Phantom

By Susan Kay 

(Blurb: A disturbingly gifted child, horribly disfigured from birth, flees into a cruel world where he will learn to survive at any cost.

Torn between good and evil driven to seek power as a substitute for the love he fears he can never know, Erik begins a journey that will take him across the face of Europe, from a gypsy cage to the treacherous court of Persia, and ultimately to the cellars of the Paris Opera House, where he must finally learn the true meaning of love.

This amazing, heart-wrenching, tear-inducing, perfectly-written novel is what I'd call a diamond in the rough! It is divided into 7 sub-sections, each narrated by a different character in Erik's life. This novel begins with his birth and ends beyond his death, creating a bildungsroman (a novel that follows a character through his or her life).
As we follow Erik (the Phantom) through the misery of his childhood and adult life, we too endure the heartbreaks and abuse of our misunderstood and well-meant hero and journey with him to the ends of the earth, all the while growing and learning new and amazing things, and understanding just how he became the tormented soul we already love from other 'Phantom of the Opera' works (such as the original novel by Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Webber's award winning musical). 
Now, I don't know anyone who didn't think Christine Daae was a fool for going off with the lackluster Raoul as opposed to staying with the Phantom, Erik. His loyalty, devotion and passion for not only Christine, but also his music and other talents, shone far more brightly than any of Raoul's shallow infatuation and two-dimensional character. This is no fault to Susan Kay's writing, I love the way she portrayed Raoul, I am just a bit biased in my evident love for Erik. Apologies! 
Also, though gruesomely disfigured, the Phantom has endured as a magnetic figure of endless fascination. And in this novel we explore his life, from birth to death - and we find that much happened before he ever set eyes on the winsome Christine.
I think I can safely say that we all love our misunderstood outcasts and mysterious princes of darkness, which Erik undoubtedly is. Brilliant and artistic, he has been reviled since birth, even rejected by his own very beautiful mother. We follow Erik as he is captured by the evil Javert, exhibited and abused as a circus freak. After finally escaping the gypsy carnival, he makes his way to Italy to become a master stonemason's apprentice and to experience his first love, which ends in tragedy. He next surfaces as the dark magician in a Persian court. Everywhere he goes, cruelty and devastation follow until at last he retreats to his native Paris. He becomes the secret genius behind the building of the famous Opera Garnier, where he ultimately decides to hide from the cruelty of the world.
From there, the story roughly follows the well-known Phantom of the Opera storyline, a mix of both the Gaston Leroux novel and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Susan Kay manages not only to pay homage to both, but surpass them in this superb, beautifully written version. This novel is for all those who, if given the choice, would have picked the Phantom every time.
And so, without further ado, I give this novel a 10/10! It is so amazing and to be honest, I can't find the right words in which to express my deep love and admiration for it, so you'll just have to read it for yourselves, and I can assure you you will not regret it. This is one novel destined to make you sob, laugh, squeal and sigh all at the same time! :)