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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Si el primer libro de esta trilogía ya es bueno este lo supera.
INCREÍBLE
INCREÍBLE
Discovering a new author and reading his works is always an exciting adventure to me. It's always such a mystery about his/her writing, the plot, and this case, even the genre he deals with. I know nothing about Carlos Ruis Zafon's books except he deals with mystery. The only reason why I picked it up is because of the hype surrounding the author.
The Midnight Palace talks about the life of Ben and his twin sister Sheere, separated at birth and reunited with each they turned sixteen. A madman is searching for them to murder them and their grandmother died everything to save them. What follows is an adventure along with Ben's six friends to hunt down this murderer and finish this business forever.
One thing that I have to say is The Midnight Palace is an enjoyable read. The story will keep you in suspense for half of the story. But my problem with this book started after about 50% mark. Everything was pretty clear by then, and the story became predictable. The plot twists stopped surprising me and after that, I was reading only to finish it. By the end, I was sure I could have just written the ending myself and it would have hardly made a difference.
Having said that, I loved the first half of story. The story which unfolds is mysterious and it keeps you guessing.
I wish the author has maintained that streak because it would have been a really good mystery for me.
But what is much more important and what might be the only reason why I will go back to this author's works is that I loved the writing, and probably the way each character sounded different to me. I love reading books with multiple readers and if the author can write in such a way which distinguishes each character, I'm coming back to that author some day or the other.
And I loved the setting. Calcutta has always been a mysterious setting for me. Some of my favorites (The Lowland, The Hungry Tide) was set in various parts of Bengal. Every adventure becomes even more interesting if it is set in Calcutta. In this story particularly, the setting contributed a lot to how the story was handled and presented.
Yet, I don't know if I can recommend this book. This was enjoyable, but there are far better books out there which might attract you more as a mystery. And plus, I haven't read any other works by him. But, once I read his other books, I can get a better picture.
The Midnight Palace talks about the life of Ben and his twin sister Sheere, separated at birth and reunited with each they turned sixteen. A madman is searching for them to murder them and their grandmother died everything to save them. What follows is an adventure along with Ben's six friends to hunt down this murderer and finish this business forever.
One thing that I have to say is The Midnight Palace is an enjoyable read. The story will keep you in suspense for half of the story. But my problem with this book started after about 50% mark. Everything was pretty clear by then, and the story became predictable. The plot twists stopped surprising me and after that, I was reading only to finish it. By the end, I was sure I could have just written the ending myself and it would have hardly made a difference.
Having said that, I loved the first half of story. The story which unfolds is mysterious and it keeps you guessing.
I wish the author has maintained that streak because it would have been a really good mystery for me.
But what is much more important and what might be the only reason why I will go back to this author's works is that I loved the writing, and probably the way each character sounded different to me. I love reading books with multiple readers and if the author can write in such a way which distinguishes each character, I'm coming back to that author some day or the other.
And I loved the setting. Calcutta has always been a mysterious setting for me. Some of my favorites (The Lowland, The Hungry Tide) was set in various parts of Bengal. Every adventure becomes even more interesting if it is set in Calcutta. In this story particularly, the setting contributed a lot to how the story was handled and presented.
Yet, I don't know if I can recommend this book. This was enjoyable, but there are far better books out there which might attract you more as a mystery. And plus, I haven't read any other works by him. But, once I read his other books, I can get a better picture.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't think that I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first one from the trilogy. However, if I read this when I was younger, I would have absolutely adored this book.
this book shares the promising journey of the 16-year old Ben and his gang of 7 who rendezvous at the Midnight Palace, the sacred place where their secret meetings take place.
that night was supposed to be their last meeting before their group would disband, as they graduate from St Patrick's to take on the "real world" as they had always been made to believe. but alas it wasn't meant to be.
Aryami Bose, the intimidating enigmatic woman made a sudden appearance in St Patrick's and well into Ben's life, together with her grandchild, Sheere only to reveal a dark secret where Ben was forced to shape his destiny - by facing his past. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ i would have rated higher had Zafon crafted more details into the ending. a good YA read, nonetheless.
that night was supposed to be their last meeting before their group would disband, as they graduate from St Patrick's to take on the "real world" as they had always been made to believe. but alas it wasn't meant to be.
Aryami Bose, the intimidating enigmatic woman made a sudden appearance in St Patrick's and well into Ben's life, together with her grandchild, Sheere only to reveal a dark secret where Ben was forced to shape his destiny - by facing his past. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ i would have rated higher had Zafon crafted more details into the ending. a good YA read, nonetheless.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Romanzo avvincente. Al suo interno si notano tutti i temi che l'autore ha poi sviluppato nei suoi romanzi più maturi, ovvero "L'ombra del vento" e "Il gioco dell'angelo". Ho avuto la conferma che Zafòn ha sempre avuto un gran talento e i difetti presenti in questo libro sono imputabili solo al fatto che si tratta di uno dei suoi primi lavori.
I consider this book the weakest one Mr. Zafón has written but that doesn't mean it's not (very) good...it's just not as good as the other ones.
Honestly, it is pretty obvious that this is one of his first (second published i think) books. The scenery and another darkish-ly aesthetic aspect that are so typical for him weren't so strong in this book and I personally think everything was kinda rushed - that way, characters didn't have the opportunity to fully break into my heart or have any kind of development.
Furthermore, it's clearly stated that this is supposed to be a kids/teen book and in the whole series, this is the book you recognize that the most and you need to take it in consideration if you read this as an adult (or in my case, 18 yo who prefers The shadow of the wind over this). But even as a book meant for young readers, it deals with pretty interesting issues in behavior - whether it is his typical "Is hate stronger than love?" or friendship, lying to protect someone, sacrifice, and trust. Everything is packed in a nice, dim but beautiful story.
However, I think it was really helpfull to read this book as well because I love Zafón's writing and now I am able to see how much he advanced in his writing.
This book is probably the last one I had to read - now I've finished all his older books and I cannot wait to buy The angel's game.
Honestly, it is pretty obvious that this is one of his first (second published i think) books. The scenery and another darkish-ly aesthetic aspect that are so typical for him weren't so strong in this book and I personally think everything was kinda rushed - that way, characters didn't have the opportunity to fully break into my heart or have any kind of development.
Furthermore, it's clearly stated that this is supposed to be a kids/teen book and in the whole series, this is the book you recognize that the most and you need to take it in consideration if you read this as an adult (or in my case, 18 yo who prefers The shadow of the wind over this). But even as a book meant for young readers, it deals with pretty interesting issues in behavior - whether it is his typical "Is hate stronger than love?" or friendship, lying to protect someone, sacrifice, and trust. Everything is packed in a nice, dim but beautiful story.
However, I think it was really helpfull to read this book as well because I love Zafón's writing and now I am able to see how much he advanced in his writing.
This book is probably the last one I had to read - now I've finished all his older books and I cannot wait to buy The angel's game.
Ben and Sheera are brother and sister separated by a dark secret. Their parents couldn't protect them from it, so a friend took the siblings to safety while they were still babies. One stayed with an orphanage. The other stayed with a woman. The past caught up with everyone sixteen years later when the babies legally became adults in Calcutta.
The stories continued with a mystery man seeking to make good on his promise of revenge. It seemed like a few characters retold the dark secret to the siblings again and again. Instead of more story, we got the same info we already learned. Although I was interested to know what was going to happen, the end result didn't seem worth the adventure. The imagery scenes were prob the best moments to take away from the story.
The stories continued with a mystery man seeking to make good on his promise of revenge. It seemed like a few characters retold the dark secret to the siblings again and again. Instead of more story, we got the same info we already learned. Although I was interested to know what was going to happen, the end result didn't seem worth the adventure. The imagery scenes were prob the best moments to take away from the story.