THE ANGEL'S GAME. Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Translated by Lucia Graves. Doubleday. 464 pages. $26.95.

In his mega-hit novel The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón introduced readers around the world to the most mysterious neighborhood of his native Barcelona -- the labyrinthine Barri Gotic. The quarter's damp, dimly lit alleys led to Zafón's fictional Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where his protagonists engaged in the noble and dangerous task of rescuing books in post-Civil War Spain.

The Dickensian Shadow, lushly written in Spanish and translated into 40 languages, sold seven million copies and helped bring the Gothic novel back from obscurity. Now in the semiprequel The Angel's Game, Zafón seals the deal with a wickedly clever tale that turns readers into accomplices of his obsession with books, the quixotic characters who pen and peddle them and mystical Barcelona.

The story opens in 1917 at the newspaper The Voice of Industry, which Zafón places ``behind the forest of angels and crosses of Pueblo Nuevo's cemetery. . . . its outline merged with the mausoleums [talk about a metaphor that fits the times] silhouetted against the horizon -- a skyline stabbed by hundreds of chimneys and factories that wove a perpetual twilight of scarlet and black above Barcelona.''

The city once again rises as the most glorious of Zafón's characters, but likable human beings are in short supply in this cast, which includes an overly ambitious writer, an ingenuous and tepid woman, two editors -- one incompetent, the other evil incarnate -- and an invisible horde of clueless book critics. The only admirable character is an egoless writing apprentice, but saying more gives away too much of the ending and this book's connection to The Shadow of the Wind.

Protagonist David Martín works at the newspaper as a junior writer but dreams of becoming a bestselling novelist. ''A writer never forgets the first time he accepted a few coins or a word of praise in exchange for a story,'' he says. ``He will never forget the sweet poison of vanity in his blood, and the belief that, if he succeeds in not letting anyone discover his lack of talent, the dream of literature will provide him with a roof over his head, a hot meal at the end of the day, and what he covets most: his name printed on a miserable piece of paper that surely will outlive him.''

The newspaper's editor, however, has other plans. Don Pedro Vidal wants Martín to be the ghostwriter for his literary masterpiece. Martín ends up penning two novels: a mediocre one for the editor; a more skilled one for himself. One can guess what ensues, but one reads with Machiavellian delight nonetheless. Critics fall all over themselves to praise the powerful newspaper editor's bad novel. Martín gets tepid to bad reviews for his work of literary merit.

And so, when Martín is in the midst of this publishing hell -- and after Vidal marries the woman Martín loves -- the most unsavory character enters the book, an obscure French editor who wears an angel's pin on his dapper coat and lures Martín into a new assignment. The sinister editor, who throws oodles of money at Martín, wants him to write the sort of book that has never been written -- one so powerful that it can launch a religion. Martín holes up in a decrepit mansion to write even though the previous resident also was hired to write a similar book, a task that supposedly killed him.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@