3.75/5

SPOILER ALERT!

I was very disappointed in this book. I liked Prince of Mist, but this book was not nearly as good (and I didn't think Prince of Mist was great).

For one thing, Grandma does not want anyone telling Sheere that her father was a bad man. But Grandma was the one who, for her whole life, has been telling Sheere that her father is a good man. But she knew his spirit was hunting his children to kill one of them. So why did she build him up in Sheere's mind in the first place?

How can Ben and Sheere have a mystical connection because they were twins separated at birth?

Why did Dad kidnap Ben's friends and tie them up? Why didn't he just kill them all and then kill Ben?

Whatever happened to their father's home? Why did he build it so weird?

How can they believe one minute that the bad guy knows they are there, because the miniature train starts going around the tracks and has three miniature figures of them inside, and then the next minute feel they are safe enough to go to sleep in separate rooms?

And why is it the girl always has to be the one sacrifice herself?

The story was not that interesting. It was difficult to follow. Explanations were given in character speech, going on for pages. Couldn't the author find a way to show, not tell? I was actually kind of angry by the end because I really wanted to like the book and find it creepy, like Prince of Mist. I don't understand why VOYA had it as a starred review.

The cover art is great, though.


Product Description
In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery....

Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . .

Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere's sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night--and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.

After the mediocre Prince of the Mist (very, very YA), CR Zafon returns (in a manner of speaking since the book is from the early 90's predating his two masterpieces but the translation is only 2011) to what we expect from TSoW and TAG; now this book is still YA so we have simple action and relatively predictable plot with a twist and 16 year old heroes and heroines in typical world building that does not question the YA's roles as main leads - hence do not expect the layers and sophistication of the two adult novels - but the elements are there: narrative energy, inventiveness, great characters (even as sketches), surprises and the creepy descriptions that justly made the atmosphere of TSoW and TAG so awesome.

If you want an introduction to the author and see what the fuss is this book will do since it's short and fast. Highly recommended (again keeping in mind that is still YA so with all the limitations thereof)

It's lovely to see the early beginnings of Shadow of the wind!
Zafon is truly on of the greatest writers of our time and you can see that he was just practicing with these first books.

*PopSugar2023 Reto #2: Libro que compré en una librería independiente*

*Línea 2a. Libro con una parte del día en el título*

El principio es bastante interesante y que engancha para seguir leyendo, pero a la mitad, empiezan a entrelazar historias y alargar la trama, logrando que poco a poco se pierda el interés. Es en ese momento, que se sabe quién es el malo, porque hay un capítulo que lo dice, lo cual no entiendo si se supone que en la "lucha final" deberíamos sorprendernos por saber quién es el espectro que los persigue.
El autor tiene una introducción en la que se disculpa por las fallas que el libro pudiera tener, y creo que eso te predispone a empezar con cierto recelo.
Sin embargo no hay duda que Ruiz Zafón tiene un don para la escritura que se ve representado en todas sus obras, porque a pesar de los problemas que encontré al leer, no pude soltarlo.

I'm so in love with all of Carlos' books. No kidding. All of them are perfect, and beautiful. Highly recomended




No recuerdo porque empece a leer a CRZ, pero no se que seria de mi sin sus libros.

Este libro asi como todos los de el, esta lleno de suspenso y un poco de misterio paranormal, el cual jamas esta completamente descrito pero no es necesario para entender la historia. Adoro como todas sus historias acaban de forma melancólica, sin duda CRZ es uno de los mejores autores del momento.

Mande? Que dijiste? Que nunca has leído nada de el? bueno, A QUE ESTAS ESPERANDO HIJITO(A)!

И в тази книга, Сафон запазва нишката на магическия реализъм, която е ясно откроима още в първата част. Въпреки усложнения сюжет историята тук сякаш ми се стори малко по-слаба, тъй като не ме грабна веднага, както се случи с предходната.

Огнен демон дири отмъщение в “Среднощният дворец” на Сафон: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/s...

Двайсет години след написването й, най-сетне “Среднощният дворец” се появи и на български език. Тя е първата книга на Карлос Руис Сафон, която забягва далеч от мъгливата Барселона, прелита до далечна Индия и се приземява сред екзотичната Калкута. Там нещата си тръгват по изпитаната рецепта, която Сафон начева с “Принцът на мъглата”, видимо шлифова тук и в “Марина”, а после вече използва в целия й блясък при “Сянката на вятъра” и следващите от тетралогията за Гробището на забравените книги. Приятелството, свръхестественото зло, жертвата, която трябва да бъде пренесена, за да може раната от миналото да бъде излекувана – всичко това във втората приключенска книга от юношеската трилогия на испанския майстор, подплатено този път и с доста повече мрачивина, кръв и ужас.

Издателство "Изток-Запад"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/s...

Obsessive followers of my reviews (come on, I know there's loads of you out there) may have noted that back when I reviewed Carlos Ruiz Zafón's previous YA novel, The Prince of Mist, I said I wasn't going to bother reading this. And it's true, I wasn't. But then I came across a copy in the library, and couldn't resist giving this a try, knowing it wouldn't take me long to read. I'm quite glad I did, as The Midnight Palace is much better than its predecessor.

Like The Prince of Mist, this book was originally intended for the teen market, but the English translation is clearly being aimed more towards the author's adult fans - again, it comes with a foreword extolling its appeal to readers of all ages. The story starts with Ian, now entering old age, recalling his youth in a children's home in Calcutta - specifically the adventures he enjoyed with a tight-knit group of fellow orphans who called themselves the Chowbar Society. Flashback to 1932, when the seven friends are on the cusp of turning sixteen and leaving the orphanage to make their own ways in the world. An elderly woman arrives at the orphanage with a girl of their age, the intriguing Sheere, and so begins a fantastical rollercoaster ride of an adventure.

It's odd that this is supposed to be the second of a trilogy, as other than some elements of fantasy and a seemingly indestructible 'bad guy', it has very little in common with The Prince of Mist. One of the things that annoyed me the most about that book was that it was so vague, completely failing to establish any sense of time or place, and providing very little explanation of the villain's origins. Here, the setting and era of the story are clear from the beginning, and the evil Jawahal is given a backstory that's perhaps too detailed, raising rather a lot of questions. Naturally, since this is YA fiction, it does all get a bit silly - much of the climactic action is really daft, but I didn't exactly expect shining literary brilliance, so that was fine. But I did genuinely like the ending, which seemed oddly melancholy and downbeat for a teen book.

A decent little read for fans of the author - atmospheric, exciting and easy to get through in one sitting. Maybe I'll read his next YA translation (due May 2013!) after all.

La verdad que no le tenía mucha fe a este autor, pero -al menos este- está bien escrito, es entretenido como para engancharte mucho y deja una linda sensación al terminarlo, aunque su final no me haya convencido.
Adolescentes protagonistas, pero con un enfoque un poco más infantil-juvenil, recursos fantásticos, década del 30, CALCUTA<3 y muchas, muchas situaciones tensas que llegaron hasta asustarme un poco.

Y sí, hace poco me enteré que había uno antes. Quizá después lo lea...

In all of Carlos Ruiz Zafon books I found his locations to be the highlight. They come alive with rich gothic descriptions.

Prior to The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos wrote a series of young adult books that’s meant to entice young reader and adults alike. Unlike his first book in the series - The Price of Mist - I found the plot to be on the youngish side, the idea of orphan children forming of a group called the Chowbar Society, where their basic motto is to have each other’s back, no matter what, is not original in my opinion. There’s sufficient proportion of supernatural elements and adventure that I can see would appeal to the 12 - 16 year age group. Looking at it from their eyes, it will certainly enthrall and frightening them. But as an adult, I found the writing and translation fluent, and easy to read but it didn’t have the desired effect on me.

Pursued by an evil villain, two newborn twins are separated at birth. The boy, Ben, is abandoned at an orphanage, while his sister, Sheere, goes to live with her grandmother in hiding. The book primarily focuses on Ben. We get to know him very well, his interaction and friendship with his fellow orphan friends, his nightmares and fears. When it came to Sheere, I didn’t feel I had formed a strong bond with her. Sheere played a vital role in the finale, yet Carlos didn’t gave us enough time to get to know her as well, as she only appeared in the final few chapters. I would’ve liked for the chapters to alternate between the twins, to see what Sheere life was like on the run and form a connection with her.

The Midnight Palace is my least favourite book of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, but he’s a magnificent writer, and I’m a loyal reader of his work. If his books are available to me, I continue to read every single one of them.