Thursday, June 23, 2011

Book Review #79: The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Midnight Palace
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Genre: YA Paranormal / Fantasy / Near-Horror
Ages: 15 and up
I received an advance e-book of this from NetGalley for review.

Description:
In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery. . . .

Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . .

Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night—and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.

My Review:
This book did have one or two good qualities, but all-in-all I really didn't like it. I liked the author's use of words, but his use of everything else left a lot to be desired.

The main characters, Ben, Sheere, Ian and the others, were all decent, but nothing more. There was nothing special in their personalities beyond the ordinary (and often stupid) behavior of basically good kids in a bad situation. They were supposed to all be 16, but half the time they seemed younger and the other half they seemed older and that irritated me. You should pick an age and stick to it.

My biggest issue was with the plot. The whole thing was contrived and confusing. The actions of the villain hardly ever made any sense at all and it was difficult to understand what was going on. Everybody behaved in a highly illogical fashion which was weird since they were supposed to be intelligent. The conclusion was confusing and unsatisfying. It would take too long to list all of the strange, puzzling or downright stupid things things all of the main characters as well as the villain did.

Content Ratings: Profanity, Sexuality and Violence
1 (mild) through 10 (extreme).

Profanity:
There is no swearing in this book.

Sexuality:
There is no sexuality in this book.

Violence:
I give it a 7.10 for murder and torture.
    
                                Lieder Madchen

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