We have a Contender!

The Angel's Game
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Doubleday Canada

So here's the thing -- I am way, waaaay behind on my blog.  I got seriously sick a few weeks ago and since then, I haven't really had it in me to write.  I have, however, been reading like a fiend and as a result, your inboxes, Facebook pages, and RSS feeds are about to be deluged.  I have made it a goal to get caught up by week's end.  That's about an entry a day ... we'll see it how it goes.

Okay -- so let's talk about The Angel's Game.  David Martín, the story's hero, is a young writer who earns his way by churning out penny dreadfuls -- baroque tales of Barcelona's seedy, and somewhat mysterious underworld.  While he longs to write something of more substance, he is under contract to a pair of unscrupulous publishers who keep him busy with the popular, serialized stories 

David's future seems desolate and unrelenting.  It all changes, however, when he gets a letter from the reclusive Andreas Corelli.  Corelli promises David an extraordinary amount of money if David were to write him a book that creates a new myth -- one that can change the hearts and minds of all mankind.  David accepts Corelli's terms and enters into a world of darkness, passion, paranoia, and mystery.  It would seem that he has made a deal with the Devil.

I will be honest and tell you that I could not put this book down.  The weather outside was cold and gloomy and it was just the excuse I needed to stay snuggled in bed (and later on the couch) reading.  I've definitely found a candidate for the DES Book of the Year -- in fact, I think we have a front runner.  The Angel's Game gets five soul-shivering passages out of five.