Monday, September 24, 2012

Gabriel Allon?

I've had many people ask me if David Slaton, the protagonist in The Perfect Assassin, is modeled after Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon character. There are numerous similarities: both are Israeli assassins who work for a surly spymaster. The truth, however, is that we developed the character at essentially the same time. I began writing The Perfect Assassin in 1998, but it was not first published until 2005. The first Gabriel Allon book was, I believe, released in 2001, and I didn't actually read it until roughly two years later, at which point I was trying to sell the completed manuscript.
I have great respect for Silva's writing, and I think he is a class act. All the same, there are substantial differences between the characters and writing styles, and with the greater message behind the stories. Bottom line? With a hundred literary heroes out there who are former U.S. Special Forces, I think there must be room for two from Israel.

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