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[Edmond Dantès]

Recently released sequel to The Shadow of the Wind continuing Daniel Sempere's story along with Fermin and Bea in the beautiful, thought provoking setting of Barcelona.

Synopsis

It begins just before Christmas in Barcelona in 1957, one year after Daniel and Bea from The Shadow of the Wind have married. They now have a son, Julian, and are living with Daniel's father at Sempere & Sons. Fermin still works with them and is busy preparing for his wedding to Bernarda in the New Year. However something appears to be bothering him.

Daniel is alone in the shop one morning when a mysterious figure with a pronounced limp enters. He spots one of their most precious volumes that is kept locked in a glass cabinet, a beautiful and unique illustrated edition of The Count of Monte Cristo. Despite the fact that the stranger seems to care little for books, he wants to buy this expensive edition. Then, to Daniel's surprise, the man inscribes the book with the words 'To Fermin Romero de Torres, who came back from the dead and who holds the key to the future'. This visit leads back to a story of imprisonment, betrayal and the return of a deadly rival.

Any thoughts?

 

[Pastry]

I'd also like to hear any impressions if anyone has read this yet. I really loved the first book.

 

[Leunam]

I've got the Shadow of the Wind in my backlog. Going to move it up the order now.

 

[Pastry]

I've got the Shadow of the Wind in my backlog. Going to move it up the order now.

You really should. Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game are fantastic books. I'm probably going to read them again before I read the Prisoner of Heaven.

What about The Prince of Mist and The Midnight palace his earlier books? They're supposed to be 'young adult' books but are they still good?

 

[echoshifting]

Wow, exciting! I had no idea he was even working on a sequel.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

Shadow of the Wind was a fantastic read. Just a freakin' great novel. I am always hesitant about follow-ups, but I might have to give this a read.

 

[aidan]

I read and reviewed it a couple of weeks ago, and absolutely loved it. It's not as epic as The Shadow of the Wind, nor is the narrative as twisty, but it's a big step up from The Angel's Game and a worthy addition to Zafon's series. An excerpt from my review:

At once a sequel to The Angel's Game and both a sequel and prequel to The Shadow of the Wind, The Prisoner of Heaven continues to tie together the twisting and melancholy narratives of David Martín and Daniel Sempere. This time, Zafón uses the unlikeliest of sources to accomplish this intertwining of narratives: at the heart of The Prisoner of Heaven, though not the titular prisoner itself, is Fermín Romero de Torres, and his story, from his first steps through the gates at Castle Montjuïc, to his eventual meeting with Daniel Sempere, is surprisingly heartbreaking and and important to the overall narrative of the series' overall story.

In The Shadow of the Wind, Fermín's role as sidekick often fell into the role of comedic relief, allowing Zafón to break the tension with a well-timed joke about flatulence or an off-beat observation about the world, or those who people it. His place in the novel is important for helping to maintain tone, and showcasing Zafón's sly humour, but the reader always had the sense the Fermím's past held secrets as dark and interesting as anyone else in the novel. The Prisoner of Heaven explores some of those secrets, but not all. In response to Fermín's upcoming nuptiuals, Daniel sets out to ensure that his friend can be legally wed under his nom de plume, Fermín Romero de Torres, and in doing so discovers secrets about his own past and his connection with David Martín, lightly touched upon in The Angel's Game. It's a thrilling ride for anyone who has closely followed the labyrinth of relationships that Zafón has woven through his novels.

One aspect that surprised me is how The Prisoner of Heaven makes The Angel's Game a stronger novel, by exploring David Martín from the perspective of an outsider. It's difficult to go into without digging deep into spoiler territory, which is not my objective for this review, but it sheds a lot of light on Martín's actions in The Angel's Game and explicitly explains the origins of his delusions, suggesting that the confusing narrative of The Angel's Game, often considered one of its flaws when considering it as a stand-alone novel, might serve a greater role in the series as a whole. I have one prediction for the final novel that, if it comes true, will be incredibly bold and perfectly executed by Zafón. Time will tell if I'm correct, but it will make subsequent re-reads of the entire series take on a new perspective.

There are the familiar characters that we all met and grew to love in The Shadow of the Wind. Fermín, of course, plays an important role, as does Daniel, though his next time to truly shine will be in the following novel, but it was pleasent and nostalgic to again be re-introduced to Bea and Daniel's father, and Issac at the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, all of whom have grown up a bit, matured and evolved since we last saw them. Except Isaac; he never seems to change. And that's just fine.

Barcelona, too, has changed since readers last visited, slowly crawling out from under the shadow of World War II and the civil war that wracked much of Spain through the latter-half of the '30s. Gone is the baroque and ethereal Barcelona, ripe for the lingering ghosts and haunted dreams that formed much of the core tale in The Shadow of the Wind, replaced with a more contemporary Barcelona, snow falling over the city, instead of sunshine bleaching its streets. Due to the dual-timeline structure of the narrative, Zafón is able to press these two visions of Barcelona together, illustrating the cities transformation through the intervening years between the `beginning' of Fermín's tale (1939) to the opening pages of this tale (1957). It's another touching love letter from Zafón to the City of Counts.

The Prisoner of Heaven is a worthy follow-up to The Shadow of the Wind and everything I hoped The Angel's Game would be. It is not as deep or labyrinthine as The Shadow of the Wind, by virtue of its length, and it does not play tricks on the reader through a twisted, unreliable narrator like The Angel's Game (or does it?), but stands between the two of them as a strong novel that, while it doesn't stand entirely on its own, as the previous two novels did, appears to be the keystone novel in Zafón's series. Many questions are raised in The Prisoner of Heaven, pondering the relationship between the tales of Daniel Sempere and David Martín, and the final volume of the quartet, along with those answers, cannot come soon enough. The Prisoner of Heaven is a near pitch-perfect novel, and fans of The Shadow of the Wind have much to look forward to.

If you're interested, you can find my entire review of The Prisoner of Heaven on my blog.

tl;dr It's good. Really, really good.

What about The Prince of Mist and The Midnight palace his earlier books? They're supposed to be 'young adult' books but are they still good?

I wasn't a fan of The Prince of Mist. Too many problems with the narrative. It does explore some similar themes to The Shadow of the Wind, though, and Zafon's use of atmosphere as a narrative device is in full form. They're short, so I still recommend them, but don't expect too much.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Wow great review. I absolutely loved SofTW and had no idea there was a sequel. I'm starting it as soon as I finish Dance w/ Dragons

 

[Stat Flow]

Let me just say that The Shadow of The Wind is a ridiculously enjoyable read.

Then, I also fell in love with The Angel's Game. It's another fantastic read. So, I was looking forward to The Prisoner of Heaven, and I find out it's about half the length of the first two books. Disappointing. But I read it all in one night. What an incredible book. It is more of a bridge between the two prior books, but the best thing about it?

Spoiler

It is a beautiful set up for what is guaranteed to be an epic fourth book.

It's obvious that CRZ is a master of writing and storytelling, but I've read a lot of the things about why people didn't like The Angel's Game, and even more so considering that the events in TPoH

Spoiler

somewhat contradict the ending we were given in TA'sG

. I think it really all adds up quite beautifully. If you take the events in The Angel's Game for what they really are, it makes perfect sense.

And it was fantastic. I re-read The Angel's Game and then TSotW directly before reading TPoH and it really helped. I really recommend anyone read all three books, and in that order.

Edit: Great review, aidan.

 

[Ceebs]

LOVED Shadow of the Wind, did not like The Angel's Game at all.

Will probably check this out.