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Fermín Romero de Torres is finally getting married. He’s got one problem though–he’s living under an assumed name. He has absolutely no proof that he legally exists. How is he supposed to get married without all the paperwork to prove that he is whom he says he is? As he explains this to Daniel Sempere, his history is finally explained in more detail, as well as his tie to David Martín, hero of The Angel’s Game.
Eh. It was better than The Angel’s Game but still a long way from The Shadow of the Wind. I love Fermín, so I enjoyed delving into his story, painful as that was. But the plot felt like filler between books. It feels like there has to be a fourth book in this loose series and The Prisoner of Heaven is just a placeholder. There were some revelations that clarified a few points and set up some definite conflict for future books, but there wasn’t enough going on to justify an entire book. At least it was short.
I also missed Ruiz Zafón’s gorgeous writing. It didn’t even feel like the same author/translator team, although it was. It was just a story, pure and simple. I didn’t feel any desire to mark any passages at all. I don’t know who fell down on the job here, but it just wasn’t up to the standard I’ve set for this pair.
I’ll give The Cemetery of Forgotten Books one more try, but I’m starting to wonder if The Shadow of the Wind was just a fluke. I sincerely hope not.
Buy The Prisoner of Heaven at
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