What readers think of The Angel's Game, plus links to write your own review.

How does he do it? Another masterpiece from Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Another brilliant homage to books and reading. Another novel rich with language, amazing characters, and fraught with mystery and adventure. If you liked The Shadow of the Wind;, you will love The Angel's Game. As I read the last page of The Angel's Game tonight I literally closed the book and whispered “Oh, my God.” And if Señor Zafon holds true to his word from an interview several years ago, The Angel's Game; is only the second of a quartet of novels he has planned with beautiful Barcelona as their backdrop. And lest we forget her, kudos to Lucia Graves who translated both The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game. Please Señor Zafon never stop writing!

If you were a fan of Zafon’s first book “The Shadow of the Wind,” then pull up a comfortable chair, turn off the phone, and get the popcorn and snacks ready because you’re in for another treat. He brings us a mesmerizing Gothic tale of lost love, good and evil, and the power of books.

The story unfolds as told by the main character and narrator, David Martin, a writer, who writes crime stories for a newspaper and thrillers in installments. It takes place in Barcelona, Spain, in the early 1900’s (1917 – 1945). It’s quite a complicated story with many twists and turns. He makes a rather fateful agreement with a nefarious publisher and his life changes forever. His style is very elegant and lyrical and, as with a lot of Spanish/Latin writers, with a great deal of mysticism. I was particularly struck with his use of irony and wit throughout. His use of language is wonderful and he has a way of making you actually see and feel the surroundings. I felt that the plot line of this novel was not as good as the previous work, and I got a little bogged down in the middle, but all in all, “The Angel’s Game” was a fantastic read.

Although this novel includes the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, it is not a sequel to the author’s popular novel The Shadow of the Wind. It is set in Barcelona and includes many elements of a gothic horror story: old houses, hidden rooms, secrets, decay and mysterious characters. The reader can decide if the book includes any ghosts. Zafon is a really good story teller. The descriptive passages about views of the city from various vantage points make it almost like a surrealistic travel log. Many book clubs will really want to add this title to their reading list.

After a friend sent me an advance copy of The Shadow of the Wind, I've been watching for Carlos Ruiz Zafon's next effort, and hooray for BookBrowse for making it available! Zafon's plot construction and writing are just as beautiful here as in Shadow, and The Angel's Game is one of those wonderful books that you keep picking up and putting down, because as badly as you want to read it, you also want to make it last as long as possible.

And, if you never understood the quibbling over various translations of classic text, then you need to read Zafon translated by Lucia Graves. I can't imagine a translator doing more to preserve and convey an author's work, and her deftness with his sarcasm and humor are remarkable.

Now, we just need to get Guillermo del Toro to bring one of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's works to the big screen!

I know mere words cannot begin to express what I felt when reading this novel, but here it goes:

Have you ever begun to read a book and after a few pages realized that what is in your hands is a work of genius, a masterpiece or something truly great? That is what I felt while reading this book; it captivated me until the very last page.

It was actually speaking to me, and I never experienced anything like that before.

I hear the book again; can you hear it? It's calling me back to read it a second time. I must go now.

Another author I can add to my list of favorites. Thank you BookBrowse. After reading Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Angel’s Game I will definitely add his first book, The Shadow of The Wind, to my list of ‘must reads’. The author’s lyrical style and insightful descriptions of Barcelona balanced the darkness of his themes of good and evil, Gothic mysticism, death and deals. Though tedious in places, The Angel’s Game is a great read and should be ranked as a masterful classic novel.

For readers who loved The Shadow of the Wind, Zafon's follow up novel will not disappoint. Set once again in Barcelona, a young writer struggles with loneliness, ambition, unrequited love and a puzzling character who seems to offer David Martin a chance to achieve his wildest dreams. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books figures in the tale as well as the dark and disturbing currents of the city. Best of all, Zafon delves into philosophy, questions of good and evil, the purposes of literature and the personal tragedies that underlie society's troubles. The novel is a page turner that also addresses the issues of the world with intelligence, wonder and even humor. Who can resist a book about books, writing, love and danger?

I loved Shadow of the Wind and when I had the opportunity to request an advance copy of Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s latest novel, I jumped at the chance. The language is beautiful -- I was hooked from the first paragraph. The power of the written word and love of literature are key components of this prequel. The Sempere and Sons bookstore and Cemetery of Forgotten Books are once again part of the framework. The plot is complicated and the story is much darker than Shadow of the Wind, but the diabolical characters, obsessive love interest, and supernatural events are woven into the story in such a masterful way that despite the unlikely chain of events, the book is impossible to put down. I would read anything by this author.