Rating: 
Summary: A Heartrending, Magical Experience
Review: This book is truly, truly astonishing (I'd give it 10 stars if I could)! I first read it about 11 years ago, and have kept reading it over and over, each time losing myself in this beautifully written tale. People tend to be skeptical of sequels or elaborations of well known legends. Kay's tale of the Phantom's life, however, exceeds Leroux's original Phantom in my opinion.The writing is exquisite: at times powerful enough to suspend a heartbeat, at times so delicate and poignant it stirs deep and wrenching feelings for the characters that dance alive amongst the pages. Kay traces Erik's thoughts throughout his turbulent life and is able to bring out the beauty that permeates this tortured man's being. I am especially amazed at how Kay crafts her words; an adjective here and there, an isolated sentence -- such little things bring amazing impact. By dividing the story into several parts (written in different characters' perspectives), Kay creates a deep, enriched world where the reader is omniscient and enraptured...
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: What a touching and beautiful book.I've stayed up until 3 am reading it,and I doubt I've ever been so desperate to get to the next page.I didn't want it to end,but when it did I was content.Hey,you can always read it again ^_^(which I am,btw!)
Rating:
Summary: True Beauty
Review: This is the most wonderful I have ever read in my life. I have never known an authoress (or author for that matter) could ever describe Erik in such a fashion that it makes fall in love with him. I cried when he cried and I was angry when he was angry. Susan Kay is as wonderful as Anne Rice in making us really feel like we are there with the characters. This book is by far the best of all I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Phantastic!!!!
Review: If you're a phantom phan, then you'll LOVE this book! I am continually re-reading this book and I never get tired of it. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Delicate
Review: I was broken harted when I lost my copy of this book and it took me a good two years of finding another copy of it.I am thrilled to have it in my home again.
Rating:
Summary: I cried...
Review: This book is so wonderful! I absolutely loved it! It's the story of Erik's life from the day of his birth to his death. The POVs switch from Erik's mother, to Erik himself, to an Italian mason under whom Erik is apprenticed for a few years, to Nadir Khan the "Persian" of te original novel, back to Erik, then to a joint narrative given by Erik and Christine, finally to Raoul who gives the epilogue. An excellent version of the story. A few of the themes may not be suitable for some readers, mainly children and certain conservative Christians, but over-all it's a great read. The bits from the time when the Leroux story begins and ends strays quite a bit from the original novel, so it may not be for some purists. Also the ending was a little too unbelieveable for me, but still it didn't detract that much from the book on the whole. A must-read for any phan.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Phantom
Review: This novel had me riveted from start to finish. It reveals Erik's tragic childhood as the unwanted and unloved son of a vain and beautiful woman and progresses through his tortured adolescense and adulthood. Ms. Kay writes in a beautiful style, and delves into Erik's mind until the reader can perfectly understand how the "Phantom of the Opera" came to exist. No stone is left unturned, as the reader finds out how Erik came to devise his lair under the opera house and fall in love with Christine. I only wish more time had been devoted to the love story, since it did divert slightly from the classic. The ending had me in tears,although there was a nice twist that would make for a perfect sequel. After reading the weak "Phantom from Manhattan", I think Ms.Kay could do a superb sequel. Where has she gone?
Rating:
Summary: The greatest book written for Phantom fanatics.
Review: I read Phantom by Susan Kay about 5 years ago, unfortunately my copy was lost while I was at sea. It was by far the best book that I have read. It put the Phantom into a new light, telling how he was born disfigured, the childhood he had, the trials that he went through and over came. It tells how from birth, even though horribly disfigured, he was blessed with intelligence, creativity, and most important of all the gift of music. This book is a must read for anyone that loves "The Phantom of the Opera".
Rating:
Summary: A perfect perfect book!
Review: The one word that comes to mind about this book is PERFECT. I've never read a book that flowed as wonderfully as this one. The way you get inside the characters reminded me greatly of Interview with the Vampire, yet this one ended up being much more. It has quickly become my favorite book, although it touched me so deeply i don't think i could read it again anytime soon. It took me a long time to finish the book because i kept putting it down. I knew that it was a complete story and once it was over it would be over. I dreaded finishing it because it was so wonderful i didn't want it to end. And i was terrified that the end would dissapoint me, but it was just as perfect and wonderful as the rest of the book. The book has a lot of bitterness, but in the end you're left with a feeling of 'yes, this is how it all should be'. I've watched all of the different Phantom movies there are, but this is the first book i've read. I don't think i want to read any of the other ones. The Erik in this book is the one i want the Phantom to be.
Rating: 
Summary: None of us will know where we will love...
Review: ..but it sure won't be in the pages of this book.
OK, I'll admit, I used to love this book. Absolutely and singlemindedly..... when I was in grade 3. Seriously. There are some parts to it that are actually good, like when Erik is in Persia or ROme.((hence the 2 star rating)) The rest reads like sheer melodrama, which is sad, because this book had great potential.
Anyway, the story is intreguing, instead of the basic Phantom story we all know, this starts from the very beginning, and chronicles the life of the extraordinary man, who would become the Phantom.
For people who are considering this book, I'd reccomend reading it at the library first. As I said, the book's not bad.. but it wasn't what I remembered it to be. If you like it, then buy it.... don't just order it on a whim though (((unless I'm the only person who does that... heh heh... >_< ))
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