El Juego del Ángel (Vintage Espanol) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Author)
Key Phrases: cruzar frente, las grietas, los ventanales, Irene Sabino, Pedro Vidal, Villa Helius (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Fans of Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind and new readers alike will be delighted with this gothic semiprequel. In 1920s Barcelona, David Martin is born into poverty, but, aided by patron and friend Pedro Vidal, he rises to become a crime reporter and then a beloved pulp novelist. David’s creative pace is frenetic; holed up in his dream house—a decrepit mansion with a sinister history—he produces two great novels, one for Vidal to claim as his own, and one for himself. But Vidal’s book is celebrated while David’s is buried, and when Vidal marries David’s great love, David accepts a commission to write a story that leads him into danger. As he explores the past and his mysterious publisher, David becomes a suspect in a string of murders, and his race to uncover the truth is a delicious puzzle: is he beset by demons or a demon himself? Zafón’s novel is detailed and vivid, and David’s narration is charming and funny, but suspect. Villain or victim, he is the hero of and the guide to this dark labyrinth that, by masterful design, remains thrilling and bewildering. (June) -- Publishers Weekly, starred Review

Another delicious supernatural mystery from bestselling Catalan author Zafón (The Shadow of the Wind, 2005).Mix Edgar Allan Poe with Jorge Luis Borges, intellectual mysterian Arturo Pérez-Reverte, and maybe add a dash of Stephen King, and you have some of the makings of Zafón’s sensibility. Fans of his earlier book will be pleased to find themselves on patches of familiar ground, including a revisit to that wonderful conceit, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Indeed, this is a prequel–but only of a kind: Familiar figures turn up at points, only to seem less than familiar as the narrative twists and turns. The none-too-heroic hero, David Martín, is an aspiring journalist who bucks hackwork to turn in a crowd-pleasing series for a tough boss. This ... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
Fans of Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind and new readers alike will be delighted with this gothic semiprequel. In 1920s Barcelona, David Martin is born into poverty, but, aided by patron and friend Pedro Vidal, he rises to become a crime reporter and then a beloved pulp novelist. David’s creative pace is frenetic; holed up in his dream house—a decrepit mansion with a sinister history—he produces two great novels, one for Vidal to claim as his own, and one for himself. But Vidal’s book is celebrated while David’s is buried, and when Vidal marries David’s great love, David accepts a commission to write a story that leads him into danger. As he explores the past and his mysterious publisher, David becomes a suspect in a string of murders, and his race to uncover the truth is a delicious puzzle: is he beset by demons or a demon himself? Zafón’s novel is detailed and vivid, and David’s narration is charming and funny, but suspect. Villain or victim, he is the hero of and the guide to this dark labyrinth that, by masterful design, remains thrilling and bewildering. (June) -- Publishers Weekly, starred Review

Another delicious supernatural mystery from bestselling Catalan author Zafón (The Shadow of the Wind, 2005).Mix Edgar Allan Poe with Jorge Luis Borges, intellectual mysterian Arturo Pérez-Reverte, and maybe add a dash of Stephen King, and you have some of the makings of Zafón’s sensibility. Fans of his earlier book will be pleased to find themselves on patches of familiar ground, including a revisit to that wonderful conceit, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Indeed, this is a prequel–but only of a kind: Familiar figures turn up at points, only to seem less than familiar as the narrative twists and turns. The none-too-heroic hero, David Martín, is an aspiring journalist who bucks hackwork to turn in a crowd-pleasing series for a tough boss. This leads him into an onerous contract with the usual crooked publishers and, indirectly, into a rivalry with his former mentor–all of which, naturally, entails love triangles and smoldering egos. The picture is complicated by the arrival of another curious publisher, Andreas Corelli, who offers David piles of pesetas to write, well, a book of a different sort, involving research that yields piles of corpses and occasions ample cliffhangers. Zafón has a fine talent for inserting unexpected hitches into a story line already resistant to graphing, whose outcome is definitely not seen from afar. The plot resolves in a rush, for the author finds himself with many a loose end to tie up, but once it sinks in, the result is more than satisfying. Zafón delivers a warning about the dangers of obsession, mixed with an obvious passion for literature and the printed word; his book is also a song of love for Barcelona with all its creaking floorboards and hidden subbasements.A nice fit with the current craze for learned mysteries and for spooks of both the spying and the spectral kind. -- Kirkus Reviews


Praise for The Shadow of the Wind

“One gorgeous read”—Stephen King

“Diabolically good”—Elle magazine

“Superbly entertaining”—Washington Post

“Breathtaking”—New York Times

“Wondrous”—Entertainment Weekly

“Magic”—New York Times Book Review

“Absolutely marvelous”—Kirkus

“Infectious”—The Economist

“Outstanding”—Library Journal

“Lavish”—Booklist

“Gripping”—Philadelphia Inquirer


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (May 13, 2008)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0307455378
• ISBN-13: 978-0307455376
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,484 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's discuss the contents and not so much the binding ..., June 14, 2008

By	LA Avid Reader "Silvia" (LA) - See all my reviews

I read "La Sombra del Viento" (Shadow of the Wind) in one sitting, and thought it to be one of the best books I've read in the last 10 years. It took me just three days to finish this one, which is supposed to be a sequel, but you can perfectly read it independently of The Shadow. I don't want to be unfair with this one, cause I loved the other one so much. It is a good book, kept me going and interested, and found some parts very catching. I am not giving it 5 stars cause I was a bit dissapointed with the end, I felt the author had already written too many pages and some editor told him "that's it, you have to end it". Nevertheless, I strongly recommend it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Muy disfrutable, June 27, 2008

By	Walter Landesman (Uruguay) - See all my reviews

This review is from: El Juego del Ángel (Vintage Espanol) (Spanish Edition) (Hardcover)

El nuevo libro de Ruiz Zafón - el Juego del Ángel, en verdad me cautivó. El final puede ser discutible, acelerado, con no todas las respuestas a todas las posibles preguntas, pero las primeras 640 páginas ( de las 666) son fascinantes, disfrutables de leer, de gran imaginación, y de alguna manera te hace sentir en una Barcelona de comienzos del siglo xx.
Intriga, misterios (más lineales que en La Sombra del Viento , donde uno llevaba a otro y era como un juego de damas chinas), una atmósfera mágica, extraña y de a momentos cuasi mística. Realmente muy interesante y de lectura muy recomendable.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A prequel to La Sombre del Viento, August 31, 2008

By	Carlos T. Mock "carloschicago" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the parallel story of 'La sombra del viento' or The Shadow of the Wind. David Martin, a writer is given a task to write a book about a new religion. The 'boss' Andreas Corelli, offers a fortune for the task. Just like in the first book, the words that are written turn into a web that mixes reality with the imaginary. The Sempere character is also in the book and again there is a love triangle which includes the 'Cemetery of the forgotten books.' Mr. Zafon creates a great adventure of intrigue, romance, and tragedy through a labyrinth of treason and secrets, where the mystery of the written word, the passion and friendship create a wonderful masterpiece.