The Angel's Game

The author spoke recently on BBC radio about there being 4 interlocking stories planned in the Shadow of the Wind series. Here is the second and it continues the mood of the first: of a rambling and brooding Barcelona peopled by Peakesque characters who are at once both ugly and beautiful, repellent yet beguiling.

The line between reality and the supernatural blurs a little more in this second book that charts a writer's history a couple of decades before the Shadow of the Wind. We meet up with old friends and encounter new heroes and villains.

It is just as powerful as Shadow, if not quite as wonderful, and let's us see further, both into the depths of Zafon's imagined old Barcelona and the duality and complexity of the human spirit. Evil and love swirl in a dance of chance or purposed misfortune and opportunity ? one is never sure.

If you loved Shadow, you must listen t this too. If you haven?t read Shadow, then read that first before coming here but then come straight here.

Beautiful, beautiful! You do need to have read "The Shadow of the Wind" before reading this, but both books are wonderful and well worth the time.
The author has a superb way of writing, and although I preferred the reader who did "Shadow" I thought this reader was quite good. He captured the atmosphere of the piece very well.
I did feel that the ending was a little confusing because I did lose track slightly, but that might have been my fault. I hope that the real identity of "The Boss" will be explored further in the other books in the series.
The sheer quality of the writing made this spellbinding and I will be listening to it again soon.

This is such a wonderful audiobook, one of my absolute favourites. I loved The Shadow of the Wind, and The Angel's Game was even better. Dan Stevens' narration is superb, it really fits the tone of the whole novel and draws you into the world of old Barcelona. The book is full of mystery, with a dash of suspense, and truly beautiful language - well worth the download.

Having read 'The Shadow of the Wind' some time ago, which I enjoyed it very much, I was looking forward to hearing the sequel. Well, as usual, Dan Stevens reads excellently ( I particuarly loved his reading of 'My Dear, I Wanted To Tell You' - one of the best books I've read this year), but I found the plot of The Angel's Game long and drawn out and, at times, confusing. I even found myself having to rewind frequently as often I just tuned out of the story - it just didn't have me gripped at all....sorry.

At first, I wasn't sure whether this audiobook is so irresistible thanks to author's effort of the excellence of the narrator. I actually picked it because I absolutely adore Dan Stevens, especially his voice and his flawless English. However, I was not aware of his capabilities as a narrator until I sunk into Angel's Game. He instantly pulls you in and makes this wonderful book come to life.

I suppose both the narration and the writing contribute to the fact that this is the best book I have bought via Audible so far. I could not stop listening to it, it completely consumed me from the opening line to the very last word. The author has a particular gift for creating suspense so thick it actually makes your stomach cramp with anxiousness. But there's more to Angel's Game than simple sense of thrill. The ideas and concepts presented to the reader/listener are deep and quite bold.

This book probably raises more questions then it answers but it's a beautifully compelling piece of prose that will make your head spin and your heart ache. I highly recommend it to any lover of great literature.

From the very first chapter of this audio book the characters are engaging and the setting enchanting. The old town of Barcelona is the perfect backdrop for this mysterious tale. For me, the book oozed atmosphere and even walking in the park on a sunny day i felt transported to the mists and cobbles of the old town. As usual the author did not dissapoint, I did not want the story to end.

I read the 'Shadow on the Wind' first, thank goodness or I would have been really confused. It was an interesting story, and you can follow the characters quite well, although I did get a little lost at the end. I loved the narrators voice, and could listen to him all day, he read it well and kept a good pace, but I plan on listening to it again sometime soon, both because I enjoyed it and to make sure I understood the reality from the fiction.

I loved the Shadow of the Wind book so was interested to see if this was as good and indeed it is, I also liked the narrator, I had actually read The Shadow and found the spanish words and places to be quite confusing, so was delighted to have purchased the Audio version of The Angels Game which made the understanding of the spanish words much easier, can't wait till book 3. Would say to you to get The Shadow first then get this book.

slow to get into - but once you do its gripping