The Phantom Returns by Stefanie Cole Summary and Reviews
|
Our Price: $427.26 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $40.00 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Phantom Returns
Book Review: Pardoning the grammer nut in me, this is an AWESOME BOOK!
Summary: 5 Stars
Out of all the published Phanfics I've read so far, this is definitely one of the best...equal with or even exceeding Susan Kay's Phantom. The story, while a surprisingly thin book (199 pages), is absolutely riveting and completely sucks you in. The characters are genuine, vivid and drive the plot forward magnificently. There is a twist at the end that was slightly confusing the first time I read it, but seeing how amazing this book is, I can pardon Stefanie Cole for that. There are also those lines that can be taken out of the book and apply to anything in life: lines that are bigger than just the book, bigger than the Phantomverse and bigger than life. The only problem I have with this book is with grammar...reading carefully you can clearly see some errors that should have been corrected long before publishing.
THE SHORT VERSION (may contain spoilers or semi-spoilers):
Movie-based Phantom: Yes, for the most part, although most of who he truly is is taken from the musical.
Happy ending: Yes
Dark/twisted Raoul: Yes
Humorous lines in a serious story: Yes
Introduces new (minor) characters: Yes
Includes the Girys: Yes
A new baby: Yes
A fight to the death: Yes
Get this book! It is COMPLETELY WORTH IT!!
Book Review: PhanGirl
Summary: 5 Stars
WOW! I just finish this book 15 min. ago, I must this book was really awesome! What I don't understand is the price of this book, 200 dollars I mean the is very thick. Well enough about the price it-eventually-goes down, this is a sequal off the 2004 movie and I must say that it is a very good story and it should made into a movie (fingers crossed). THis book is very good, so anybody looking for a phantom sequal this book is for you!!!! :)Book Review: Phantastic Read
Summary: 5 Stars
A really great story! If you are looking for a great sequal to your favorite story, then this is a must-read. Stefanie has done a wonderful job in plotting the story line and the characters stay true to the original story line from the movie.Book Review: Phantom sequel true to screen characterizations
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this to be a very satisfying and romantic sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's retelling of a "The Phantom of the Opera". Once I started this book, I could not put it down, and read it in one sitting. The characterizations of Cole's Erik, Christine and Madame Giry were true to their stage and screen personalities. Raoul turned out to be the not so gallant gentleman I always felt he was capable of becoming, and Christine's reasons for initially choosing him are believable. It was very easy for me to visualize these people as Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Miranda Richardson and Patrick Wilson portrayed them in the movie. If you are expecting high literature, you will most likely be disappointed, but I would highly recommend this book for all POTO fans.Book Review: Return of the Phanfic
Summary: 1 Stars
Every sentence in this puerile novel smacks of a thirteen-year-old's flowery fantasy, endeavoring to "fix" everything "wrong" with the original story, the award-winning musical, and...well...practically everything ever written about Erik (The Phantom) & and Christine that didn't end happily ever after (or at least contain a tangy bedroom scene). "How can this be?", you may say "The man was a killer by all accounts, and had a general hatred for mankind to boot!" This tale provides the shocking answer! The murders? They were accidents! The Opera Ghost didn't -mean- to kill anyone..he'd only meant to tighten the noose enough to render his victim unconscious! As for the miraculous cure for the loathing of man? Well, just write in a Yodalike figure that is -also- deformed to set everything to rights! *facepalm* I was literally embarrassed for the writer at this point. And don't let me get started on how Christine's duplicitous love (and her marriage) was taken care of by turning her husband into a fiend for no apparent reason.
Turning a beloved (yet psychopathic) character into nothing short of a marshmallow in character depth was the least of this tale's problems. The staging of scenes was lackluster, the secondary characters two dimensional at best, and the heavy-handed use of phrases from the songs in the musical did nothing but induce a much-needed chuckle in an otherwise bland read.
Unlike some who would say they'd give no star; I'd give 1/2, because I think it's...kinda cute!