ValkyrieRaven88
New Member
Has anyone else read this? It was self-published, so it's not as well-known as it probably should be. But it is a really good book. I love The Phantom of the Opera, but this book was even better.
The story opens with Erik (the Phantom's) birth. He was born with the face of a corpse, instantly ruining the life of his beautiful and popular mother. Madeleine is trapped in her house with the monster-child whose talent and genius frighten her more than his face.
It goes through Erik's time with the gypsies as "The Living Corpse" (a reference to the musical where he was "The Devil's Child"), his studies of architecture, his travels in Persia as a magician, the building of the Paris opera house, and his tragic romance with Christine Daae. There is a slight surprise at the end, told in Raoul's point of view.
The way Susan Kay added flesh to Erik's character amazed me. Erik could easily have become what some of us call a Mary Sue--a character who is too perfect to be real and utterly unbelievable--but his black moods, temper, and inability to distinguish between right and wrong take quite a different angle.
I would reccomend this to fans of the musical and/or book The Phantom of the Opera, but you don't need to be familiar with either to enjoy it. This was one of the best books I ever read, and that's a hard title to get out of me. Erik always surprised and impressed me, and the segments of Erik's strange life were placed together well.
The story opens with Erik (the Phantom's) birth. He was born with the face of a corpse, instantly ruining the life of his beautiful and popular mother. Madeleine is trapped in her house with the monster-child whose talent and genius frighten her more than his face.
It goes through Erik's time with the gypsies as "The Living Corpse" (a reference to the musical where he was "The Devil's Child"), his studies of architecture, his travels in Persia as a magician, the building of the Paris opera house, and his tragic romance with Christine Daae. There is a slight surprise at the end, told in Raoul's point of view.
The way Susan Kay added flesh to Erik's character amazed me. Erik could easily have become what some of us call a Mary Sue--a character who is too perfect to be real and utterly unbelievable--but his black moods, temper, and inability to distinguish between right and wrong take quite a different angle.
I would reccomend this to fans of the musical and/or book The Phantom of the Opera, but you don't need to be familiar with either to enjoy it. This was one of the best books I ever read, and that's a hard title to get out of me. Erik always surprised and impressed me, and the segments of Erik's strange life were placed together well.
