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Ryan's Reviews > The Prisoner of Heaven
The Prisoner of Heaven (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #3)
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Ryan's review
bookshelves: fiction
Sep 20, 2012
bookshelves: fiction
Read 2 times. Last read February 24, 2025 to March 1, 2025.
This book is a perfect example of what is wrong with the publishing world. Zafon's first book, The Shadow of the Wind is one of my all time favorites. Ever. The second book The Angel's Game is well up there on my list, so when I saw The Prisoner of Heaven on display, I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, it is very clear that Zafon was under time pressure from the publisher on this book, enough so that the story was irreversibly ruined.
You see, Zafon is a master of prose, character, and theme. Indeed I would just say that Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a master storyteller in general, but he is also one that needs time to polish and work his product. The only problem is that because of the HUGE success of his other two books, the publisher (who's biggest concern is for money and not story) wanted a third book yesterday, not tomorrow, not next week, out with it! Some authors fight this or have a brilliant agent and publishing team behind them that believes in story rather than speed, not so with Zafon. Don't get me wrong, this book is still well written and at times brilliant, but in the end it is unfinished. This book is short, a mere 279 pages, compared to a solid 587 pages for The Shadow of the Wind and 531 pages in The Angels Game. What this tells me as a reader is that Zafon wasn't even close to done and it shows. Where this book ends feels like the mid point of a longer book, it isn't really a conclusion, things aren't really tied together, but it was close enough to cut it off and call it "done".
I did enjoy The Prisoner of Heaven, but the rushed style, short story, and at times sloppy writing tells me that this once great author has been screwed by his publisher. Had this book had another year or even six months of work it would have been another shining example from one of the best writers of the 21st century. Instead we are left with a deep sense of betrayal at an incomplete story put out merely to make as much money as possible. Hopefully in the future Zafon is given the time necessary to produce books to his full potential and not merely for the quick cash. We will see I suppose.
You see, Zafon is a master of prose, character, and theme. Indeed I would just say that Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a master storyteller in general, but he is also one that needs time to polish and work his product. The only problem is that because of the HUGE success of his other two books, the publisher (who's biggest concern is for money and not story) wanted a third book yesterday, not tomorrow, not next week, out with it! Some authors fight this or have a brilliant agent and publishing team behind them that believes in story rather than speed, not so with Zafon. Don't get me wrong, this book is still well written and at times brilliant, but in the end it is unfinished. This book is short, a mere 279 pages, compared to a solid 587 pages for The Shadow of the Wind and 531 pages in The Angels Game. What this tells me as a reader is that Zafon wasn't even close to done and it shows. Where this book ends feels like the mid point of a longer book, it isn't really a conclusion, things aren't really tied together, but it was close enough to cut it off and call it "done".
I did enjoy The Prisoner of Heaven, but the rushed style, short story, and at times sloppy writing tells me that this once great author has been screwed by his publisher. Had this book had another year or even six months of work it would have been another shining example from one of the best writers of the 21st century. Instead we are left with a deep sense of betrayal at an incomplete story put out merely to make as much money as possible. Hopefully in the future Zafon is given the time necessary to produce books to his full potential and not merely for the quick cash. We will see I suppose.
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Reading Progress
July 10, 2012
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Started Reading
July 15, 2012
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Finished Reading
September 20, 2012
– Shelved
February 24, 2025
–
Started Reading
March 1, 2025
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 79 (79 new)
message 1:
by
Jeremy
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rated it 4 stars
Oct 01, 2012 08:26PM
Exactly. I just finished the book, and I had to say, wait, that's it?
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I so agree with the two of you
Hi Ryan, I believe there's a 4th book the follows after The Prisoner of Heaven, and there are unanswered questions that will be answered in the 4th book. :)
Jnnfr wrote: "Hi Ryan, I believe there's a 4th book the follows after The Prisoner of Heaven, and there are unanswered questions that will be answered in the 4th book. :)"With how amazing The Shadow of the Wind was, I know I will certainly read the fourth installment, but if it's another money grab book without any real meat on it I may give up on him.
For now, though, I'll keep my fingers crossed and pick up book four when it comes out in English!
So it wasn't just me. By the time I noticed I was finishing the book, I thought, ,how can he possibly make all this come together in four more pages? Oh. He isn't going to.' I still liked it a lot but by the time #4 comes out, I'll have to take a refresher in Carax and Martin and...I still don't recall who Rocito is but this book, or half of a book, is worlds better than most of the things being published.
I keep waiting for someone to respond to this post using the names Barrido and Escobillas, but since it hasn't happened yet, I will.I'm not confident that it was a publishers deadline. Usually when someone becomes as popular as Zafon, the publishers let them write the book in their own time.
Molybdenum wrote: "I keep waiting for someone to respond to this post using the names Barrido and Escobillas, but since it hasn't happened yet, I will.Clever, took me a minute to catch, but I got it!
I dunno, I've worked in the book industry for years now and I've seen it go both ways. I mentioned it being a publisher deadline because the book didn't feel finished and you could tell Zafon had more to say.
I would much prefer it to be a publishing issue rather than an author issue, because if you're correct, then Zafon has gone down the slippery slope of greed and speed and his prose are too beautiful to be rushed.
that's my impression as well... three stars from me
I also hope that it was the publishers and not the author who rushed it. I find the prose so beautifully written (and translated) that I hate that to be lost. Hopefully the 4th one will be more like TSOTW.
I was disappointed that the book didn't finish but I'm pretty sure that he did so to have material for another book.
I'm not so impressed either and I'm still at page 103
Keep going Maronia, the story in the prison is good.
completely agree.
I totally agree.
I think this book lacked much more than just been rushed. mr. zafon kept tackiling the shadow of the wind's saga again and again and every time he does the story become predictable with less merit. who can say angels game is at the same level with shadow? it is time to write a new saga and leave the cemetery of forgetten books alone.
I agree with you Abdulla, time to move one :-)
I agree with most of what's been said here. I disagree about the prison scene being good. Referencing Dumas does not forgive employing his exact method of breaking a character out of prison. Zafon is more than capable of writing Fermin out of prison in an original and compelling way. This was just lazy in my opinion. Overall, I did enjoy this book, though not as much as the first two. Too many things seemed rushed and unpolished.
I'm too invested not to read the fourth when it comes out, but I'm sure I'll be treating it like the missing second half of this one rather than a fourth installment in the series.
Same feeling I had. Nothing really solved, none of the mystical mystery that was so brilliant in The Shadow of the Wind. More like an outline of a story that just never was developed.
Agreed, but hopefully the next installment will let us consider it as "part one".
Out of curiosity, who has translated this installment? Lucia Graves as usual?
I absolutely agree, this book was a dissapointment after the previuos 2...
No words. This describes exactly what I felt.
I totally agree. I loved the style of the 2nd book, and I was shocked to see what happened in this book...
I am just starting this, and from the same place as yourself; a lover of this master storyteller. Maybe part two is in progress?
I have completed the novel; I agree with every word. It felt as if I was being hurried through a labyrinthine garden and prevented from smelling any of the flowers.Rushed, swept along, at such a pace it all felt too hurried ... There were also a few errors in narrative authenticity that, I think, given time, Zafon would have corrected.
I can only hope that it is the first instalment of a bigger story than the one contained in this novel.
Thanks for your review.
Agreed. I haven't been able to finish this one which is crazy considering how much I loved his earlier books.
Thank you! Good explanation for why this book was underwhelming.
I totally agree... do you think there will be a part 4? There has to be...
I totally agree with you, the ending was rushed and felt like a lote was left untold
Totally agree. Well said.
You don't need anyone else to agree with this, but I'm going to anyway. It's not just the the plot, the whole thing seems thin and unfinished.
The end of the book left me in darkness.i enjoyed the first too and this one just a little bit. I hope that in future Zafon can write a refined story that will be worth a second read.
100% agree. It's a total part 1 of 2
The ending especially seemed rushed! Huge let down.
Yeah I agree on most points. But I just thought that maybe, just maybe, this is more of a build up to the next book. I didn't feel let down or anything. I mean when I saw the number of pages and short chapters, I knew I couldn't put it in the same league as the previous two books. But I wouldn't say it was a bad story per se. The end felt rushed, yeah.
I agree that it was a "bridge" to the next -and supposedly last- segment. The title is Labyrinth of Spirits and came out last month in Spain. I believe the English version it is not scheduled to be published until 2018.
Personally, I did not feel any disappointment reading this book. I loved all 3 of the series.
There's a fourth one now, Chandra. And it's fabulous!!!Chandra wrote: "Personally, I did not feel any disappointment reading this book. I loved all 3 of the series."
Concordo completamente. Não reconheci o estilo e a trama fantástica dos dois livros anteriores. Tenho, no entanto, a espectativa relativamente ao 4.ºlivro, O Labirinto dos EspÃritos.
I couldn't agree more. Now let's wait if all open ends come together in part 4...
Fernando There's a fourth one now, Chandra. And it's fabulous!!! What is it called?
/book/show/3...Gail wrote: "Fernando There's a fourth one now, Chandra. And it's fabulous!!!
What is it called?"
Obviously, not all the time could be the same right. Now, you can read the last book where you find the end.The third book in my opinion is really good, But yes, maybe you right... I was thinking and the end could be finished like the others two.
Fernando- has it been translated?
I don´t know is there's in english language. The original it's in Spanish, i read it in Portuguese.Gail wrote: "Fernando- has it been translated?"
Are these books in sequence that should be read in order?
