From master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, comes The Angel’s Game — a dazzling new page-turner about the perilous nature of obsession, in literature and in love.

The whole of Barcelona stretched out at my feet and I wanted to believe that when I opened those windows — my new windows — each evening its streets would whisper stories to me, secrets in my ear, that I could catch on paper and narrate to whomever cared to listen…

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city’s underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner.

Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existed — a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, and perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.

Once again, Zafon takes us into a dark, gothic universe first seen in The Shadow of the Wind and creates a breathtaking adventure of intrigue, romance, and tragedy. Through a dizzyingly constructed labyrinth of secrets, the magic of books, passion, and friendship blend into a masterful story.

Reader Reviews

Baba

(3/5)

Nov 21, 2024

“Don't be afraid of being scared. To be afraid is a sign of common sense. Only complete idiots are not afraid of anything.”Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Angel's GameBrazenly differently to The Shadow of the Wind, yet still a complementary sequel/prequel. Shadow of the Wind readers will instantly recognise characters and places in this book, but the new protagonist, the wannabe writer, young David Martin's story takes you to the uncharted waters of Gothic (historical) fiction, or even possibly supernatu...

Char

(4/5)

Last night, I listened to the end of this audiobook with tears in my eyes. I won't easily forget those last scenes. My favorite parts of this story were the visits to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. I love the idea of a place where: "Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The first time someone visits this place, he must choose a book and adopt it, making sure that it will never disappear, that it will always stay alive." Just reading those sentences makes my soul sigh with contentm...

Lavinia

My, oh my! I had such great expectations from the book - I know, it's not fair - and I was so disappointed about how it ends I actually don't know anymore if I liked it or not.It starts OK, nothing spectacular at the beginning (well maybe that episode when David, a journalist at this point, visits the brothel - I still haven't figured out its connection with the rest of the story ), but after the first quarter it gets better and better. Now a writer, David is asked by a mysterious editor to writ...

Maxwell

More like a 4.5 stars but still really, really good. I couldn't get enough of this book. It has the delightfully gothic elements that Ruiz Zafón does so well: mysterious figures, creepy mansions, blood and mist, and the eerie atmosphere of Barcelona at night. And of course, the importance of books in the story makes it quite an enjoyable read.The story follows David Martin, a writer for a newspaper and penny dreadfuls who gets sucked into a creepy plot with a figure called "the boss" who employs...

(1/5)

When I'm reading something good, or even decent, I'll find myself reading just a few more pages when I should be doing housework or some other exciting chore. When I find myself finding all sorts of creative ways to waste time without even thinking of picking up my book, I know it's time to give up on it.Too bad -- I really liked The Shadow of the Wind. But unfortunately, like the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, I think the author was trying too hard to recreate his own success at the expens...

JG (Introverted Reader)

212

David Martín is a writer of penny dreadfuls who is offered a huge sum of money to write a book for a French publisher. He can't find any evidence that the publisher actually exists though, and violent things start happening to David's friends and colleagues.I was rocking through the first half of the book, loving Ruiz Zafón's writing, and then I just stopped caring a little over halfway through. I'm not entirely sure what happened. I think I got sick of having absolutely no freaking idea what wa...

Petrik

(5/5)

193

4.5/5 starsThe Angel’s Game is another incredible book by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s as good as The Shadow of the Wind in a different way. More than a month has passed since I finished reading The Shadow of the Wind that enthralled me, and not gonna lie, I had an inkling of dropping the series after continuously hearing from so many people that the continuations aren’t really worth the read. I can’t say about The Prisoner of Heaven because I haven’t read it yet, but The Angel’s Game, in my opinion,...

Will Byrnes

179

In The Angel’s Game Zafon returns us to the Barcelona of his prior novel, Shadow of the Wind. Young David Martin is a copy boy at The Voice of Industry, but the newspaper’s star writer, Pedro Vidal, has been promoting David to the editor. Given a chance to write, David blossoms. Vidal later pushes him out of the newspaper so he can work for a pair of unscrupulous publishers of penny-dreadfuls. David is wildly successful at that as well, but pines to do more substantive writing. He is approached

❄️BooksofRadiance❄️

104

4.5⭐️ Hats off to you, Sir!I love this author so damn much!!!First, let's get the confusion out of the way. The Angel's Game, though the second book to the beautiful Shadow of the Wind, is neither a prequel nor a sequel. Essentially it is a stand-alone story that you can fully enjoy on its own but if you want to get the most out of it and discover all the connections that will enhance your reading experience with the characters, I highly recommend reading them in their publication order and not

Jim Fonseca

103

Like me, you will probably read The Angels' Game because you enjoyed immensely the author's The Shadow of the Wind. And it's all here again: the musty dusty bookstores of Barcelona with their Borges-like labyrinths and secret passageways. Decaying old mansions; a brooding half-crazed, over-caffeinated writer; darkness, shadows, death, murders, mystery and foreboding. The problem I had was with the plot. I couldn't tell at the end what the resolution was of the plot. I even skimmed back though th...

Peter (on semi-hiatus)

Menace Not as good as Shadow of the Wind. I really like Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s style as he manages to create a feeling of menace and foreboding in his writing that is just perfect for a mysterious thriller. There is always a hint of supernatural that brings an eerie haunting atmosphere that keeps you wondering what’s right around the corner or who’s watching. The main character is made an offer that he can't resist but what is the real cost?While the guessing game is what we all love in a mystery

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