Game of mirrors by Daniel Silva Analysis of the work!

"Mirror Game", an espionage novel that will keep you intrigued until the end of its pages. In this post we offer you an analysis of this interesting work and much more.

Synopsis of Mirror Games

"Mirror Game", is set in the time of World War II, focusing on a world of espionage with conflicts between MI5 and MI6. In mid-January 1994, when an allied attack on Continental Europe is threatened, knowing where the landing site will be is the priority for both sides.

Americans and British launch a plan to convince the Germans that the site is totally different from the one planned for "D" day (Normandy Landing). But what they do not know is that there is a hidden German network, ready to discover everything and gain the upper hand.

That's when the stories of two spies come together: Alfredo Vicary, a university professor enlisted in the counter-espionage services, who is chosen by Winston Churchill, to expose the dangerous traitor. And that of Catherine Blake, chosen by the Nazis to find out the plans of the Allies and to know everything about the landing.

Mirror Games: Prologue

Sometimes, seeing the cover and knowing the synopsis is not enough to start reading a novel. There are people, who tend to go beyond the appearance and a brief explanation of the plot. So, to generate more interest in this work, we offer you a performed part of its beginning.

In April 1944, a month and a half after the invasion of France, the Nazi propagandist William Joyce radioed a terrifying news story: "The Allies were building huge concrete structures in the south of England." The structures were to be transported across the English Channel during the impending invasion.

And Joyce, in the middle of her report says: “Well, we're going to help you guys. When they set sail with them, we'll save them the trouble and sink them along the way."

This was a warning to the British Intelligence Service and the Allied High Command. The Germans knew of their plans. Although not all, in fact, the structures that Joyce mentioned, were really part of a gigantic artificial port bound for Normandy.

The code name for this plan was: “Operation Mulberry”. However, if Hitler's spies really knew about the operation, there was the possibility of learning the most important secret of all: the exact time and place of the invasion.

These intrigues were only partially mitigated when American counterintelligence was able to intercept a message from the Japanese ambassador in Berlin to his superiors in Tokyo.

Reports about the preparations for the landing said that the Germans were convinced that the concrete structures were part of an anti-aircraft complex rather than an artificial harbor.

With this, doubts arise about whether German Intelligence had failed or if it was a misinterpretation of the data provided by its own information service. Or, in the worst case, someone cheated on them.

The hunt for information and strategy details begins, wrapping the characters in a web of lies, murder, and even some sex. "Mirror Game", becomes an interesting novel for lovers of the espionage genre.

Although there is some difficulty in its plot, the development of the characters, the excellent historical reconstruction of the time and the unfolding of the story itself, make this novel a read full of entertainment, suspense and many emotions. Before starting the first chapter of the novel, a phrase by Winston Churchill shines among the theme of the work:

"In war, the truth is so important that it must always be accompanied by a good escort of lies"

General reviews of "Mirror Game"

Certain aspects of this specimen must be taken into account:

1. Content density: With more than 300 pages, it repels many of the readers.
2. Excess of characters: when there is more than one story to tell, it becomes very difficult to keep track of the events and the protagonists of the story are hardly known in depth.
3. Inevitable comparisons: every literary genre tends to have a structure and probabilities regarding the behavior of some characters or certain events, etc. They tend to lead the reader to make comparisons with other novels.

In the case of "Mirror Game", some readers have been able to intuit certain similarities with novels written by Ken Follet and Frederick Forsyth, but this does not mean that Daniel Silva loses his essence and leaves his mark on his own works. If you want, you can also read a short summary of The silence of the White City.

Life and work of the author

Daniel Silva was born in Michigan, United States, on December 19, 1960. Of Portuguese descent and converted to Judaism at a young age, he was educated in Carolina where he studied a Master's in International Relations.

But these studies were abandoned. By having a professional offer of journalism, in the news agency United Press International (UPI) at the San Francisco headquarters in 1984. A year later, he is transferred to Washington DC and two years later he is transferred to Cairo as a correspondent.

Silva returns to Washington to work at CNN, as a producer of different television programs. In 1994, he began writing what would be his first novel: “The Unlikely Spy” ("Mirror Game"), which was published three years later.

From there, the author decides to focus on his literary career after the success of his novel. Silva delves into the espionage and mystery genre, causing a lot of intrigue in all the written pages that he offers in his novels.

"Mirror Game", published in 1997, by the Grijalbo publishing house, became Bestseller, unleashing the fame and talent of this writer.

Among his works we can find a whole list:

• "The mark of the assassin" - 1999.
• “October” (The Marching Season) – 2001.
• “The Confessor” – 2005.
• “The man from Vienna” (A Death in Vienna) – 2006.
• “The rules of the game” (Moscow Rules) – 2012.
• “The English Girl” – 2015.
• “The robbery” – 2015.
• “The English Spy” – 2016.
• "The Black Widow" - 2017.
• “House of spies” – 2018.
• “The other Woman” – 2019.
• The new girl – 2020.
• “The Order” – 2021.

What to read?

Having covered all about "Mirror Game", we will mention three of his most outstanding works so that you can begin to form a list of the novels that you have to read by Daniel Silva.

The rules of the game

Just by reading the catchy promotional phrase: "The rules of the game have changed. It's time to learn them or die." You will want to know the story behind this novel.

Gabriel Allon, is a retired veteran spy, who is dedicated to the restoration of works of art for the Vatican, is forced to resume his work as an assassin when a journalist dies violently in post-communist Russia. Allon returns to the place, where corruption and all the mafias that exist in political and economic power are in an atmosphere of tension and violence.

When the Mossad and the CIA discover that a powerful Russian arms dealer is about to make a delivery to Al Qaeda, Western intelligence agencies create a device to avert the disaster that a world war could bring. Allon takes charge of the operation, but he has to proceed with caution and following the rules of a game that his opponents have agreed on.

The other woman

In a small isolated town in the mountains of Malaga, a mysterious woman from France has begun to write her memoirs. She begins with the story of a man she met in Beirut and grew to love. And of his son, who was taken from him for treason.

Among these memories, the woman contains nothing more and nothing less than the Kremlin's best kept secret: a decade ago the KGB infiltrated a double agent in the very heart of the West. A mole that today is at the gates of absolute power.

And only Gabriel Allon, legendary art restorer and assassin, can unravel this conspiracy. He and the Russians will have an epic final confrontation that will define the fate of the world we know.

The order

Gabriel Allon enjoys a well-deserved vacation in Venice with his family. But the peace and quiet end when Pope Paul VII dies suddenly, and the Holy Father's private secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati, summons him to Rome. The whole world has been informed of the Pope's death, the cause of which was a heart attack. However, Donati has reason to think otherwise.

1. The Swiss guard who protected the pontifical rooms casually disappeared the night of the death.
2. The letter that the Pope wrote the night before he died was addressed to Gabriel Allon.

It should be noted that Gabriel Allon is a character who gave international fame to Daniel Silva and has appeared in several novels such as: "The Heist", "The English Spy", "The Black Widow", "The House of Spies", Among others.

It could be said that he is a kind of "Sherlock Holmes", but being a highly qualified spy to fight the Soviets. If you enjoy reading another genre such as crime novels. We recommend you: Knots and crosses: Synopsis, argument and more.