The Phantom of Manhattan

I received my book and it’s good for its condition, one thing I am sad about is there is a rip in the middle of the cover, I know it’s fixable but that is one thing I’m sad about. Overall I really like the way the cover is shaped!

I’ve loved the Phantom of the Opera since I was a kid, and even though Love Never Dies had mixed reviews, I loved it, too. Forsythe’s Phantom of Manhattan does a great job of capturing the essence of the time period and location, and I’m well aware it inspired Love Never Dies so I was very interested in seeing what was and what wasn’t included in the adaptation. Great characters, great characterization, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will happily read it again!

As one who came to this book as a Forysth fan who had never seen the original PHANTOM I really loved this novel and thought it was a wonderful tale well told. Well, I finally saw the original PHANTOM on stage last month and thought it was not nearly as good as this book. And to read that the staged LOVE NEVER DIES sequel largely gutted Forsyth's tale makes me want to avoid that sequel. Shame. And, incidentally, the hysterical one star reviews below reveal more about the reviewers than they do about this book!

Every Phantom sequel I have read, while none the book I'd have written, has been done, I believe, thoughtfully. That would include this one. Written pre-"Gerik," my formal introduction to this character, I found this story to be interesting & imaginative. I did not consider Mr. Forsyth's opinion of Mr. Leroux's work to be overly unkind, but merely his explanation of the thought process behind his own work. I did not find the references to better known people of the day to be out of place, & was pleasantly surprised that Mr. Forsyth included a quote by the oft overlooked writer, G. K. Chesterton. Most authors do their best to incorporate the characteristics of the already known character into their sequels. This one depicts Erik as a man struggling, then succeeding to some degree, to survive in a world he believes will not accept him as he is, using some of the ways that we know he knows best - that being mostly his creative genius. The other characters, too, behaved as I would imagine they would in the set of circumstances they met in this particular tale. Again, not the way I would continue his story, but I still enjoyed it, & consider this a welcome addition to my collection.

I was searching for this book because ALW is making this book sequal into a musical sequal of his version of The Phantom of The Opera. I have enjoyed reading the book alot. You really can't take this as a sequal with the first book by Gaston Leroux's original novel, you actually need to go off the Broadway Musical of The Phantom of The Opera because it follow that format more..which I prefer. If you loved the musical than definately check this book out. If You watch the movie of the musical than read the book afterwards you'll see how well the fit together.

I never thought I could enjoy a follow up as much as I did this one. I was always intrigued to find what happened to The Phantom of the Opera since he dissapeared. Well now I know. To tell you how good I found it...I read it (completelly) on a plane trip from Amsterdam to Miami!!!! Did not sleep at all !! I love the theater and therefore I think that is one of the main reasons why I loved this book A must read!

This novel is perhaps one of most fascinating, page turning I have ever read. The story is kept along great, the new characters are beautifull (Good olf Chooly Bloom, the haunting Father Joseph, and the grotesque Darius, not to forget Pierre!)and the old have kept, if not obatined, the same old charm (Meg's friendly servatude, Giry's guilt, ect.) It all leads up great to a superb clash of the Titans, yet, while the final whim is good, it is a bit detailess. Perhaps a more detailed, albeit creepy end would be more fufilling, though the idea is good. Overall, quite a pageturner for the music lovers, and for those Leroux fans (I, myself love all mforms of Phantom, sans the awfull Dario Argento flick) it keeps a well platformed story, full of rich Phantom tradition and new, beloved culture. What a show!