School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-This one is a classic ghost story, with spooky chills that are tailor-made for a movie adaptation. In 1943, Max's father abruptly moves his family from a large city to a small coastal village, explaining that it is for his family's safety and will allow them to forge a new life. The family moves into their new house, but as is the case with horror stories, the moment they move in, strange things begin to happen. Max becomes friends with a local boy named Roland. As they explore the town together, Roland tells Max the stories of a local legend about a malevolent spirit known as the Prince of Mist. Max begins to think that Roland's tale is connected with his house and that some mysterious movies he has found appear to have been filmed there. Roland, Max, and Max's sister, Alicia, are soon carried into an adventure that involves, among other things, a lighthouse, sunken ships, and an enchanted stone garden. And of course, the Prince of Mist makes an ominous and nearly deadly appearance. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
When 13-year-old Max Carver and his family move into a long-unoccupied-and possibly haunted-house on the Spanish coast during WWII, they learn of the evil magician known as the Prince of Mist, who went down in the ship that can be seen below the coastal cliffs. Jonathan Davis is excellently cast; his voice throbs with understated menace, which slowly intensifies toward the dramatic conclusion. Sound effects subtly add to the suspense and pleasure of listening. The audio performance is also accompanied by haunting original music written and performed by the author. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 12). (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In 1943, thirteen-year-old Max's family moves from the city to the seaside to get away from the war. There he and his older sister meet a mysterious young man; soon after, tragedy befalls their younger sister and a frightening presence haunts Max. Zafsn paints an effectively eerie setting in this chilling ghost story. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Best-selling adult author Zafón published this first novel in Spain in 1993. Previously unavailable here and now translated seamlessly, this atmospheric tale is set in 1943 in an unspecified seacoast village. On Max Carver's thirteenth birthday, his father announces that the family is moving to a village for safety. Their new home has a tragic past and a garden filled with sinister statues that begin to haunt the children's dreams. Then Max and his older sister Alicia strike up a friendship with a local boy, Roland, who takes them diving around a wrecked ship in the harbor. Roland's grandfather, the town lighthouse keeper and sole survivor of the wreck, reveals the sinister connections between the wreck, the garden, and a relentlessly evil figure, Cain, called the Prince of Mist. Permeated with a delicious sense of looming menace, the story lines converge inexorably in a terrifying climax. Intelligent and eerie, Zafón's story will create nightmares and admirers.--Rutan, Lynn Copyright 2010 Booklist