Everybody's talking about Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the bestselling author of The Shadow of the Wind, and The Angel's Game, who returns with The Prince of Mist. This very scary ghost story stayed at the top of the Spanish book charts for two years and is now translated into English for the first time. The haunting tale is aimed at readers of all ages, so is one to share with the whole family. GOOD HOUSEKEEPING - June 2010 In this page-turner, a young hero finds himself in a house haunted by secrets he is fated to uncover - but at what cost? Magical, and even though I'm a grown-up, SCARY! -- Lauren Laverne GRAZIA MAGAZINE - 27.04.09 Readers of all ages will find mystery, thrills, and nail-biting suspense - it has the force of Stephen King spiced with the subtlety of Neil Gaiman -- Waterstones Books Quarterly - April 2010 nine-year-old Max Carver sets out to rescue his nearest and dearest from the malevolent character who embroils his victims in sinister pacts. SFX magazine - July 2010 issue The first book from the Shadow of the Wind author - published in English at last - is an atmospheric thriller following a young hero as he explores his new house in the country. Described as a cross between Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, it proves young adult fiction can be as gripping as the adult version. TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT - 21.05.10 Addictive page-turner with things that go bump in the night ESSENTIALS MAGAZINE - July 2010 Zafon mixes youthful romance, devilish pacts, salty seadogs, scary clowns and haunted shipwrecks with a generous hand, and you might not want to go diving again after reading this. -- Suzi Feay FINANCIAL TIMES Add a locked wardrobe from which a black cat with a glittering stare emerges after the key turns by itself, a station clock that goes backwards and a dark spectre intent on drowning all three characters, and there's still enough to care most readers. -- Nick Tucker THE INDEPENDENT - 25.06.10 When the author wrote this story, he had in mind a book that would appeal to all ages... That's the magic in the book for me, as the author has done just that. I was engrossed in every page and turned each one wanting more and more. Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books.blogspot.com A brilliant old-time ghost story for an audience probably new to such dazzling characterisation and spookiness... This is a first-time published author in complete control of his story. I didn't read this book - instead I swept over the incredibly visual film it mentally played in my head for three absorbing hours. It's a breathless rush of spookiness, with a firm punch to pack, as it evokes a dangerous, ethereal world, and does so almost perfectly. The Bookbag The steps into the tension are nail biting, increasingly creepy and often unsettling. This is when the reader needs to step back and admire Zafon's craft. The building of the disturbing atmosphere evokes a speeding up of the reading, the pace is relentless and language choices are perfect. 'The Prince Of Mist' will grab your imagination and pull you in. Caroline Smailes (blog) it certainly delivers as a horror novel. I was positively terrified reading it and nearly lost my mind in terror at least twice... Zafon is a writer of atmosphere and he is capable of infusing the smallest sequence with an incredible sense of mystique and ambience... A beautifully written horror novel which effectively scares and engages the reader. It may have been Carlos Ruiz Zafon's first novel but it certainly does not read like one. The Booksmugglers.com Utterly gripping, this is a deliciously haunting and chilling tale of dark magic and treachery which reaches out across time threatening all who cross its path. LOVEREADING4KIDS.CO.UK there are some genuinely, deliciously scary sequences that will thrill young readers, particularly if they, like me, have a thing about clowns. And by 'thing about, I mean, 'terrified hatred of -- Patrick Ness THE GUARDIAN
