Phantom Books Part 2 - Susan Kay's Phantom

[PhantomAngel147]

Your review made me want to read this book so bad. Then, my best friend got me the book for my birthday and I completely fell in love with it! I usually never re-read books, but I've probably read this book like 7 times!

[LerouxFan]

Susan Kay is one of my favorites, but yes... there are some wonky bits.

[HorseyWitchOfTheEast]

I've ordered this from amazon yesterday. I'm really excited to read it

[Tina41207]

♥ Please tell me where you found all this amazing Phantom art! I absolutely love this book! ♥

[Tina41207]

♥BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!♥

[phanpiggy]

It actually is kinda explained why Madeleine is a spoiled brat and unable to cope when things don't go as she hoped... If you read back to the part where Madeleine is reminising on her childhood, she remarks how she was the only child of very doting, semi-wealthly parents and was very popular at school because she was so beautiful. Also, Charles seemed to let her have her way all the time, promising her that he would give her the perfect dream life she fantasized about.

[Tina41207]

@phanpiggy: I couldn’t agree more; although it must be said that Madeleine’s treatment of Erik was nothing less than reprehensible, Kay did in my estimation at least manage to portray his mother as a somewhat tragic figure herself. That being said, this is an absolutely lovely review of a truly marvelous book! ♥ I particularly enjoy how he seems to take the book seriously for the artful piece it is, and make light of it at once. I think it’s all charming!

[phangirl1986]

I have to say that I love this book. It moved me to tears within the first twenty pages, and the end nearly had me crying as well. It's the most emotionally moving account of Erik's life I have ever read. I think Kay makes Erik and Christine seem so much more real, and while there were a few weird parts, and the ending was a bit too much like Love Never Dies, it's a beautiful story.

[TheTitanic4]

Christine getting of on eriks music... lol but seriously, maybe that is what inspired ALW to make point of no return such a sensual song....because it is part of the phantom's opera don jaun triumphant.....

[XcrazyphangurlX]

so im guessing thers sum kinda sex thing w/ Erik christine WHAT?

The drug things just weird

U need 2 review mor books like letters to Erik or others

[PittsBurghFuzz]

My favorite section of the book is Giovanni section. its a great book

[13sawrules]

Where did you get your Susan kay's phantom because every time I find it online it

[TwilightGeisha]

I know a lot of people dont seem to like the portion with the opera retelling...but i love it. Its my favorite section...along with Madeline's section. Erik's inner monologue on the roof of the opera was gorgeous, and Erik's monlogue at the end was gorgeous as well. Bravo Susan Kay, for making such a fantastic book and making me fall all the more in love with Erik.

[Elanchana]

I really LOVE Kay's characterization of Erik. This is definitely one of my favorite books of all time.

However, I think you got one of your facts wrong. Erik doesn't care for Luciana. SHE falls in love with HIM.

[ChrisMagoo99]

psychological tests have shown that many men go for women who are like their mothers. the same can be said about women who go for guys compared to their fathers

weird or not, there is some ground in fact there...

[hikarukaze7]

I really dont think Erik's mother still hated him to the very end of her. That's not true. She wanted to gather all the masks and throw them on fire in front of him, but the next morning, Erik left. It's too late for her realize that she never could really hate her own child and she loved him more than herself. At the end, she still wait for him in their house, all alone.

And I think one more thing funny about this version is Christine got jealous of Erik's cat.

[Boblett285]

by any chance could you do a book review for chanson de l’ange? I read it and want to see your views. And one more thing, I agree with you on the whole Christine looking like Erik's mother! I was like "So you fall in love with someone who looks like your wretched mother? O.o" xD

[ya0ish3lly]

Kays my favorite. =D but every time you say 'phantom of manhattan,' a cute puppy dies. :/

[2010Wilde]

PhantomReviews, speaking of a Fagin prequel, have you ever thought of reviewing every Oliver Twist adaptation made? That would be a great series of clips! =^)

Also, have you ever reviewed "The Phantom of the Megaplex?"

[PhantomReviews]

@2010Wilde I reviewed Phantom of the Megaplex in my "Phantom Spinoffs" video

[2010Wilde]

@PhantomReviews thanks for the info! Must check that clip out! =^)

[absintheacid]

@PhantomReviews Lol i remember seeing Phantom of the Megaplex when I was a kid and got ALL excited about it when I saw the commercial on Disney channel lol and then it really didn't much to do with the phantom and i was disappointed lol. Have you ever read the goosebumps spin off? It's called Phantom of the Auditorium i think

[TheJazzyBReal]

For shit's sake, I wish I had this book. So, Christine indeed looks like the Phantom's mother - but is that all that reminds him of her in Kay's version? Since in the 1990 movie adaptation, it was Christine's similar singing voice that enraptured his heart [which felt a bit offputting to me in terms of "true love," but >w> ], so what is it about Christine take steals his heart in Kay's version other than resembling his mother's face, if not her voice too?

[saraiish]

I adored the book, it fills the big hole that is erick's childhood, sounds sheesh but if it would be awesome if he found love at the end

[PhantomSammy]

Great review, dude! And I love the video. Totally favoritted. (: It's been a while since I last read this book but I don't recall Erik hating his mother (in the deepest anyway.) I always thought he left so that she could go with the doctor gut and live happily and she even went to see her after she died. But yeah it is a bit off that she changed some scenes so drastically byt then again, it did give the story more originality and I enjoyed it the same. Gonna watch yout PoM review now...

[LilianaCroush]

@PhantomSammy He went back to his childhood home to burn it down, but then when he where standing outside the door his mother`s old friend opened it and she told him his mother had died one week ago^^

[PhantomSammy]

@LilianaCroush Oh. I've forgotten some details, it's been a long time since I read the book. :D But nevertheless he visited the body instead of just ignoring the fact that she'd died. Did the novel ever confirm if he had heard or not, the discussion his mother had about not abandoning her child even to marry the doctor, that last night he was at home? 'Cause I don't recall it did.

[LilianaCroush]

@PhantomSammy When his mother told the doctor that she wasn`t going to send Erik to the asylum, she took the doctor into the entrence hall of the house, while Erik laid in the livingroom, he only heard the doctor trying to convince Madeleine to send him away..

That`s how I remeber it^^

(Sry, I`m not that good in english..)

[lilrowyravenclaw]

i really loved this book up until the opera house. It's pretty redundant, and though some of the scenes are really enjoyable to read (like some of the lair scenes), others are just stinky. And I disliked the way she wrote Erik and Christine's characters--they seem more Webber than Leroux. The ending I disliked...I mean, Christine loved Raoul--that's the reason she went with him, that's the whole basis of the novel--so why is she running off the fuck the Phantom? It never made any sense to me.

[SkylaWestman]

So, does this mean you review FanFiction that's online, or just published versions like Kay and (gag-barf-almost-commit-suicid­e) Forsythe? If so, you might want to see my friend Lila Caffee's Phantom Interviews story. It's really quite popular and very funny, and I'm certain she'd be quite flattered if you were to review it. And another thing, I'm curious as to your position on Erik-Raoul yaoi. I'd think that you'd hate it, but one can never be sure, correct? Please tell!

[Mattbrain]

5:02 -- what's the audio from?

[BlueRose280]

@Mattbrain The dialogue is from Moulin Rouge, but I don't know what the music is.

[Mattbrain]

@BlueRose280 Thank you!!!

[m2reily]

Eric claims to hate his mother, but he might secretly crave for her emotion and attention which he was denied. So when Cristine resambles his mom in some way, Eric starts looking for those lost feelings from his childhood. So it's kind of logical. Then again it's just my interpretation of this issue, so no hard feelings Reviewer, and sorry for my written english, it's a little rusty.

[Teliriny]

I'm surprised those were the only problems you had with the novel. I, for one, loathed Erik's drug addiction and I hated how he seemed to love his cat more than Christine. And speaking of the cat, like in the Charles Dance version, it kind of ruined the whole isolation sense because anyone with a pet can't be THAT lonely.

[Teliriny]

I never really bought into their whole relationship. In fact, hes kind of a jerk to her and she has no brain or spine to realize it. The thing about Lerouxs novel was that Erik could have raped Christine any time he felt like it but that wasnt what he wanted, he wanted her to love him! Kays Erik only wants to have sex with Christine. Lerouxs Erik couldnt even think of kissing Christine without imaging her dying as a result. Its tragic! And Kays Erik is just a dirty old man!

[Teliriny]

@Teliriny And one more thing: the ending! In Lerouxs novel, Erik has a complete change of heart and dies of love for Christine. He wanted to live the rest of his life with her, but he let her go because he loved her. In Kays novel, Erik was dying anyway, so there wasnt much of a decision there. Oh, and he didnt die of love, he was dying because of his DRUG ADDICTION!!! I find that degrading to his character.

[Teliriny]

@Teliriny Anyway, sorry about the rant but I thought there was a few parts of Kays shoddy rehashing of the events in Lerouxs novel that needed to be mentioned. Dont get me wrong, I love the first part of the book, but Kay really ruined the whole romance between Erik and Christine.

[MasqueradeCookie]

I think it's wrong he totally hates Madeleine. I don't like the fact, why Christine looks like Madeleine and it's quite strange, but maybe it's because of kind of oedipus-complex (sry, it's the german word, I don't know the englisch term). But, beside this VERY STRANGE fact at counterpoint, I totally love this book. Your review has been short but a quite good information about what it is about etc. Thanks =)

[LerouxsPhantom]

When I first heard of this book my initial thought was "Phanphiction", but after watching this review and hearing positive comments from other Phans I'm very keen to check it out. Shame the cover's so crappy, though.

Oh and another Phantom book you could review is Unmasqued: An Erotic Tale Of The Phantom Of The Opera lol.

[TwilightGeisha]

@LerouxsPhantom I thought the same way. I hate spin off books in virtually anything (bar fairytales) But this book is practiclly amazing. Granted i am only halfway through, but Kay's writting style is so meaningful and beautiful, that at times i forget im reading a spin off book. It was worth the twenty dollars on amazon.

[chocobasse10]

Christine looks like Erik's mother? Again?

All we now need is a version where she resembles his sister or grandmother, then we have been through the entire family :)

[whitewolf787]

This is a great book. It was the second phantom book i read. First being Leroux's. I have to agree that it did lose a lot form the ending when Re-telling what happened at the opera. But over all i think it was very good and ive read it at least twice. I like how she give a bit of a time line but leaves just enough to mystery.

[lajavachica]

wow the ending is fanfictiony when I think about it... but i feel like that ending is  the only kind of ending that works with the moving force of the entire novel. Nadir kind of looks like Professor Quirrel @ 3:17

[lajavachica]

I loved this book, too. I thought Erik's mother's vanity and behavior was acceptable just because her portrayed religous upbringing and happy french childhood. You know, suddenly she's a widow and BAM her kid is a freak of nature (can do alot of damage to a woman) I was surprised that Kay didn't build much more on Erik's father figure, Giovanni, throughout the story. Also, I thought the devil worshipping was some kind of alude to Faust? When Erik kidnaps christine, shes singing as Marguerite

[Hausisse]

I agree. I pretty much adore everything before her retelling of the Leroux part... I honestly think she should have somehow stopped once he got to the opera house, or at the very least kept it accurate!

[hazellwood]

Was that a Moulin rouge clip I heard in there? ;D Liked how you slipped in the les Mis thing, too...

I loved this book.

[SailorDirector]

P.S: I love you for featuring SylentPhantom's art :>

[SailorDirector]

Right at that moment when you said "Javert" I instantly thought of Les Miz! <3 So glad you threw in a sound clip!

[MsPinkWings]

Didn't Erik go to India as well? Maybe I'm just imagining it, but I swear I read somewhere in Leroux's novel that he went to Persia AND India. Maybe Kay left that bit out, or ignored it.

[PhantomInTraining]

I love this book! It's my absolute favorite.

My reaction was the same as yours when you announced next was Phantom of Manhattan. I'm scared that it'll ruin my love of Phantomy things, so I'm not sure I'll read it.

[trivinia]

I haven't read Phantom, but what you said about Madeliene's "quick descent into madness" not being quite on par, actually isn't all that true. Severe post partum depression anyone? I can only imagine that it was made worse by her "guilt" or whatever at having a deformed child.

That's just me though. -shrug-

[littlesongbird1]

If you read the book which you should it's good. You can see what he means.

[sarahisavampire]

Wonderful review my dear! I really liked this one when I was younger, but I have not read it in probably 7 or 8 years. When I visit my praents for the holidays I'll have to grab it from the box of books in my old closet and refresh myself on some of the details. Thank you and don't forget to be awesome!

[beautifuldreamer80]

Great review!

This has always been my favorite book,phantom or otherwise!

thanks!

[RainyDays317]

I loved PHANTOM! This book was particularly stunning considering how I was suspicious it was going to be horrid after reading Forsyth's but it was lovely..

did you draw thoses because their are lovely drawings...

[happyunhappy13]

I read Phantom of manhattan. I was a mediocre piece of literature, but I wasn't impressed. The perspectives change too much. It's like Forsyth raided people's diaries and did a crappy cut and paste job, and then decided to call it a book. Glad I didn't pay that much for it.

[FantasmaLuna]

Great book. I was a little bugged by the changes too, but nothing too drastic.

But...doesn't Erik love Christine because she reminds him of his mother whom he WANTED affection from? Therefore to him, wouldn't receiving love from her make up for his mother hating him?

Oh, crap, not PoM!

[beautifuldreamer80]

That's what I thought about the whole Madeleine/Christine thing as well.

[Norina1982]

And Kay makes Christine a brunette again... but she did change key Leroux facts... so I guess that's just another.

Still its my fave Phantom book... I have 3 copies... and I don't really know why...

One really old one (paper back), one hard cover, and one paper back. I'd be so sad if anything happened to any of them... even tho I would have 2 more! ;)

[competentpixie]

Along with the whole thing about Christine looking like Erik's mother.....isn't it also strange that Christine just so happened to name her child Charles....The name of the father Erik never knew?

[TheChristianFairy]

I loved this book so much! I hated the ending though, but only because of what happened to a certain character! And I agree, phantom of manhattan makes me cringe and moan as well!

[SloeEyedDoe]

Phantom of Manhattan? Noooooooo! Loved this review. It's been several years now since I read this book. I enjoyed it, but don't think I'll be revisiting it any time soon. Anyway, that was fun and thanks a lot!

[TheHorrorfreak]

i know this isn;t

[TheHorrorfreak]

sorry, i know this isn't important but that orgasmic Christine voice, it that Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge?

great review by the way, keep the good work up

[doomfeather]

well done! i really appreciate your praise and criticisms of this book (one of my favorites of all time). i read it as an 11 year-old Phan, after reading Leroux, and its sentiments and brutality (drug use, abuse, etc) really hit me hard. perhaps if i'd read it at an older age, i might have thought differently about it, but i lent it to an older friend of mine a few years back, and she fell in love with it, too, so perhaps age doesn't play into it THAT much. i can't wait for the next review!

[lisam805]

I first read Kay's Phantom at 16; it defined my teen years. :) It sure beats Twilight! ;)

[stitchgrl777]

Same same same here. esp the "Definted my teen years" part :)

[orlandobabe]

@lisam805 Oh! Oh! thank you so much for saying that, I would hug you if I could, thank you so much! Yes it does because I read Twilight and oh God, I hated it so much but Phantom healed me.

[Deepdesert]

I agree, there are lot of Sherlock Holmes stories out there that are good that are also technically "fan fictions" - there's one out there where he meets the Phantom! In it he actually saves Christine from the Phantom instead of Raoul. Not only that, he sets Erik up with another chick - who's blind!

[Operacynic]

I read that book! It was SO bad. The worst part (in my opinion) was that they replaced the usual narrator, Watson, with Sherlock's cousin. WTF?

[Deepdesert]

Not only that but both Raoul and Christine come across as really bitchy and annoying so Holmes feels sorry for the Phantom.

[Biskuits]

Nicely done, as usual, PR ;} I think you covered most of what I like and don't like about this particular story!

[Deepdesert]

Erik doesn't rape Christine in Kay's book! I think you are confusing it with Phantom of Manhattan.

[PhantomReviews]

I never said he did..?

[smarterthanmyclass]

Erik doesnt rape her in susan kays book

[Deepdesert]

whoops I was responding to another post!

[SkylaWestman]

@PhantomReviews Well, somehow, Christine still winds up delivering Erik's child in the epilogue.

[MsPinkWings]

You mean Christine actually wants to bang Erik? She's meant to be scared of him. Although that may be a turn-on in itself (takes all sorts).

[christinedaae101]

Nooo, it's not KAY'S, but in the original French version(and some English translations) Christine gets the idea that he's going to.

[christinedaae101]

Oops I meant in the original French version of POTO. And it's sort of implied. I mean she says she tries to kill herself to escape a 'dreadful destiny'. It's obviously something she thinks of as worse than death.

[mrmsram]

@Deepdesert He never said Erik rapes Christine. He said Javert tries to rape Erik.

[OperaGhostObsession]

@Deepdesert You must be confused at the point where Christine... ahem.. listens to Don Juan Triumphant. Erik didn't rape her. He was playing the music. If you read the book, Erik sent Christine to her room so she wouldn't hear the music. However, she does and... So anyway, I think Erik didn't intend for her to hear him.

[stitchgrl777]

You know, some of my favorite books are glorified fan fictions. Some of my favorite movies are angsty and smutty, but they all have integrity. I think the reason that Kay's book is so loved is because she did her research and she gave us what we wanted: a romantic/angsty story. Leroux was touching in a honest, raw way. Kay just put it all out there (exposition and sometimes beautiful poetic writing). I enjoyed it the first time, and that's what counts.

[SkeletalWings]

Great review! For the most part I love the Kay version... up until the point where Erik meets Christine. And the ending just annoyed me. I'm not a die-hard Leroux purist but it just wasn't necessary to add such a fanfiction-like twist to an otherwise good re-telling.

It wasn't quite as bad as the ending to 'Angel of the Opera' by Sam Siciliano though.

[stitchgrl777]

Ironically, Kay's ending actually fits perfectly with ALW's new pet, Love Never Dies.  (WHICH IS NOT A GOOD THING)

[Simba92]

Very good review. Reading the Kay book took me all winter of this year. Usually I don't take thaaat long to read books. It was emotionally draining but beautiful.

[christinedaae101]

Actually, some versions imply that Christine thought Erik was going to rape her.

[Wolf Translation]

"In certain of the deranged ways he had of looking at me[...] I had been able to judge the savagery of his passion. In order to avoid taking me into his arms though I could not have offered him any resistance [...] Made frantic by the thought of the fate that awaited me [...]where I seized a pair of scissors with which to [end] to my dreadful destiny "

I'll leave that up to your imagination

[stitchgrl777]

So Wolf thought Leroux wrote that Erik was going to rape her? So was that more accurate to what Susan Kay was implying as well? Interesting.

I have the wolf version. Now I have to read it again.

[christinedaae101]

Actually it was in the original French version. But the ENglish translation most people read is the original 1911 translation. This claims to be unabridged. However it IS. They remove a lot of paragraphs. That was one of them. I guess they thought the possible implications, could be too...contraversial for English audiences at the time. But I guess we'll never know.

[christinedaae101]

That paragraph was a mess. WHat I meant to say was

The 1911 version claims to be unabridged. However it is abridged.(And continue on)

[stitchgrl777]

Well that's doing us a HUGE disservice! We deserve to read the completely unabridged version! Just the paragraph you wrote here from the original version completely ROCKED!

[stitchgrl777]

Who hates this book? Who? I know no one!!

Can we talk about how terrible the book covers were? (with the exception of the first edition)

0:36 - where is that picture from? & 2:47?

I loved your brief reading for an excerpt from the book. Susan Kay loves metaphors. Nadir drawings were awesome!

Do you honestly mind that Kay made Christine "Get off" to Don Juan?

I so agree with your final say of going with the Kay book. It may be a glorified FanPhic, but it's still HOT.

[DrDeadsy]

@ stitchgrl777: Who hates the book? I do. I've read it several times, in English and in German translation, and it just keeps getting worse. I can deal with everything, Erik living out his HUGE Oedipus complex right to Christine having it off with Erik in the end. But the thing that I can't take is the drugs. Christine helping him with the needle when Erik is just too weak from withdrawal... no. That just stinks.

[stitchgrl777]

DrDeadsy,

You definitely named the worst parts of the book, and I agree with you. personally, I started off loving the book, and the more and more I read it, the worse it got. That includes the Oedipux complex, the morphine, the metaphors, and the repetitive usage of the words "venomously" and "insatiable" (GAHH!!!) So yes, I definitely see where you're coming from. And I can see why people like it too. It also depends on which book you read first -- Leroux of Kay.

[smarterthanmyclass]

At the end of the madeline section, madeline realizes she DOES love her son, but he runs away becuz he thinks she'll put him in an asylum. And kay also made christine a brunette instead of a blonde

[iamthewalrus014]

Did she really? Huh. I don't remember Christine being a brunette in Kay's book. I'll have to go check that out... :)

[smarterthanmyclass]

when erik's looking at christine through the mirror "watching her maid brush her long, dark hair'

[iamthewalrus014]

Oh ok! Lol I clearly missed that XD Thanks for telling me though! :]

[smarterthanmyclass]

ur welcome

[SylentPhantom]

I'm glad you could use some of my art and the video was wonderful. I completely agree with you on everything you said, well i have always agreed with you. I'm so very glad I could hep. Love the close up on his face that ones always scares people hehehe. Ahhh I'm a Leroux fan what can I say. Much love.

[iamthewalrus014]

Lol I like....spazzed every time I saw your art XD

[lilrowyravenclaw]

I laughed so hard when I found out the guy's name was Javert.

[MsPinkWings]

And Erik's Mum is just a cow. I know it'd be quite traumitising to have a deformed baby, but she should learn to love him.

[MsPinkWings]

The book actually sounds pretty good, and faithful enough to Leroux's (scene switching aside..). Maybe it's not as fanfictionesque as I thought...

[thebeldam]

One of the biggest sticking points with me is the random Satan-worshiping subplot. It only comes up every now and again, I guess to explain Erik's occasionally superhuman acts, but it never really makes sense and is jarring to read him having a personal dialogue with the devil - actually, the first time I read it, I didn't realize that was what it was supposed to be, I thought Erik was just schizo for a bit.

Great review, as always, can't wait for the next one!

[SylentPhantom]

That really bothered me to. I don't think Erik was into Satan come on. That was pushing it for me. It was hard for me to swallow the drug thing to but ok.

[iamthewalrus014]

I could kinda see the drug thing happening...it was a typical gift in Persia, and doing things like Opium and Hashish was the fad then. But you're right about the Satan thing. That was going a bit overboard XD

[chocobasse10]

I haven't read the book yet, but the way you described Eric's mother just makes me think what a horrible mother she is. No matter whtat, you just can't do that to your own child, not kissing or carressing him like you would your child! I certainly wouldn't behave like that if I was her!

[renaleria]

I too found the fact that Javert suddenly deciding to rape Erik off-putting and I nearly winged the book across the room when it was revealed that Christine looks like Erik's mother. While I don't really mind it in the Dance version, I found it very contrived in the Kay version. I also found much of the ending with Erik and Christine just too much. That is what I liked about the Leroux novel, it was brief of the exact details and let the reader imagine more.

[ferndavant]

Lovely phanart you chose! I liked how all of them were properly corpselike. None of that sexy, half-deformed burnt rubber mask stuff!

[KCvampsandphantoms]

love the review as always it was amazing now i have to go read it and i still haven't read the phantom of manhattan(duhduhduh) but i'm going to read it and probably hate it lol

can't wait for the next review

fellow phantom nerd,  Katlyn

[Hasselhoffhater]

I had better get this book for Christmas.........Anyway the review is awesome!

[bananaboo]

Haha! Javert XD

For the most part I love this book, but there certainly are those... um... weird parts. I really hated the weird ending P:

Awesome review!

[Onitsu]

The ending perplexed me as well for a long while until I remembered something about he Coocoo. A coocoo will lay it's egg in another bird's nest and let them raise it's young.

Charles was Erik's child, but Raoul wound up looking after him when Christine passed on.

Hence the coocoo in the sparrow's nest.

[iamthewalrus014]

Omg, thanks for that! I had been wondering why Raoul kept referencing a cuckoo in the story! XD

[MrGemini28]

Who did the artwork?

[PhantomReviews]

Lots and lots of different phans! I'll post a list in the credits on the last part.

[unionjacklyn]

I'm not sure why, but "learning to steal in Kenya" made me chuckle. A wonderful review all over. I've just requested Kay's "Phantom" from the library. Brava, brava!

[TangoMaureen07]

Great review! Oh, Phantom of Manhattan. Thank you for reading through that for the good of the phans who did not have the strength .

[jarvisel]

Thank you! I've loved this book backwards and forwards since I was 12 (and permanently warped me).

I loved the Moulin Rouge interlude there. Peerrffect.

[FatalBellman]

I wouldn't say I hate it, but I don't like it all that much. There are some parts that were awesome, but others... Eh. It's no bad, but it wasn't all that impressive either, I thought. A little cheesy.

[TheBroadwayluver5111]

gawd! know i really want to read this book! amazing review!

[KryssLaBryn]

I have sort of a love-well, not hate but... I think C is a bit TOO weak here; in Leroux she's much stronger. But overall a good book.

I think what bugs me most isn't the book itself but its fans who don't realize that it isn't the original-- I've had reviews for my Leroux-based fics say I changed things and then point to Kay as the 'correct' version. Oh well; I just gently correct them lol. And at least they don't think the 2004 movie was the original! XD

Great review! :D

[TGITPC]

Ahahaha. Nice Les Miz reference. Loved this review and I also really liked the art work in this a lot. Hurrary for visual aides! Can't wait to here about POM.

[Deepdesert]

This is my favorite POTO book, and it would be a good read even if you never heard of the Phantom before. I really didn't have high expectations when I got it, but it turned out to be a real page-turner! I do disagree with what you said about the last part - if it HAD to go that direction, I think Kay handled it very well, and I like that she didn't make Raoul a total boob like most phanfic. The drawings were good too - I'd love to see Phantom - The Illustrated Edition!

[joethulhuz]

Sad to see none of my drawings made their way into the video, but there were a lot of great ones, so I don't feel too bad. You must have gotten a lot of people to draw them, too, because there were so many different styles of drawing I saw in there. Great job with the video.

[IAngelofMusicI]

"And I'm Javert!" xD

I got this book a few days ago and I'm almost finished with it, it has been amazing so far. Awesome review!

I read The Phantom of Manhattan all in one day. It was so short, and horrible. The only thing I liked about it was how Pierre got some of Erik's traits like taking a liking of figuring out how things work and stuff.

[JessicaStarSong]

I really liked this book and I think you reviewed it pretty fairly. You ROCK phantomreviews!!!! I love your videos there so funny!

[ExidoSutrin]

Awesome review, after hearing your opinion of it, I may have to check out the book myself. Thanks again for using my pictures!

[DarthxErik]

"And I am JAVERT" made me cry laughing! Thank you for this awesome review!!

Yah, I pretty much hate this book, because of all those cheesy little details that DIDN'T HAVE TO BE THERE.

Anyway. Can't wait for the next review!!

[Enabsflow1]

Thank you for this review. it gives me some ideas as to what not to do.

[thewylion]

AHHH FINALLY!!!!

soz have been waiting for this, its my favourite book =D

another thing, Kay missed out the entire Scorpion-Grasshopper thing too which pissed me off

ah well

great review as always *****

[MessengeroftheNight]

Yes! I love this book! It's one of my favorite phantom books in history! Susan Kay did a great job in conveying all the characters and their personalities as well as their feelings. However, I really thought her portrayal of Christine in the novel was.....well, the novel made Christine sound like an immature air-head and a child more than a 20 year old woman! Other than that, I've always loved Susan Kay's Phantom! Why don't they turn it into a movie?

[phantomzeroex]

Damn it, I wish I could have given you some art to go with this. I have a couple of good pieces with Kay's Erik where I had to look at a body atlas to get the veins right, since Erik is described as having visible pulsing blue veins in his face. Oh well, I probably wouldn't of figured out how to get it to you anyway, but I do have a scanner. I really loved this book When I first read it I was to young to really get all of it, but as I got older I can see that some of it seems like a phan phic.

[poto94]

Where did you find the pictures?....They're so beautiful!!!

Wonderful review!..This is one of my favourite books!

[xXJessWorldXx]

great review i want this now

[TheITinFIT]

Once again another good review. Yes Susan Kay did a good job in my opinion. I always wanted to slap some sense into Madeleine but that's just me. My favorite part was the Daroga section, I loved his descriptions and unspoken friendship that he and Erik have (and then of course there's the "jar" line...I'm not saying anything else...) And I agree with you on the Christine part, it got kinda messed up and the ending sounded good in theory but when I actually I read it I couldn't really buy it.

[POTOPhan13]

Loved the review! Yea, that last section has always bothered me; it was almost like she was writing a fanfic with a suckish ending...

[4thtroika]

Good review as always. It did bother me that it strayed from the original story, too. But overall, I was very impressed. Very dark and sexy.