Book Reviews of The Angel's Game

Set earlier in the Shadow of the Wind universe, Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Angel's Game is another treat. Written in the same style, lyrical and at times cynically humorous, this prequel is the story of David Martín, a talented writer of humble beginnings who writes sensationalist thrillers for his livelihood instead of true literature from his soul. He is courted by a mysterious French publisher to write an ultimate novel with an offer he can't refuse, only to have the shadows from the past having him question the intentions of his new boss. Against the backdrop of Barcelona, the labyrinthine plot winds through crumbling old houses (including the tower house David inhabits), the Sempere and Sons bookshop, and the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, with another cast of interesting characters. However, things are not explained to the same satisfying degree at the end in this novel about books and the people who love them.

Shadow of the Wind is one of my favorite books, so I could not wait to pick up Zafon's newest. As in SotW, the writing is gorgeous. Zafon's writing is so beautiful and fluid, and the translation was perfection. The story is about David Martin, a young writer who has become increasingly jaded and cynical about the publishing industry. He rents an old house with some of his earnings, and he slowly becomes tangled in the house's past. He is commissioned to write a book by a mysterious boss. He begins to find parallels between the previous house owner and the strange things that are happening to him. And then the death toll begins to rise...

My only qualm with the book was the last part, where it got a little confusing and seemed almost out of place. However, since I so enjoy Zafon's storytelling, I still couldn't put it down. Not quite as good as SotW, but still an enjoyable read, and I look forward to Zafon's next installment.

Not as good as I wanted it to be- I loved LOVED 'Shadow of the Wind' and didn't think this stood up. I'll be interested to see how the other two pull them together.

OK, from the perspective of pure literary criticism, this book is overwrought.
However, from my personal perspective: "OMG, it has all the awesome!" ;-)
A worthy followup to Shadow of the Wind, this tale of a young writer with 'great expectations' who is pulled into an infernal contract is wickedly delightful. It's Faust meets pulp fiction.
Its vivid and accurate depictions of Barcelona made me hunger to go back to the city... even if Zafon does claim it's "damned".

I almost labeled it fantasy. If you start this book, please put aside the time so you can finish it rapidly! I took a week break, and felt lost coming back because of the threads of the plot I hadn't held on to.


It is a fascinating book, worth the time, and it doesn't quite fit where you expect it. The mystical aspects are stronger here than in his first book (The Shadow of the Wind), and that's a negative in my opinion. My wife and I were both somewhat puzzled and dissatisfied with the epilogue/resolution. I enjoyed the characters, the intrigue, and the twisting plot. Overall, recommended.

Once again Zafon has written another breathtaking book which left me disappointed in the ending. He is a fabulous writer but somehow in this book, as well as in The Shadow of the Wind (for which this book is a sort of prequel), the last 50 pages or so just don't live up to the expectations created by the previous 450 pages. It's like he doesn't know how to end the stories after they have gone on for so long, so he just ties up his loose ends too fast and any which way, and fails to leave one feeling like the book ended in a satisfactory manner.

A wonderful errie tale full of strange happenings and surprising events.