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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
This story centers around the lives of twins Ben and Sheere. They were separated at birth for their own protection and the man (or, more accurately, the man-shaped thing) chasing them vows that he will find them on their 16th birthday. Flash forward 16 years, and weird things start to happen. The two meet when their grandma (who kept Sheere) comes to see about Ben and take him with them out of Calcutta. But once the two realize what's going on, they refuse to leave.
There are some genuinely creepy moments, but I was mostly disappointed by this. I think part of it (most of it?) is that his novel The Shadow of the Wind is my favorite book ever and this book is...fine. It's interesting enough and fun, but it's no Shadow.
(And that's because this book was written earlier in his career and has just been translated and released here.)
There are some genuinely creepy moments, but I was mostly disappointed by this. I think part of it (most of it?) is that his novel The Shadow of the Wind is my favorite book ever and this book is...fine. It's interesting enough and fun, but it's no Shadow.
(And that's because this book was written earlier in his career and has just been translated and released here.)
The author's writing skills between The Prince of the Mist and this one as greatly improved. The story holds itself much better and the main characters are more well developed. There could have been less characters though. The seven members of Chowbar Society could have been reduced to far less without compromising the story and in the same way giving a more important part to play to each member.
I don't really understand why this book is part of a "trilogy" with The Prince of the Mist and later with The Watcher in the Shadows (which I still haven't read), as there seems to be no links at all between the stories of the first two books. But The Midnight Palace stays a really good novel on its own.
I don't really understand why this book is part of a "trilogy" with The Prince of the Mist and later with The Watcher in the Shadows (which I still haven't read), as there seems to be no links at all between the stories of the first two books. But The Midnight Palace stays a really good novel on its own.
The first Zafon that I just couldn't get into, at all. The characters and the story just didn't grab me. I wanted to like it, I just didn't. :(
De fijo no es el mejor libro de CRZ, ¡pero por lo menos ahora puedo decir que me los he leído todos! En este libro, más que en cualquiera de los otros, se le nota MUCHO como estos eran sus primeros años como escritor, y hasta él lo dice en la introducción. A esta novela le falta muchísimo por mejorar, pero bueno, tiene todos los elementos tétricos que me encantan de todos sus libros. Aunque, este sí tiene la particularidad de que más sobre verdadero horror que sus otras obras.
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This definitely is not CRZ's best book, but at least now I can say I've read all of them! In this book, more than any if his others, it is VERY noticeable how these were his first years as a writer, and even he points this out it in the introduction. This novel could see a lot of improvement, but it does have all of the gloomy elements that I love about all of his books. However, this one stands out as more of a true horror novel than his other ones.
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This definitely is not CRZ's best book, but at least now I can say I've read all of them! In this book, more than any if his others, it is VERY noticeable how these were his first years as a writer, and even he points this out it in the introduction. This novel could see a lot of improvement, but it does have all of the gloomy elements that I love about all of his books. However, this one stands out as more of a true horror novel than his other ones.