PHANTOM

Rating:
Summary: The best book I have EVER read!
Review: It heart my heart to read several of the reviews here that scolded this book and how it was written. They are simply wrong. Susan Kay did so wonderfully writing this book it's frightening! It's a book you will not forget, it will leave an imprint in your mind! One way or the other get this book! You won't regret it!

Rating:
Summary: Good plot but poorly written
Review: This book is very intersting for a fan of the Phantom of the Opera, but before trying it I recomment highly seeing the musical and reading the original by Gaston Leroux. The story told in this book detailes the life of The Phantom from his childhood and fills in the areas left blank by the above two works. While an interseting story, I must say that it is written in a childish, overly dramatic manner, with frequent failed attempts of power and majest which do not live up to the sweeping power of the musical or of the original. Like the Harry Potter books, it has an excellent plot but below-average writing style.
My point: an interseting book, but first read the book by Leroux and see the musical. Don't let your first taste of the Phantom be this!

Rating:
Summary: She shoulda stopped before the end
Review: It's a nice piece of fiction, the first part is. She just should have stopped writing at the moment she reaches the bit where she tries to rewrite Leroux' book. That's just gut wrenchingly aweful. I mean, it's like writing a story about Anne Frank and then rewriting the outcome of WW2 because you like it more that she survives the camps. People should realise Leroux didn't make it up entirely. You can't rewrite history because you think the guy should get the girl. It's a good read, but every self-respecting phan (i.e. the ones that don't swoon over Erik and think he's like Brad Pitt only a little less goodlooking) should stop before it gets ugly.

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. This book begins where no other book about the Phantom of the Opera has, at the beginning. Starting at the point of view of Erik's mother, Susan Kay takes you through the points of view of Erik, Nadir(the Persian,) Christine and Raoul who each bring a unique outlook on the Phantom's story.
Susan Kay is an amazing writer who brings Erik completely and totally into our lives. I wish she would write more than two books (Legacy and Phantom.)

Rating:
Summary: The best Phantom novel I have read so far.
Review: I read this amazing book about 5 or 6 years ago { I cannot exactly remember}about 2 times, because believe me it is a wonderful, exciting, forbidden, dangerous, sensuos, and somewhat erotic great work of fiction. A fabulous retelling of the Phantom legend in which it tells the real story of Erik and his love for Christine who in turn returns that love back and sees beyond the disfigurment, a real man with real emotions and tenderness. Susan Kay did a wonderful job, and I recommend this masterpiece to anyone who is a huge fan of The Phantom of the Opera and everything about it { like me }, anyone who wants to know the real story about the man behind the mask and beyond.

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking and haunting
Review: I read this novel for the first time without having read a word of the LeRoux original and knowing only vaguely who Erik was. I was completely blown away. I read this once again after reading the LeRoux novel and enjoyed it even more.

In other words, Kay has created a remarkable story that stands alone even as it pays homage to a classic tale.

This is the tale of Erik, the genius behind the construction of the Paris Opera House who would later become the infamous Phantom of the Opera. The tale portrays him not as a ghost or phantom, but as a man. The Erik of LeRoux's novel is a character around whom most of the action revolves but his personality is never truly brought to light. LeRoux's crime-scene type writing style made the portrayal of such a complex person as Erik unsatisfactory.

Kay on the other hand, through a masterful structure of alternating first person POVs, tells Erik's story from birth to after his death in a true tour de force. The Erik of this novel is sarcastic and sincere, morbid and tender, hideous and beautiful, he is all these things and more.

Never maudlin or melodramatic, Kay's novel moves effortlessly through the life of this fascinating character and you will laugh, weep, and cheer when you read his story. The ending is perfect, not overromantic or unbelievable, but a fitting and inspiring end to the story of a man "whose heart could have held an entire empire and in the end had to settle for a cellar." [LeRoux paraphrased]

Rating:
Summary: A fabulous story, the best yet for Phantom of the Opera
Review: My favorite book. For sure. lol This is a fantastic story, better than any other, Phantom related or not.
An absolute must read for any Phantom phan.
A word of advise, though.
This book is out of print. I tried ordering it through Amazon and they were out (I found out later through a book store its out of print), and it took me about a year before I found it through an out-of-print specialty bookstore. (if I remember correctly, it was [website])
It is a fascinating story! Well worth trying to find.

Rating:
Summary: A Must For Anyone Who's Ever Loved Erik
Review: Wow, wow, and wow. There are no otherwords to describe this stunningly well-done depiction of the infamous Phantom of the Opera's life before Christine. From his mother's disgust of him from birth to his journey to the Paris Opera House, Susan Kay creates an entire lifetime for a man who, in the words of Gaston Leroux, "... had a heart that could have held the empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to content himself with a cellar."

The entire book is pleasing and interesting, not only to Phantom fans, but to anyone who would enjoy a story about a beastly genius who wanted nothing more than to live normally among society. Each depicted in Kay's book is not without purpose, and by the end of the novel, we see what has shaped Erik's emotions and mind throughout his life. Neglected and hated by his mother for his disfigurement, he flees his home, only to be picked up by a Gypsy caravan. There, he is treated shockingly, to the point where he commits his first murder after the leader of the caravan, a homosexual man who has horribly abused Erik throughout the years, makes sexual advances on him.

From this life he flees to Italy, where he is taken under an architecht's wing and allowed, for some time, to live normally. There he fosters his already astonishing aptitude for architechture and music, but in the end, he is forced to leave Italy as well-- all because of his face.

Fate next finds him in Russia, but he is there only a short time before being called to Persia by the Shah and his "bored" mother, who is in constant need of new entertainment. Here we are able to explore the only touched-upon part of Erik's life in Persia. In time, the Shah plans to put Erik to death, and this is when we find him back in Paris. Here Kay elaborates-- somewhat briefly-- on the last sixth months of his life, the months that are most commonly displayed in other versions of Phantom of the Opera, including the original novel by Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical.

Many other reviewers have said that the ending left them empty and inconclusive, but for me, I found it nothing short of perfect. It doesn't take a ridiculously romantic turn, nor does it take a far flight from Leroux's novel. It simply explains what Leroux did not-- why Christine continually returned to Erik, even with knowledge of his horrific face.

Every character in the book is completely uniform-- there's no ridiculous turns away from what would be expected from each character created by Leroux. Nadir is perfectly sensible and stern, while Christine is every bit as innocent and anxious as you'd expect her to be. I found it slightly shocking at first at what a child she is, especially considering that it was mentioned several times that Erik was well old enough to be her father. Still, the idea completely worked, and it only made romantic possibility between the two more strained. Raoul is delightfully hateful, much to my relief. There really is no time in the book when you're allowed to feel much sympathy for Raoul, but I doubt many Phantom fans want to.

And Erik... He is... beyond imagination. He is not displayed as a monster, as some versions have done, but a man-- a man embittered by years of rejection, hatred, and prejudice. He is charitable, sympathetic, and so full of love, a love that is constantly squandered on those undeserving. Susan Kay's novel touches upon every sensitive emotion Erik posesses, as well as his sense of humour. It does acknowledge his uncontrollable temper, which explains many of his murderous impulses. Kay also doesn't excuse him from his crimes, but rather seems to ask the question, If you were treated like this your whole life, how would you react?

I have almost no complaint against Kay, for this novel was obviously done with painstaking care. However, she does seem to gloss over the most important part of Erik's life-- his time with Christine-- but as explained in her afterword, she seems to have wanted to. Kay's writing is also exceptional, but there were times when I felt like I was reading through an SAT vocabularly lesson. Most of it blended well, but I sometimes wondered if she simply had to use huge, multisyllabic every other word. Still, none of this takes away from the wonderful charm and ingenuity of the book.

If this book did anything to me, it only made me love Erik even more, if that's at all possible!

Rating:
Summary: AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR PHANTOM PHANS!
Review: I love this book! I could not put this book down. I am a HUGE Phantom Phan and this story is so beautiful. If you are a Phantom Phan, or if you just love a good story, then you must buy this book immediately.I don't want to give anything away so just read it and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Phantom
Review: This book is more than breathtaking. I've been an (at times obsessive) fan of The Phantom of The Opera for most of my life. Since I was a little girl I had always been entrhalled this classic tale so you can only emagine my absolute delight when I stumbled upon this book. Having read and seen most versions of this tale I can safely say this is and will always endure as my favorite. It's griping plot held me in it's clutches so tightly that I could not stand to be away from it till I'd finished it. I've read it over and again and each time I walk away from it with something new. It's cover is so worn and tattered from use that I finally had to aquire a hard back version of the novel. This is truly Erik. Ms. Kay astounds with her talent for words and it almost seems as if she tapped into the very soul of Erik. This is the perfect book for any die-hard phantom fan or even for someone who just likes the story. It takes you on a journey of Erik's entire life starting with his very birth. I can promise this book will do more than move you.