s a dramatic plot element with no basis in reality. Daniel Silva is known for his thrilling spy novels; this book is not one of them. Instead, we have what’s just short of a diatribe attacking the Catholic Church for establishing the erroneous belief that the Jews were responsible for the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That’s the point of the book. The defense offered is the make-believe Gospel of Pontius Pilate whereby Pontius Pilate maintains it was the Romans who were responsible. After the book is finished, in the Author’s Notes, we are told the Book of Pontius Pilate and the Order of St. Helena do not exist but if they did, events would happen as they did in the book. Come on, Daniel, get a grip.
Plot? Gabriel Allon, the god-like international Israeli spy/ assassin/art restorer/Mossad leader goes to Venice, Italy for a much needed vacation with his beautiful, understanding wife and his perfectly behaved children. Gabriel’s ties to the Vatican go way back, as does his friendship with the Pope and Archbishop Luigi Donati. The Pope summons Gabriel to Rome to discuss the secret Gospel of Pontius Pilate, but before Gabriel can meet with His Holiness, a tragedy occurs. The Order—the reactionary Order of St. Helena—is intent upon changing the course of the Catholic Church. It is now Gabriel’s mission to hunt these ruthless people down and cut off their power. In the end, wrongs are made right, and Gabriel gets his vacation after all.
In the book, Gabriel Allon affirms his respect for the Catholic Church. On a SALT podcast interview conducted by Anthony Scaramucci, Daniel Silva maintains his gratitude for the Catholic Church because of the shared beliefs and history of Catholicism and Judaism. Silva believes that, despite its internal problems, the world is a better place because of the acts of kindness and social justice practiced by the Catholic Church and its congregations. He says he would not want to live in a world where the Catholic Church does not exist. Hmmm. But, yet …
This being said, one of the characters maintains that the teachings of the Catholic Church were directly responsible for the extermination of the Jews by Hitler. “I’m afraid there is a straight line between the teachings of the early Church and the gas chambers and crematoria of Auschwitz. To maintain otherwise is to engage in what Thomas Aquinas called an ignorantia affectata. A willful ignorance.”
Silva says Catholics, as well as other Christians, blame the Jews for the death of Christ. But yet, he conveniently forgets that 3,000,000 Catholics were also killed by Hitler, specially Poles, and also gypsies, and the disabled. The Holocaust was not limited to Jews—a fact often conveniently forgotten and not reiterated. I do not believe Hitler ever referred to Jews as Christ killers, so he was obviously motivated by other factors.
Silva maintains that the Catholic Church, with its hierarchy emanating from the Vatican in Rome, could have done more to protect Jews during the Holocaust. How? Italy, in addition to at least nine other European countries were occupied by the merciless shoot-first-ask-questions-later Nazi regime. Italy’s Benito Mussolini chose to ally himself and his country with Hitler and the Axis powers, much to the dismay of the great majority of the Italian people. Italians were forced to fight against the Allies until Mussolini was removed from power then shot and killed, whereby allowing Italy to fight on the side of the Allies. Great Britain and the then Soviet Union were under seige from Nazi forces, fighting for their lives to prevent Nazi occupation. Tiny South American localities were overrun by Nazis seeking anonymity in hiding as they continued to plot the demise of the United States from their new South American vantage point.
In the meanwhile, European Jews did little to fight back against Nazi atrocities, using appeasement and attempted exodus from their homelands as a means to survival. These strategies only went so far. With Europe and the rest of the world in chaos with people fighting for food, shelter, and protection from firing squads and bombing raids, how could Daniel Silva or anyone who supports his thinking expect these war torn countries to save the Jews when they could barely save themselves? But yet, we know many thousands of Jews were saved and harbored by the Catholics and other Christians of Europe despite prevailing horrendous conditions.
Silva contradicts himself numerous times. Accuse, then take it back—a little. Puhleeeze!
For example, this dialogue from the book: “Do you know how many Muslim immigrants there are in Europe? In one generation, maybe two at the most, Germany will be an Islamic country. France and the Netherlands, too. Can you imagine what life will be like for the Jews then?”
“Why don’t you leave us out of it and explain to me how you’re going to get rid of twenty-five million Muslims.”
“By encouraging them to leave.”
“And if they don’t?”
We know anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe, especially in France where Jews are fleeing to Israel. We also know it’s the Muslims perpetrating this behavior, not Catholics or other Christians. I suppose Silva is afraid of a Fatwa against his life if he would dare to write a book about Jews being persecuted by Muslims. Catholics make an easier target: He trusts the Catholic Church will take it on the chin, turn the other cheek, and ignore accusations. So far, he’s been right.
I attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten to 12th Grade and was never taught to hate Jews, only Satan. We were taught that the Jews encouraged the Romans, but no one hates the Romans either. Any such hatred would be a personal opinion, not a systemic teaching.
Besides all of this religious finger pointing, the book has too many words, too many details about nothing important, a less than exciting premise, and is ho-hum from an action standpoint. This book is no political thriller.
Possibly my favorite writer. This is spectacular and built with each page. A must read!
I’ve read all of his books. This was not one of his best.
I’ve read all the Silva books. This one is ok but does not live up to the others in terms of plot or character
One of the best authors writing today. I learn something about the middle east conflict every time I read one of his books.
I always LOVE Silva
Not much uncertainty in these books. When you’re backed by an extraordinary cast of Israeli hackers and accomplished agents how can you fail? Lots of good background info though. Worthwhile.
Another page-turner from Daniel Silva as he brings Gabriel Allon back to Rome, scene of some of his greatest achievements in both art and spycraft. The book starts with the death of a pope, and that’s not a spoiler. The machinations of the Vatican and international finance grow intertwined and complicated and Gabriel and his team are working against the clock to find the truth.
There’s a touch of the supernatural, not surprising in a book about two religions whose conflict and history of bloodshed goes back two millennia. Like the author in his afterward, I recommend the history Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews for an in-depth study of the longest hatred, and Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust on how it took ordinary, every day people to bring about the near-destruction of European jewry in WWII.
This author can be counted upon to always deliver great stories that are extremely satisfying. Action, adventure, geopolitics, thriller, history, culture and fabulous characters are the elements always in abundance in any read from this great author.
Silva was a good spy novelist but not much of a crime writer. I do wonder why with our country so divided he has chosen to attack the Catholic Church and all of Christianity. People who gave this book five stars are easily entertained. Very predictable