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frasersimons 's review for:
The Cellist
by Daniel Silva
The fact that this is review bombed by people claiming Silva is “inserting his own politics” was what made me pick this up. I had not heard of this series at all previously. I just had to know what people were talking about because this is a espionage thriller. What is inherently more political and propagandist than that in commercial American literature? Maybe war and military fiction directly? Not much else…
Imagine my surprise when, upon reading this I found it to be completely serviceable commercial fiction espionage thriller, in line with all the others I’ve read. Though this is the first from this author, specifically. It’s frenetically paced, accessible, standard in prose work, and has a slightly contrived plot. Pretty much what I expected.
Set in contemporary times, the fiction is far more critical of foreign powers, specifically certain Russians, than Trump, which in comparison is handled with complete kid gloves. Towards the very, very end other factors, foreshadowed, come to bare. But primarily that is to do with qanon. Trump in relation to the disturbing American phenomenon is referenced in regards to playing into the fracturing of political parties and rhetorics. Or perhaps a certain congresswoman embroiled in the plot had people angry?
Either way, I think it’s good at vilifying powerful figures and political thought in both countries, ultimately. It’s message is decent and the handling of subjects completely fair. Especially in a genre where literally each person is the embodiment of a political machination, butting up against another. To believe that any of the works in the genre are apolitical is indefensible and absurd. And to be critical of components of the political apparatus is, arguably, what this genre has always been about. Baffling.
And then, in the end, Silva provides actual citations, where he voices his own opinions concluded from the evidence he cites. That section is completely divorced from the fiction. It’s not any of the characters voicing any of it whatever. It’s like reading an introduction or afterward and then conflating it with the actual fiction. I doubt most of these reviewers even bothered to read the book. Laughable.
Imagine my surprise when, upon reading this I found it to be completely serviceable commercial fiction espionage thriller, in line with all the others I’ve read. Though this is the first from this author, specifically. It’s frenetically paced, accessible, standard in prose work, and has a slightly contrived plot. Pretty much what I expected.
Set in contemporary times, the fiction is far more critical of foreign powers, specifically certain Russians, than Trump, which in comparison is handled with complete kid gloves. Towards the very, very end other factors, foreshadowed, come to bare. But primarily that is to do with qanon. Trump in relation to the disturbing American phenomenon is referenced in regards to playing into the fracturing of political parties and rhetorics. Or perhaps a certain congresswoman embroiled in the plot had people angry?
Either way, I think it’s good at vilifying powerful figures and political thought in both countries, ultimately. It’s message is decent and the handling of subjects completely fair. Especially in a genre where literally each person is the embodiment of a political machination, butting up against another. To believe that any of the works in the genre are apolitical is indefensible and absurd. And to be critical of components of the political apparatus is, arguably, what this genre has always been about. Baffling.
And then, in the end, Silva provides actual citations, where he voices his own opinions concluded from the evidence he cites. That section is completely divorced from the fiction. It’s not any of the characters voicing any of it whatever. It’s like reading an introduction or afterward and then conflating it with the actual fiction. I doubt most of these reviewers even bothered to read the book. Laughable.