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Jan 18, 2011

David Martín is a writer of penny dreadfuls who is offered a huge sum of money to write a book for a French publisher. He can't find any evidence that the publisher actually exists though, and violent things start happening to David's friends and colleagues.

I was rocking through the first half of the book, loving Ruiz Zafón's writing, and then I just stopped caring a little over halfway through. I'm not entirely sure what happened. I think I got sick of having absolutely no freaking More...

12 comments like (29 people liked it)

Oct 30, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

Overall a well-told story with a clever and original plot. David Martin is a struggling author living in poverty in the seedy depths of Barcelona. He receives an irresistible offer of 100,000 francs to write a book for a creepy man he begins referring to as "the boss." After accepting the offer Martin starts research on the designated topic, triggering a series of strange happenings. He knows he is being "played" and used, but he doesn't know why or by whom. Things just More...

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2011

Becky rated it:

This book was ALMOST a 5 star read for me. I really, really enjoyed it, and wish that I could give it 5 stars, but I feel like the loose ends were kind of rubber-banded together, rather than tied up all nice and pretty.

But first I want to talk about the writing. GOR-GEOUS. Ruiz Zafon captured me with the first paragraph. In fact, while I was reading "What Dreams May Come" right before this, I snuck a peek and then almost didn't put it back down to finish "WDMC". More...

14 comments like (11 people liked it)

Sep 08, 2010

Lee rated it:

The book starts out so well, rich in a character, humor, and a powerful sense of place. It captivated me from the first few pages. I couldn't wait to keep reading. I rewarded myself with it each night. I felt I was reading a truly great book, one I was certain would become a beloved favorite of mine.

I was so in love, that I was willing to overlook a nagging flaw -- in a story where language and the craft of writing mean so much, where the writer himself aims a spotlight on authorial More...

1 comment like (20 people liked it)

Jul 25, 2010

Khaya rated it:

When I'm reading something good, or even decent, I'll find myself reading just a few more pages when I should be doing housework or some other exciting chore. When I find myself finding all sorts of creative ways to waste time without even thinking of picking up my book, I know it's time to give up on it.

Too bad -- I really liked The Shadow of the Wind. But unfortunately, like the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, I think the author was trying too hard to recreate his own success More...

8 comments like (19 people liked it)

Mar 17, 2009

Elton rated it:

The Angel's Game actually takes place in the same area of Barcelona as SOTW. Set in the period just before the civil war that leads up to SOTW. The main character is David Martin, who at the beginning of book is working at a newspaper & gets his chance to be a writer. Soon with the help of of his friend & mentor, Perdo Vidal, he is able to lift himself out of poverty & start writing for a living.

He soon leaves the newspaper & starts writing pulp fiction under a pseudonym for a less t More...

8 comments like (15 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2009

Carmen rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

7 comments like (17 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2009

Reca rated it:

I was able to take advance of an advance copy to read this one before the June release date. This story follows a writer in 1920s Barcelona through his writing for a newspaper, for himself, and a a mysterious man who promises him riches for writing a story that the man wants. That's where things get interesting. There is a complicated mystery that unfolds throughout the book, which kept me reading until it was over.

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2009

Tori rated it:

I think this author is SO talented. The translator must be extremely talented, as well. I loved Zafon's first book, Shadow of the Wind, and was very excited to read his newest one. This is going to be a four-part series, and I am already looking forward to the next one. The setting is similar in both books - Barcelona in the early 1900's - and the Cemetery of Forgotten Books appears in both stories. Whereas SOTW had to do with readers, AG has to do with a writer. It's been a few years More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Blair rated it:

In many ways, I really loved this book. To use a hackneyed phrase, it grips from the first page, and stays constantly enthralling from then on - rich and exciting, gothic and often macabre. Just when you think you've got a handle on the plot, it shoots off in a different direction entirely, constantly adding new layers of intrigue. The dialogue absolutely sparkles, full of the kind of quick-fire conversations you would associate with a play rather than a novel, particularly the scenes between Da More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2010

Lavinia rated it:

My, oh my! I had such great expectations from the book - I know, it's not fair - and I was so disappointed about how it ends I actually don't know anymore if I liked it or not.

It starts OK, nothing spectacular at the beginning (well maybe that episode when David, a journalist at this point, visits the brothel - I still haven't figured out its connection with the rest of the story ), but after the first quarter it gets better and better. Now a writer, David is asked by a mysterious ed More...

10 comments like (9 people liked it)

Oct 10, 2011

Lance Greenfield rated it:

Dark and sinister

This is the macabre and sinister tale of David Martín, a journalist who turns to writing books. Initially, these are regularly churned out, trashy stories, written purely for income. I won’t tell where he progresses to, or describe any of the weird events that ensue, for fear of spoiling this wonderfully intriguing story for you. Suffice to say that this book is packed with action and mystery.

If you build an affinity with a strongly crafted character, then you More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 13, 2009

Joan added it

Anyone who loved Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind will be enthralled by this story of a young journalist who, after having made his name writing pulp fiction, is hired by a mysterious publisher to create the founding scripture of a new religion. Set in Barcelona in the 1920, the novel follows the career of David Martín as he becomes entranced by the beautiful Cristina Sagnier and ensnared by Andreas Corelli of Éditions de la Lumière.

We again find ourselves visiting the Cemetery of Forg More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2009

Blodeuedd rated it:

Published: June 2009
Hardcover: 448 pages

The whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that, when I opened those windows, its streets would whisper stories to me, secrets I could capture on paper and narrate to whoever cared to listen.'

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martín, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in t More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Michael rated it:

There's a lot of beautiful prose in this book: I just love the 'other worldly' quality that is somehow embued into books translated into English from Spanish. Or perhaps I've just been lucky.

Anyway, the Angel's Game is nowhere near as satisfying as The Shadow of the Wind but is still head and shoulders above most stuff. I felt that, at times, it was slightly humourless, which is an accusation that could never be laid at the door of SOTW, and feels a bit self indulgent at times, the overriding f More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 17, 2009

Choupette added it

Don't think I haven't noticed you spamming me with ads and recommendations, goodreads. Don't think I've forgotten how profoundly mediocre Zafon's first novel was. Don't think I don't lose a great deal of respect for any author who resorts to cheap advertisement of their book over the internet, on television or, worst of all, on billboards outside airports. Don't think that your soulless, empty, bought-and-paid-for recommendations are going to make me any more likely to read this book.

More...

18 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2010

Shelli rated it:

I would give this 3 1/2 stars. I didn't like it as much as The Shadow of the Wind. It was a much darker plot set in the same place, but an earlier time. One of the things I liked best was the return of the characters from TSOTW. I really liked the female characters in this one. I felt this story got a bit out of hand and didn't really enjoy all the killing and dark religious ranting. I never felt like the whole "mystery" was fully explained...it was like a huge build up to a big let do More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2009

Andrea rated it:

Ok, so maybe I was partial to this book because it takes place in Barcelona, and that was one of our honeymoon stops two years ago (TWO YEARS ALREADY!). Regardless, it brought back the gothic streets and the unusual architecture of the city. I really liked his writing style, but I am left to wonder about the story itself. It spun around on itself, and I kept wanting him to reveal who the "boss" really was. And then I think I missed something, or it was lost in the translation regar More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 06, 2010

Robin rated it:

The author (and translator) are amazing. This book has depth, texture, atmosphere and is quite interesting. Zafon delves into a lot of ideas and concepts that made me want to take a break from the book and really think about them. I liked a lot about this book, but it started to get too dark and obscure for me. I am not even sure if I really understood the last 50 pages. I like logic and reality and this takes a turn away from that. If you like the fantasy genre or deep, dark b More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 18, 2009

Jill rated it:

I absolutely loved The Shadow of the Wind and expected this book to be my favorite book of the year. Perhaps my expectations were too high to give it a fair chance. I didn't care for the story. I rarely felt like picking the book up after taking a break but continued to think that there would be some redeeming aspect as I read and was closer to the end. I would not recommend this book- it was terrible. I lent it to a friend and she didn't even bother finishing it (she reads a couple hundred book More...

1 comment like (12 people liked it)

Apr 19, 2010

Kim rated it:

The story takes place in 1920s Barcelona. The protagonist, David Martin, is born into poverty. He is recognized for his literary talent and with the aid of a patron, Pedro Vidal, quickly becomes become a crime reporter and then a hugely successful pulp novelist. David longs to leave the world of pulp novels for more meaningful literary pursuits and accepts a commission to write a story that leads him into danger.

The pace of the story is quick and I had a difficult time putting t More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 12, 2011

Barry added it

Picking this up after reading ‘Shadow of the Wind’ the expectations were inordinately high, it being one of the most engrossing, heartfelt books I’ve read. And the truth is, it doesn’t quite reach the heady heights of Shadow.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s still a good read but it’s an entirely different beast. Yes, they are similarities but this is a far darker effort. Shadow had a playfulness about it, a cohesiveness that glued the diverging narratives which this lacks.

The first half of the book is More...

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Aug 10, 2011

Sumanya added it

Zafon does it again. The parallels between this and the Shadow of the Wind are unmistakable. But it doesn’t get boring in anyway. In fact the familiarity is strangely soothing. The cemetery of Forgotten Books makes an appearance again and I felt, “ Hello again, old friend.” Zafon seems to be obsessed with motherless narrators though. Wonder why! And most of the prominent women in his narratives are love interests or sex interests. So I missed the female presence in the novel.

I have now develope More...

0 comments like

Aug 06, 2011

Graham added it

Difficult to know quite what to make of The Angel's Game. Is it a ghost story? Is it a murder mystery? Is it a religious allegory? It might be none or all of these. What it certainly is is an engrossing read.

Set in Barcelona between the wars, the hero of the tale is a journalist turned author, David Martin, who has rejected employment by his paper as a writer of serialised pulp fiction based in "The City of the Damned", the same Barcelona, under a pseudonym, to write "serious More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Brian added it

This is the second novel I have read by Zafon, the first being A Shadow of the Wind. Once again Zafon conjures pre Spanish Civil War Barcelona, this time through David Martin, a writer. This book is closely linked with Shadow of the Wind, both in it's main theme (a shadowy evil) as well as the introduction of several central places and characters that show up in both novels (The Cemetary of Forgotten Books, and Sempere and Sons Bookshop are important to both stories.) I did find Angel's game mu More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Connie added it

I don't even know where to begin. What a strange story! It's the kind of thing that leaves you wondering whether it was all a dream or a mad hallucination, and it implies this could be the case, although there's never a clear conclusion. The protagonist is David Martin, a writer living in Barcelona. He falls in love with Cristina who marries his best friend, Pedro Vidal, leaves Pedro, and then goes mad and dies in somewhat mysterious circumstances. He befriends Isabella, a young ingenue who admi More...

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Aug 03, 2011

Layla added it

The Angle's Game, much like its predecessor Shadow's of the Wind, is a literary mystery written (and translated) so beautifully you forget that the storyline itself is rather dark, Gothic and at times morbid. Carlos Ruiz Zafón has an amazingly ability to create scenery so vivid and real it appears to jump off the page. The setting is Barcelona and Zafon has conjured up a dark, damp, gothic city in which the main character, a tortured writer by the name of David Martin, must uncover the past of More...

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Feb 11, 2011

Klytia rated it:

Di solito, a causa di uno dei miei innumerevoli pregiudizi letterari (su qualcosa bisognerà pure fare leva per evitare di andare in rosso acquistando di tutto), evito gli scrittori che scalano le classifiche osannati da critica e pubblico. Inoltre gli scrittori latini (eccetto Borges, ma italiani inclusi) non sono propriamente il mio forte, preferisco per stile e contenuti gli anglofoni.
Tuttavia, leggendo tra le righe delle recensioni che si sperticavano in lodi, ho ritrovato quei temi che gener More...

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Feb 09, 2011

Zeruhur rated it:

Anni di attesa creano inevitabilmente delle aspettative, specie se l'autore in questione è Carlos Ruiz Zafòn e l'innamoramento è avvenuto con un romanzo del calibro de “L'ombra del vento” che molti maligni hanno già decretato come condannato a non superare la prova del tempo. Voglio sostenere il contrario per due buoni motivi: Zafòn lavora su stilemi classici e pertanto immortali e secondariamente, ma non meno importante, lo stile dell'autore spagnolo è tra i migliori che mi sia capitato di legg More...

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Nov 16, 2010

Ettore.bilbo rated it:

Commento a caldo pochi minuti dopo averlo finito anche se è probabile che tornerò a pensarci per un po' e scriverò qualcosa d'altro.
Questo libro non è l'ombra del vento anche se ne condivide l'universo del cimitero dei libri perduti e per la prima parte anche le atmosfere. Zafon è un abile narratore e trascina fino all'ultima pagina in un soffio eppure questo libro non contiene le stesse emozioni del primo, è più arido, crudelmente arido verrebbe da dire, come in fondo è anche giusto per il tema More...

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