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onn43's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
cerysvy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
raven_vx's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
girh_22's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bel_saturnreads's review against another edition
3.0
3'5 STARS
Último libro de la saga juvenil de Carlos posiblemente de los 3 es el que me ha costado un algo mas o el que "menos" me ha gustado pero es verdad que al final cuando se va revelando todo coge un ritmo y el ambiente y la magia que crea Carlos que te mantiene en vilo con lo que le va a pasar a todos los personajes
Ahora me espera la sombra el viento
Imagino que algunas personas, como ciertos juguetes, a veces nacen con una tara de origen. De algún modo, eso nos convierte a todos en juguetes rotos.
Último libro de la saga juvenil de Carlos posiblemente de los 3 es el que me ha costado un algo mas o el que "menos" me ha gustado pero es verdad que al final cuando se va revelando todo coge un ritmo y el ambiente y la magia que crea Carlos que te mantiene en vilo con lo que le va a pasar a todos los personajes
Ahora me espera la sombra el viento
inkguma's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
3.75
El punto fuerte de este libro sin duda es la narración; las descripciones de los entornos o de los acontecimientos me parecen preciosas y amenas y es fácil seguir el hilo. Sin embargo los diálogos me han parecido un poco sosos, impostados, casi sin gracia... demasiado forzados, en general, lo cual hace que los personajes se vuelvan también algo forzados y sin mucho carisma. Pese a todo la historia me ha gustado un montón, es entretenida, mantiene bien el misterio y lo resuelve bien (algo previsible incluso). Está claro que es para un público más juvenil y sin duda es una lectura que recomendaría a este grupo de edad.
lareske's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
jakekilroy's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I'm pretty sad to say this is the last of Zafón's works for me to delight through. I've so truly and wonderfully enjoyed everything he put out into the world—some of them being my all-time favorite anythings. Every single book of his brought with it an enticing aura of mystery, imagined with such a rich and rewarding gothic curiosity. Dude was just an old-world storyteller, nailing an atmosphere I never ceased to find alluring. His young adult novels each move through the shadows and sway around the corner of your brain the way a good ghost story would when you yourself were young. Even his novels for adults made me so resolutely gleeful for what they sparked within me. This final outing, an eerie tale set on the coast, filled with forests, cliffs, caves, and a spooky old manor, was the perfect sendoff. What a wonder he was.
amberly1997's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was fine but I found it bit dull, the atmosphere and world building was fine but needed to flash out bit more also the writing was fine. The paced of plot was bit slow but the cover of the book was stunning. I liked the characters and I feel at they needed to flash out and the ending was fine
stephwd's review against another edition
5.0
Carlos Ruiz Zafon has a magical way of writing whether his novels are intended for adults or children. ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ is one of my favourite novels and I am always amazed by his ability to combine realistic characterisation and drama with the fantastical.
‘The Watcher in the Shadows,’ which has also been published under the alternative title ‘September Lights’ did not disappoint. This is actually the third in Zafon’s Niebla or Mist series. However, each of these can be read as standalone novels as they are connected thematically and in terms of style rather than narrative. However, I think this was my favourite of all three. It tells the story of Simone and her children, Irene and Dorian, who have travelled away from a city that is infused with tragedy for them to a seemingly idyllic country retreat in the coastal town of Blue Bay, Normandy. Simone is to be the housekeeper to Lazarus Jann, a reclusive, but brilliant toy maker whose mansion lies in the heart of a forest. However, there are mysteries that seem already to infuse the house with its multitude of automatons and dark shadows that haunt every corner. More peculiar still is the fact that Lazarus will allow no one but himself to attend his beloved wife who was paralysed many years before.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV8qAHIWkeo]
At first all seems perfect as Irene falls slowly in love with Ismael who introduces her to the mysterious landscape around her including the distant lighthouse, the scene of a long ago tragedy and the magic and dangers of the cove. Even Dorian is taken under Lazarus’ wing and begins to recognise and learn of the brilliance of the toy maker. Yet things are not all as they seem and dark forces are soon unleashed within the house whose source remains a mystery and whose power is frighteningly overwhelming. As the novel builds, this darkness and fear only grows to monumental proportions and threatens to consume them all.
This is wonderful writing that transcends age boundaries. Zafon has a magnificent talent for capturing the emotional centres of his characters so we are utterly invested in their fates. In this novel, the innocence of Irene, Simone and Dorian is perfectly counterpoised by the darkness that threatens to swallow them up. Moreover, the romantic narrative between Irene and Ismael was also moving and added not merely an element of human interest that further invested us in the fates of the protagonists, but also provided a painful mirror for the love story between Lazarus and his wife.
Zafon also has a cinematic ability to create landscape. His writing has a gothic quality that seems to infuse the tale with a macabre core even when he is depicting happier scenes. The sense of tremulous anxiety that beats like Poe’s tell-tale heart from the very opening of the novel propels the plot and captivates the reader. This is a novel that, once embarked upon, compels you to keep going. I often feel this way about Zafon’s writing: there is a compulsion to finish his novels because the plot is so dynamic. Yet once you have finished, you wish you had taken more time to savour the language and evocative scenes that Zafon has created. I always feel as if there is so much within his works, a subtle hidden complexity and a web of images and clues that create a holistic work that I have missed so much in my desire to run with the pace of events.
In his comments to the reader on the novel, Zafon claims that he ‘was aiming to write the kind of novel I would have liked to read when I was twelve or thirteen years old. I was trying to offer a nod to all the books kids of my generation used to read, from the mysteries of Enid Blyton to the great nineteenth century classic stories of intrigue and adventure from Dumas to Verne to Stevenson and beyond. I was also secretly hoping that adult readers would enjoy them as well, and that the novels would transport them back to those first books that capture a reader’s imagimation and fire a love for literature.’ Zafon has achieved this and a great deal more. Most importantly though, he does the latter – he inspires a love for literature: you fall in love with the worlds he creates, the characters he re-imagines for us and the language he uses.
This is contemporary fiction at its best: magical, engaging and infused with fear and romance.
However, Zafon is more than simply a writer. It is creative genius that lies at the heart of the novel and perhaps like the toymaker, Lazarus, Zafon has that ability to infuse life into all he does. It was therefore with great pleasure that I discovered, Zafon has now written a whole series of music to accompany his first two adult novels: ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ and ‘The Angel’s Game.’ Although many of these pieces do have similarities, they evoke the magic and spirit of the novels and make me want to read them all over again accompanied by the music, which will undoubtedly only add a new dimension to the novels.
The Cemetery of Forgotten Books
Zafon is a wonderful writer for children and adults alike and for anyone who loves language or literature, he should be savoured and enjoyed if you can possibly keep yourself from racing through his dynamic plots. I can’t wait now for ‘Marina’ out in September!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omDFmSlWwT4]
‘The Watcher in the Shadows,’ which has also been published under the alternative title ‘September Lights’ did not disappoint. This is actually the third in Zafon’s Niebla or Mist series. However, each of these can be read as standalone novels as they are connected thematically and in terms of style rather than narrative. However, I think this was my favourite of all three. It tells the story of Simone and her children, Irene and Dorian, who have travelled away from a city that is infused with tragedy for them to a seemingly idyllic country retreat in the coastal town of Blue Bay, Normandy. Simone is to be the housekeeper to Lazarus Jann, a reclusive, but brilliant toy maker whose mansion lies in the heart of a forest. However, there are mysteries that seem already to infuse the house with its multitude of automatons and dark shadows that haunt every corner. More peculiar still is the fact that Lazarus will allow no one but himself to attend his beloved wife who was paralysed many years before.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV8qAHIWkeo]
At first all seems perfect as Irene falls slowly in love with Ismael who introduces her to the mysterious landscape around her including the distant lighthouse, the scene of a long ago tragedy and the magic and dangers of the cove. Even Dorian is taken under Lazarus’ wing and begins to recognise and learn of the brilliance of the toy maker. Yet things are not all as they seem and dark forces are soon unleashed within the house whose source remains a mystery and whose power is frighteningly overwhelming. As the novel builds, this darkness and fear only grows to monumental proportions and threatens to consume them all.
This is wonderful writing that transcends age boundaries. Zafon has a magnificent talent for capturing the emotional centres of his characters so we are utterly invested in their fates. In this novel, the innocence of Irene, Simone and Dorian is perfectly counterpoised by the darkness that threatens to swallow them up. Moreover, the romantic narrative between Irene and Ismael was also moving and added not merely an element of human interest that further invested us in the fates of the protagonists, but also provided a painful mirror for the love story between Lazarus and his wife.
Zafon also has a cinematic ability to create landscape. His writing has a gothic quality that seems to infuse the tale with a macabre core even when he is depicting happier scenes. The sense of tremulous anxiety that beats like Poe’s tell-tale heart from the very opening of the novel propels the plot and captivates the reader. This is a novel that, once embarked upon, compels you to keep going. I often feel this way about Zafon’s writing: there is a compulsion to finish his novels because the plot is so dynamic. Yet once you have finished, you wish you had taken more time to savour the language and evocative scenes that Zafon has created. I always feel as if there is so much within his works, a subtle hidden complexity and a web of images and clues that create a holistic work that I have missed so much in my desire to run with the pace of events.
In his comments to the reader on the novel, Zafon claims that he ‘was aiming to write the kind of novel I would have liked to read when I was twelve or thirteen years old. I was trying to offer a nod to all the books kids of my generation used to read, from the mysteries of Enid Blyton to the great nineteenth century classic stories of intrigue and adventure from Dumas to Verne to Stevenson and beyond. I was also secretly hoping that adult readers would enjoy them as well, and that the novels would transport them back to those first books that capture a reader’s imagimation and fire a love for literature.’ Zafon has achieved this and a great deal more. Most importantly though, he does the latter – he inspires a love for literature: you fall in love with the worlds he creates, the characters he re-imagines for us and the language he uses.
This is contemporary fiction at its best: magical, engaging and infused with fear and romance.
However, Zafon is more than simply a writer. It is creative genius that lies at the heart of the novel and perhaps like the toymaker, Lazarus, Zafon has that ability to infuse life into all he does. It was therefore with great pleasure that I discovered, Zafon has now written a whole series of music to accompany his first two adult novels: ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ and ‘The Angel’s Game.’ Although many of these pieces do have similarities, they evoke the magic and spirit of the novels and make me want to read them all over again accompanied by the music, which will undoubtedly only add a new dimension to the novels.
The Cemetery of Forgotten Books
Zafon is a wonderful writer for children and adults alike and for anyone who loves language or literature, he should be savoured and enjoyed if you can possibly keep yourself from racing through his dynamic plots. I can’t wait now for ‘Marina’ out in September!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omDFmSlWwT4]