lexiepiper Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 As far as the actual story was concerned I felt it was brilliant. I did not see the twist coming in relation to Hariet still being alive AT ALL and I would be interested if everyone else was the same. I don't know, it just felt like the author did a great job of just getting me focused on it being a murder. I seemed to be in suspense for massive chunks of the book which is always a good sign for books like this one. I have ordered to second book in the trilogy online and can't wait for it to arrive so that I can find out what happens in the next installment. Awesome book, loved it. I didn't see it coming at all either, but I thought it was a good twist! Let me know how the next one is, I've been unsure whether to read it myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanC_84 Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 I didn't see it coming at all either, but I thought it was a good twist! Let me know how the next one is, I've been unsure whether to read it myself! No worries Lexie, definately will. I'm going to make it my next one after 'Shadow of the Wind' I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Ooo enjoy Shadow Of The Wind, I thought that book was great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanC_84 Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 Ooo enjoy Shadow Of The Wind, I thought that book was great Cheers. I'm about 120 pages in and I've enjoyed it so far. I just wish I had a bit more time to read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanC_84 Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 Finished 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon last night. Synopsis: Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax. But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead. My rating: 8/10 My thoughts: I had very high expectations for this book, which it maybe failed to meet completely. I really enjoyed the author's commentary on Barcelona and I thought it was very well written, there were just one or two things about the book that annoyed me slightly. On the positive note some of the characters were really well constructed. Fermin and Daniel in particular I felt were very strong characters and always interesting. In some cases I think he may have overdone Fermin's eccentric personality a little but overall I enjoued the author's construction of that character. The other character I really enjoyed was Fumero. He was entertaining throughout. One of the main things that bothered/annoyed me was what I felt was a slight cop out in relation to having Daniel be essentially "brought back from the dead". I think I definately would have preferred the ending had he just died. I didn't like how the book told a story of despair and hopeless love and then turned around and essentially put a nice bow on a happy ending. That kind of annoyed me slightly. The construction of Daniel's relationship with Bea was another think I didn't particularly like. Love that comes out of left field is one of my pet hates at the moment and I kind of felt that is what happened there. Perhaps I'm being harsh. Finally, Coubert being Julian Carax disappointed me, purely because I saw it coming from so far out. Depite these (what I felt were) shortcomings, I really did enjoy this book and I would recommend it to others. The descriptions of Barca are excellent, the writing style flows and for the most part, the story is captivating. Next up I am reading 'Ceremony in Death' by JD Robb. I felt like a lighter, shorter read after my last few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanC_84 Posted October 18, 2009 Author Share Posted October 18, 2009 Finished 'Ceremony in Death' by JD Robb last night. Wasn't too bad. A little tedious in places perhaps but overall fairly decent. Next up is 'The Girl Who Played With Fire' by Stieg Larsson, which I'm pretty pumped about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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