22 Jan 2017

Review – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Title: The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Rating: 5/5 stars
 
Synopsis: Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.
 

My Thoughts:

A boy, a book and a writer – this is the Holy Trinity of The Shadow of the Wind. The boy longs to untangle the yarns of a life that seems to be gone and past. He doesn’t expect to wake Laín Coubert with his meddling. He is none other than the Devil in the beloved book.

I don’t remember ever reading a novel before that was set in Spain, but despite the writer’s clear efforts to enchant me with the enigmatic representation of Barcelona I loved the Shadow of the Wind for something else: the characterization. Now, many would argue that the city itself was a character in this case, but somehow it wasn’t the component that animated the whole book for me. There were people on these pages that could have easily stepped off them. You know those books that you only come across once in a while, in which you find protagonists and secondary characters you feel you have known your entire life? Well, this is one of those pieces of writing. (God, I wish I had a friend like Fermín Romero de Torres).

I admired Zafón’s choice to hide so many parallels between Daniel and Julián in the book. They made me confused, but in a good way, because thanks to them I was dying to get to know the nature of the connection between the youth and the writer.

I was also pleased with the deliciously gothic locations (especially one) Zafón created; although not very original, it gave just the right milieu to parts of the tale. I’m usually easily creeped out by ghost stories and there was one certain part where I got the goosebumps and it was so so good.

What I wasn’t quite happy with, was the ending, because I expected something else, something more mysterious, something more on the magical realism side of things perhaps – and that kind of closure I didn’t get. The only other thing that bugged me about the Shadow of the Wind was that sometimes the narrative just didn’t seem right: you can read recollections of characters of certain events that they couldn’t have possibly witnessed. But well, it’s just a ’technical’ issue I happened to notice, it didn’t really kept me from enjoying the story.

All in all, The Shadow of the Wind is a wonderful novel and is totally worth the time it takes to read it.

28 Aug 2016

Review - Doctor Who: A Matter of Life and Death



Title: Doctor Who: A Matter of Life and Death (The Eight Doctor Volume 1)

Author/Illustrator: George Mann, Emma Vieceli, Hi-Fi

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Eerie Victorian magic shows, living paintings, mysterious lost books, crystalline life-forms, space-barges crammed with the undead... Embrace all the Gothic Romance and interstellar terror of the Eighth Doctor in this new series starring the most-requested past incarnation!

 

My Thoughts:

I’m totally hooked! The art is amazing, the colouring is beautiful and the new companion is absolutely lovely!

A Matter of Life and Death features the Eighth Doctor who sweeps through time and space in a giddy fashion – as usual – craving a cup of tea all the while – as usual – leaving the work of saving worlds to others – as… wait, what??

Yes, quite surprisingly, the Doctor mostly leans back in this one and watches as Josie, a blue-haired Welsh painter girl, takes on his role and thus proves she is worthy to become a regular companion.

We follow them through six loosely connected stories that involve singing crystals, murderous plants, evil reflections and many more fascinating wrong-doers. I believe the writers found a perfect way to introduce a new companion and I didn’t mind at all that the Doctor was only present as a helper/mentor figure.

I liked that there were a lot of emotions floating around, especially towards the end and it was good to see how the Doctor’s philosophy ‘everyone counts’ got addressed in the final chapter.

If the next installments will be as good as this one was, in the end I might end up owning a complete comic book series…
 
Goodreads | Amazon

19 Aug 2016

Review - A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1)

Author: V. E. Schwab

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.
 
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.
 
My Thoughts: 

I always found the idea of parallel universes cool. In A Darker Shade of Magic this theme is spiced up with magic and the combination results in a highly enjoyable book. V. E. Schwab’s novel is fast paced, action packed, funny and pulls at your heart-strings occasionally; all in all it is a good start to a series.

Kell is an Antari, a blood magician, one of the two survivors of his kind. He has the rare ability to travel between Red, Grey and White London, cities that were sealed off from each other after powerful magic consumed Black London and its populace. After a token from the fourth world ends up in Kell’s possession hell breaks loose and the Antari is the only one who has a chance to keep the threating wave of black magic in bay and thus save the remaining Londons.

He doesn’t have to deal with the situation completely alone of course, he has a badass sidekick, Lila. Lila Bard is the kind of heroine I cannot resist falling in love with. She is sassy, cool on the surface, but vulnerable inside and craves adventure. She is a cross-dresser wannabe pirate; what’s not to love about her? For me she came across as a much better-rounded character than Kell, but it didn’t bother me since I loved her very much.

I loved the adventure, the speed with which the story commenced, it drew me in, kept me excited and left me wanting to read the second book. It’s great how the Londons are similar, yet completely different, how the connections with magic define the worlds and I also liked that magic is a two-edged instrument in the story. All in all: A+, would recommend.