ramblings

Angel's Game is a watered-down version of the magic that Zafon gave us in Shadow of the Wind. There are more witty lines, more character analyses, and though these are a welcome change or addition, somehow the magic is a bit lost. The ending made me feel a bit shortchanged. It might be unfair to compare this to Shadow, but it is the same author and it is said to be a follow-up to the book. There are too many loose ends in this one, and everything seemed rushed in the end--the suicide, the manuscript being left in the Cemetery of Forgotten BOOKS; Shadow was packed tightly, and this just wasn't. Shadow made you believe in unrealistic things (hence the magic), but Angel only served to confuse. The assignment/topic David had to write about seemed out of place in the whole story, though occassionally, some bits of brilliance (or was it foreshadowing) showed through, as he slowly became what he was writing about.It's still the type of book you'd want to curl up with in bed during a stormy eve and read until dawn; I'd still recommend this book to fans of Zafon and crime/mystery readers. But instead of a Shadow that haunts you beautifully long after the story has ended, this one is more like an enjoyable Game that leaves you feeling a bit confused in the end.