Phantastic
I just finished this book this morning, after feverishly ripping through about 200-250 pages in two days (it's a 450+ page book), and I must say wow! This book is above and beyond what I expected. I'd heard of this book for several years before I finally said, "what the heck!" and got it from the library. I expected it to either be a boring rehashing of everything from Leroux's original or a highly-irrational prequel that made up it's own facts. I was plesently surprised to find that it is actually a prequel which remains very faithful to Leroux's novel, it also goes beyond being a prequel.
Once the story gets into the part of Erik's life where he meets Christine and the events of "The Phantom of the Opera" happen, instead of simply retelling what we read in the original, Kay switches the story from being a physical narrative of what the characters are doing to a mental narrative where she tells what they're thinking and feeling. Quite an ingenious idea. The events of the original novel are better explained in this novel by simply explaining what mindset the characters were in.
The Phantom's back story is unveiled in this novel and we learn about his tortured childhood. Kay does a great job making the character sympathetic. Bits of just about all the different Phantoms from stage, screen, and literature build up Kay's Erik. You can now really understand his love for darkness and the night. The reason behind his love for Christine is also better explained.
I was very glad to see the characters humanized in this version. Christine is allowed to be seen a real girl growing into woman hood. She even includes all the realistic emotions of a girl this age: Love, confusion, jealousy, etc. Raoul is made hateable, something most Phans enjoy. However, toward the end you feel for him.
Overall: AMAZING BOOK! I would recommend it to anyone!
