The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of my top ten favorite reads of all time. So when I realized there was a sequel and then a trilogy, I couldn't wait to read them. I have fond memories of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books hidden underneath Barcelona and I long to visit the place in my mind again and again.
"Welcome to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Isabella.
Isabella looked up toward the glass dome and became lost in that impossible vision of white rays of light that crisscrossed a babel of tunnels, footbridges, and bridges, all leading into a cathedral made of books."
"This place is a mystery. A sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens. In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader's hands, a new spirit..." Pg. 519
The Angel's Game is similar to The Shadow of the Wind in writing style, genre, and storyline. The Shadow of the Wind is the better book if only because it came first. The Angel's game is a book for literature lovers, it is a multi-genred, mysterious, gothic romantic thriller that will keep you flipping the pages. The Angel's Game is full of plot twists that will leave a pile of dead bodies at the end of a dark, shadowy lane.
The main character is a writer named David Martin. He writes serial noir, pulp fiction. He has always wanted to write a novel but his contract is for 20 years and his publishers are money hungry men who refuse to give up their money ticket. A mysterious publisher shows up offering David a book deal that is too good to be true and too good to pass up.
I can't even begin to explain the twists and turns of the plot that takes the reader for a wild roller coaster ride with the main character, sitting right next to you. You both will need to scream and look over your shoulder and wonder who and what is happening.
The more I think about this book, the more I like it and the more I like it, it makes me realize that Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a writer in disguise. Because he is really a genius!Heading off to devour book number three, The Prisoner of Heaven.
