This was creepy and scary but wonderful. My only regret was that I statrted reading it in the night. ( had to sleep with the light on ; ))

Moving unto The Midnight Palace  by Mr Zafon I'm hoping to finish most of his works by the first week in April.

Actual ratings: 3.75

Me gustó el libro pero al mismo tiempo no. Es muy descriptivo, te ayuda a ambientarte muy bien en la historia y lo que te está contando el autor. Además que está bien escrito. Pero al ser tan descriptivo el resultado es que se vuelve lento, me faltó emoción y un poco más de suspenso en cierta escenas.

Original read: June 2012
Re-read: January 2016

Third Read: July/August 2018

High praises to the narrator Jonathan Davis.. he did a wonderful job with the narration, specially with Kane.

The sound effects add a creepy factor to the story at times.. one part for me especially had me looking over my shoulder to make sure Kane wasn't behind me! (Even on third read)

Would love to see more of Kane again one day *crosses fingers*

The interview at the audiobook's end was a plus as well:).
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Some samples of the beautiful writing:

“Age makes you notice certain things. For example, I now know that a man’s life is broadly divided into three periods. During the first, it doesn’t even occur to us that one day we will grow old, we don’t think that time passes or that from the day we are born we’re all walking toward a common end. After the first years of youth comes the second period, in which a person becomes aware of the fragility of life and what begins like a simple niggling doubt rises inside you like a flood of uncertainties that will stay with you for the rest of your days. Finally, toward the end of life, the period of acceptance begins, and, consequently, of resignation, a time of waiting.”

“Max had once read in one of his father's books that some childhood images become engraved in the mind like photographs, like scenes you can return to again and again and will always remember, no matter how much time goes by.”

"Max would never forget that faraway summer when, almost by chance, he discovered magic. "

"Years later, as he remembered the scene, his family wandering to and fro with their bags while he sat in a corner clutching the watch his father had given him, Max knew that this was the day he left his childhood behind. "

"In the twilight, Max had to strain his eyes to make out what he was seeing. It appeared to be an abandoned garden. A garden of statues. Max was hypnotised by the strange vision of the figures trapped in the undergrowth, locked inside a walled garden that reminded him of a village graveyard. "
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I will never tire of singing this man's praises, his writing is one of the first ones for me when I am in a funk. It is so easy to sink into his stories and get lost, and this one is no exception.

It isn't my favorite of his novels.. I couldn't get as into it even though I enjoyed the story. I remember reading the author's note and afterwards being very impressed with this a first novel.

With this and each of the his other ones (Watcher, Midnight Palace, Mariana) you can see his writing grow each time and him honing his craft. :)

1º livro escrito por Carlos Ruiz Zafón e que se lê quase de uma vez. Penso que o posso incluir no terror juvenil mas gostei pois gosto deste género de livros. Faz parte de uma trilogia, sendo que em Portugal ainda foi apenas editado o 1º livro

(Como contexto, esta fue una lectura que nos hicieron leer en la escuela, pero en su momento no me interesaba tanto leer libros y no aprecié esta lectura como debió de ser)

Carlos ya nos explica al principio que quería que esta historia fuera interesante para adolescentes, como para personas más mayores, y lo noto en la manera en que escribe, es una historia bastante adolescente, pero con toques adultos y que te hacen reflexionar sobre diferentes temas, como la guerra o el problema de obtener todo lo que quieres sin pensar en las graves consecuencias de recibirlo tan fácilmente.

En esta historia nos encontramos a Max, que se muda a un pueblo con su familia, y, junto a una de sus hermanas, Alicia, y otro amigo, emprenden la aventura de descubrir más sobre la figura del príncipe de la niebla. ¿Qué misterios se ocultan en el pueblo cubierto por un manto de niebla?

Es una lectura super rápida de leer y me consta que tiene dos partes más, asi que seguramente cuando pueda, me leeré los que me faltan.

O editor, aquando da publicação da última obra do autor refere que havia um novo adjectivo literário a ter em conta: um estilo Zafoniano.

Concordo plenamente. A mim, enche-me as medidas.

A quadrilogia do Cemitério dos Livros Esquecidos é uma das minhas sagas preferidas.

Tendo iniciado pelas suas melhores obras, senti-me, agora, muito hesitante em ler o seu primeiro livro que data de 1993 e que se insere numa linha mais juvenil. O que me fez então lê-lo? A minha filha pediu-me para ler o prólogo desta edição, escrito em 2007 pelo próprio, porque sabia que seria o suficiente para eu avançar na leitura.

"Permita-me, então que o convide a viver as aventuras destas personagens que ainda me são tão familiares como no dia em que as conheci. A entrada não tem limite de idade, nem lugar marcado. Será bem-vindo a estas páginas quer seja um leitor veterano como eu ou um leitor jovem que mergulha na maior das aventuras, a de ler. (…)

Espero que saboreie a leitura, desta e de muitas outras que se sigam. E confio que um dia voltemos a ver-nos e a ler-nos mutuamente. Se nessa altura eu já tiver desaparecido por completo, encontrar-me-á aqui ou entre as páginas de outras histórias que tento contar-lhe da melhor maneira que sei e que vamos construindo, letra a letra, entre nós."

Foi quanto bastou para eu encetar este projecto, não sem ficar com lágrimas nos olhos perante a triste realidade de já não o termos entre nós!

Concluída a leitura, verifico que se vislumbra já as nuances estéticas de uma literatura gótica que marcariam os seus livros posteriores.

Uma narrativa dinâmica, instigante no qual a tragédia, o terror, o romance e a aventura se enquadra nos níveis de qualquer adolescente, mas igualmente agradável numa fase posterior da vida. Apesar do ambiente mais dark nota-se uma delicadeza e uma sensibilidade acentuada.

Valeu muito a pena, sim.

3.75

This novel was originally written for people at all ages, but it was published as a YA novel. It is the first book ever written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and it is a ghost story! All of the above-mentioned reason made me curious to read it and see if it would scare me as much as I was hoping for.
Having now read it, I have to admit that while it was a good enough story, it was also quite predictable, and it didn't scare me at all. I'm not even sure that it would've scared me when I was younger, just because it contains so many of the scary elements that you are used to in horror fiction.
In my opinion, you can sense that this is Zafon's first written novel. The story isn't that strong, and the characters are rather flat. Still, it did entertain me, and it is after all a very short read, so definitely pick it up if you are a fan of Zafon or if you just happen to be interested in this ghost story.

2.5/5

Idk… the premise made it seem AMAZING but then.. everything happened so fast and things weren’t as exciting as the description made it seem.. characters were super meh.. plot was meh as well. Not that good for me.

I didn't pay much attention to genre tags or even the synopsis before I picked up this book, so the story came as quite a surprise to me!

Well-written with an interesting storyline that keeps you wondering for a great deal of the book.

Max didn't strike me as the typical 13-year old, in a positive way, and I enjoyed seeing him develop and grow up a little. His older sister Alicia is still pretty much a mystery and I would have enjoyed getting to know more about her background, but since the book is mostly from Max' point of view and he keeps thinking about Alicia being a mystery, it comes as no surprise in the end that not much is revealed about her.

The Prince of Mist is a somewhat terrifying character and some of the story revolving around him is a little hard to believe, but I'm pretty sure that is intentional on the author's part.

Definitely an enjoyable read.

If only I haven't read THE SHADOW OF THE WIND in the first place

Yes people exactly this is the main issue with me whenever I pick up a Zafon novel. Most of the time this thing happens in the reverse. Like if you have read an author for the first time and you hated the book then I bet you will ever give the author any chance soon for your readership of his/her next book. But not here. I adore THE SHADOW OF THE WIND so much that I expect the same perfection from every book of Zafon which is wrong.

I rate this book between 3 and 4. It has a good plot and the same gothic mysterious writing style I admire. It's basically a horror historical fiction for children but still I expected more from Zafon. The characters aren't well built, the mystery is not explained well and the end looked to me a bit rushy. Maybe because this was Zafon's first book because he got better in his later books.

I was a little disappointed but still it was worth a read.

Me ha gustado muchísimo.!!! Es lo primero que leo del autor y no me arrepiento de haber empezado con su primer trabajo. Ya quiero saber cómo continúa la historia y estoy deseando leer más de Zafón.!!! ❤️
Con respecto al libro, me pareció muy original y atrapante. Leerlo en Halloween fue un plus !