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A review by herbieridesagain
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
3.0
I had completely forgotten I’d read this, tucked away in my kindle’s read list, and the omission was made more poignant when I discovered that Carlos Ruiz Zafon had passed away on the 19th of June. A masterful story teller, Zafon’s Cemetery of forgotten books series captivated me for hours on end, and even re-reading the first three to fully enjoy the fourth was just as enjoyable the second time around. I had planned to read his Young Adult books, starting with this and my own small tribute will be to finish all of his books.
Ruiz Zafon doesn’t dial down the Gothic that much for his YA books it seems. Max’s family move to the coast to escape the war, or at least put it at arms length, and instead, something unseen, dark and sinister wraps it’s grip around them and becomes a battle for their lives. I found the the cemetery series an absolute joy to read, and while there were a lot of Gothic elements, it was only really The Angels Game that I felt really immersed itself in the Gothic. But here, it is still dark, there is a strong supernatural element, an enemy who doesn’t seem human, a promise still to be kept, and 3 young teenagers seemingly the only ones who can stop it.
The protagonist is Max, his sister Alicia, but it is Roland, their new friend that sits at the heart of the story, it seems someone, or something, is after him, and the mystery involves the old house that Max and Alicia’s family has moved into. After their younger sister is mysteriously struck down and has to go to hospital, the brother and sister try to unravel the mystery to protect their family and friend.
I enjoyed The Prince of Mist, although after reading the Cemetery series there is definitely a different style of writing here for a younger audience but the darkness doesn’t seem to drop many notches and the ending was not what I was expecting, although really I should of been.
Next up will be The Midnight Palace. It’s a great shame we lost Ruiz Zafon so young, he was a brilliant writer who was a great and enthralling story teller, may he rest in peace.
(blog review here)
Ruiz Zafon doesn’t dial down the Gothic that much for his YA books it seems. Max’s family move to the coast to escape the war, or at least put it at arms length, and instead, something unseen, dark and sinister wraps it’s grip around them and becomes a battle for their lives. I found the the cemetery series an absolute joy to read, and while there were a lot of Gothic elements, it was only really The Angels Game that I felt really immersed itself in the Gothic. But here, it is still dark, there is a strong supernatural element, an enemy who doesn’t seem human, a promise still to be kept, and 3 young teenagers seemingly the only ones who can stop it.
The protagonist is Max, his sister Alicia, but it is Roland, their new friend that sits at the heart of the story, it seems someone, or something, is after him, and the mystery involves the old house that Max and Alicia’s family has moved into. After their younger sister is mysteriously struck down and has to go to hospital, the brother and sister try to unravel the mystery to protect their family and friend.
I enjoyed The Prince of Mist, although after reading the Cemetery series there is definitely a different style of writing here for a younger audience but the darkness doesn’t seem to drop many notches and the ending was not what I was expecting, although really I should of been.
Next up will be The Midnight Palace. It’s a great shame we lost Ruiz Zafon so young, he was a brilliant writer who was a great and enthralling story teller, may he rest in peace.
(blog review here)