Quotes from Readers:
"Phantom: Edge of the Flame offers an alternative explanation for the bizarre behaviors and desperate actions attributed to the Phantom of the Opera. " "This unconventional account is narrated by the deadly Phantom and gives a unique insight into this frightening, yet fascinating character." "The novel is sympathetic to Erik's case, but it also points out his flaws and madness in some rather frank situations." |
SUMMARY: |
Phantom: Edge of the Flame provides a remarkable insight into the brilliant mind and tortured heart of the infamous Phantom of the Opera. This version keeps the integrity and chilling spirit of the original novel while unmasking a new gothic love story.
Erik, a diabolical musical genius with a facial deformity, resides in the sub-basement of the opera house. He frightens performers and extorts money from the managers. After a lifetime of rejection and solitude, a chance encounter with an American woman makes Erik yearn for a more normal life.
Olivia Weston accepts Erik's need to hide his face as an eccentricity. A remarkable friendship begins. However when three men attack Erik, he hunts them down and shows no mercy. Reeling from his lethal moral setback, he decides to abduct Olivia hoping she will change his life. When Olivia learns his true identity, Erik's fragile sanity begins to snap.
He has one objective --to hold onto the one thing he's always been denied, Love.
Erik, a diabolical musical genius with a facial deformity, resides in the sub-basement of the opera house. He frightens performers and extorts money from the managers. After a lifetime of rejection and solitude, a chance encounter with an American woman makes Erik yearn for a more normal life.
Olivia Weston accepts Erik's need to hide his face as an eccentricity. A remarkable friendship begins. However when three men attack Erik, he hunts them down and shows no mercy. Reeling from his lethal moral setback, he decides to abduct Olivia hoping she will change his life. When Olivia learns his true identity, Erik's fragile sanity begins to snap.
He has one objective --to hold onto the one thing he's always been denied, Love.
Answering the question:
"Where did you get the idea for this book?"
I must admit that I am a "Phan." (Photos below offered as proof of said state of mind.)
First things first. I think we need to establish the difference between a “Phan” and a normal person who enjoyed Phantom of the Opera on Broadway or liked the movie with Gerard Butler.
In order to separate the wheat from the chaff or the ‘normal’ from the ‘Phan,’ I’ve come up with a simple test. If you have done any of these things, perhaps you will come back next week to read my blog again. Or, you might want to seek professional help.
Are you a Phan? To find out, ask yourself:
1) Have you ever downloaded a ringtone from the musical to your phone? (Okay that’s weird, but it gets worse.)
2) Every time your phone rings, do you hope someone recognizes the song, so you’ll have a brand new Phan-friend? (Phans bond very easily. It’s safety in numbers—or the fact that all our other friends cringe and roll their eyes when we bring up Phantom. “Oh, god! She’s doing it again.”--Yes, I’ve heard you.)
3) Have you ever watched the movie during the day and gone to the musical that same night? (It was the perfect day. I remember it well.)
4) Do you use a line from the musical at least once a day in regular conversation just to see if anyone picks up on it? (Still looking for that Phantom soul mate…no luck yet. They may be tied up somewhere and not allowed to go out in the general populace, but I hope to connect one day…outside the facility, that is.)
5) You cannot simply walk down any grand staircase, but feel compelled to glide down it with giant sweeping motions while saying, “Why so silent, good Monsieurs?” the way the Phantom did when he crashed the Masquerade party. (He knows how to make an entrance! Note: People will give you very odd looks as you descend in this manner, but it’s so worth it–even if your husband refuses to come down until you’ve reached the bottom and people stop staring.)
6) Do you harass your sister-in-law (or any other relative that lives in France) until she agrees to go to the Paris Opera House to take pictures for you from Box 5 and then you continue to harass her until she agrees to try and get a tour of the basements?
7) Do you make your husband wear a half-mask to every Halloween party? (This is tricky as it has been known to cause the need to leave parties earlier than planned, or find a quiet, dark corner somewhere. I assure you, he’s never complained about that mask. Not once. I swear.)
8) Have you ever special ordered a black tuxedo, white shirt and black silk cape for your beloved husband because you don’t want it to ‘look like a costume’? (It’s hard to find a good cape in the 21st century, let me tell you. But, damn! He looks good in it. Who cares if he can only wear it once a year…in public, anyway.)
9) Have you ever lost the ability to speak coherently when someone asks you anything about Phantom? Gibberish comes out of your mouth and you get so excited you drool just a little? (Hey, I’ve heard it happens.) *looking around, avoiding eye contact*
10) Can you bring ANY conversation back to the Phantom? (Yes, I know how annoying this can be, but it’s the way my mind works. My mother is still hoping I grow out of it. I’m 40-something. It’s not going to happen, Mom.)
11) Have you ever begged your husband to buy the silver car because its official color name is Phantom Pearl Gray? (Hey, it is a beautiful car!)
12) Have you ever written an 80,000-word novel about the main character to see if you can bring him to the edge of redemption? (I had some time on my hands.)
All right, before I scare you too much and cause you to keep your children and pets away from me or make you consider moving out of the neighborhood, I’ll stop. I think we get the general idea, yes? We can all see these are not typical thought patterns of a rational mind. Now we have a good idea and a solid foundation for understanding the mental workings of a strange, but harmless Phantom Phan.
If you’ve done any of these things drop me a line. I really want to know who you are. If you are a Phan, let’s hear the crazy things you’ve done in the name of Erik! Your comments are welcome.
I must admit that I am a "Phan." (Photos below offered as proof of said state of mind.)
First things first. I think we need to establish the difference between a “Phan” and a normal person who enjoyed Phantom of the Opera on Broadway or liked the movie with Gerard Butler.
In order to separate the wheat from the chaff or the ‘normal’ from the ‘Phan,’ I’ve come up with a simple test. If you have done any of these things, perhaps you will come back next week to read my blog again. Or, you might want to seek professional help.
Are you a Phan? To find out, ask yourself:
1) Have you ever downloaded a ringtone from the musical to your phone? (Okay that’s weird, but it gets worse.)
2) Every time your phone rings, do you hope someone recognizes the song, so you’ll have a brand new Phan-friend? (Phans bond very easily. It’s safety in numbers—or the fact that all our other friends cringe and roll their eyes when we bring up Phantom. “Oh, god! She’s doing it again.”--Yes, I’ve heard you.)
3) Have you ever watched the movie during the day and gone to the musical that same night? (It was the perfect day. I remember it well.)
4) Do you use a line from the musical at least once a day in regular conversation just to see if anyone picks up on it? (Still looking for that Phantom soul mate…no luck yet. They may be tied up somewhere and not allowed to go out in the general populace, but I hope to connect one day…outside the facility, that is.)
5) You cannot simply walk down any grand staircase, but feel compelled to glide down it with giant sweeping motions while saying, “Why so silent, good Monsieurs?” the way the Phantom did when he crashed the Masquerade party. (He knows how to make an entrance! Note: People will give you very odd looks as you descend in this manner, but it’s so worth it–even if your husband refuses to come down until you’ve reached the bottom and people stop staring.)
6) Do you harass your sister-in-law (or any other relative that lives in France) until she agrees to go to the Paris Opera House to take pictures for you from Box 5 and then you continue to harass her until she agrees to try and get a tour of the basements?
7) Do you make your husband wear a half-mask to every Halloween party? (This is tricky as it has been known to cause the need to leave parties earlier than planned, or find a quiet, dark corner somewhere. I assure you, he’s never complained about that mask. Not once. I swear.)
8) Have you ever special ordered a black tuxedo, white shirt and black silk cape for your beloved husband because you don’t want it to ‘look like a costume’? (It’s hard to find a good cape in the 21st century, let me tell you. But, damn! He looks good in it. Who cares if he can only wear it once a year…in public, anyway.)
9) Have you ever lost the ability to speak coherently when someone asks you anything about Phantom? Gibberish comes out of your mouth and you get so excited you drool just a little? (Hey, I’ve heard it happens.) *looking around, avoiding eye contact*
10) Can you bring ANY conversation back to the Phantom? (Yes, I know how annoying this can be, but it’s the way my mind works. My mother is still hoping I grow out of it. I’m 40-something. It’s not going to happen, Mom.)
11) Have you ever begged your husband to buy the silver car because its official color name is Phantom Pearl Gray? (Hey, it is a beautiful car!)
12) Have you ever written an 80,000-word novel about the main character to see if you can bring him to the edge of redemption? (I had some time on my hands.)
All right, before I scare you too much and cause you to keep your children and pets away from me or make you consider moving out of the neighborhood, I’ll stop. I think we get the general idea, yes? We can all see these are not typical thought patterns of a rational mind. Now we have a good idea and a solid foundation for understanding the mental workings of a strange, but harmless Phantom Phan.
If you’ve done any of these things drop me a line. I really want to know who you are. If you are a Phan, let’s hear the crazy things you’ve done in the name of Erik! Your comments are welcome.
Reviews for Phantom: Edge of the Flame
By Chris Stewart (Woods Cross, UT United States) "First, I have to say that I'm a New York Times bestselling author. I've written more than a dozen books, and I think I know a little bit about writing. And this is very good. I think the author has done an amazing job with the story, bringing to life and answering the question, who is the Phantom, and what makes him tick. The dialogue is nearly perfect. The plot pulls you in. The pacing seems to be the writing of a much more experienced author. Someone made the analogy to this book and WICKED, and I think that's about right. Only I liked this story much more.
By pet713 "feline lover" (USA) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Phantom: Edge of the Flame (Kindle Edition) A story that will certainly tugged at your heart and mind. So much in tune with the original phantom story, yet different and intriguing, funny, loving and sad all at the same time. A great adventure into the life and mind of the phantom of the Opera. So many twist and turns never quite sure where the story would take me. All I know is that I needed and wanted to follow the story till the end and I was not disappointed! But left wanting to know more. I finished this novel in one day. If you are one of those people who loves intrigue, mystery and romance; then this is a great novel to read. But be warned! You will finish this novel wanting to know more. But is not that the way a novelist should write? Yes, I would say and left to wonder if there will be a continuation of this story? I sure hope so....
By MKRABQ - Amazon Verified Purchase "I cannot get the Phantom out of my mind! I think I fell in love with him! I started reading books again this past year because I let life get in the way for so long. Of all the books I've read lately, I sincerely mean it when I say that I enjoyed Phantom the best! When I have to keep reminding myself that it is "just a story" I know its good! I look forward to more from Kristine Goodfellow!"
By trisha - Amazon Verified Purchase "This is a page-turner. I'm not even a phantom fan, but got totally engrossed in this book. I read it it two days. Tremendous talent. Fantastic story. I hope to see more from this author."
By jdfield "Song to Wake to" (Camelot) "Anybody who's read Song to Wake to will know that I love books that play around with well know stories, which is what Phantom does with a vengeance! Kristine Goodfellow takes the classic story of the Phantom of the Opera and gives it unimaginable depth and interest. The masked man, for me, was the most interesting part of the story. The author has achieved the amazing feat of setting him exactly on the line between sympathetic and scary. he's explained, quite alot, but not enough that he stops being intriguing. The story is super Gothic, which I loved, and the heroine is very cool. She stands up for herself to everybdoy, evern the masked man, which added a nice quirk to the story. The other great achievement of this story is managing to weave genuine romance into the life of the masked man, must have been hard to do, but Kristine manages.
This is a lovely book, the only question I have left is does the 'Phantom: edge of...' style of title mean there are going to be more 'Phantom:revenge of the chandelier' of whatever? I do hope so..."
By Georgia Catoe - Amazon Verified Purchase "Just finished reading Phantom:Edge of the Flame--Phenomenal!!! I truly enjoyed it. I loved how you explored Erik's personality and made him a mature adult with a mature relationship with Olivia. Good job! I think I can actually enjoy the original more, now that I have read your book! CONGRATULATIONS!!"
By Phantom Phan - Amazon Verified Purchase "Gaston Leroux's "Phantom of the Opera" and Susan Kay's "Phantom" are two of my all time favorite books. I've read both of them over a dozen times, and have seen "Phantom" on Broadway and in Las Vegas three times. Although I love Susan Kay's "Phantom," even it fell short (especially, in the last quarter of the book) of doing justice to the Phantom. "Phantom: Edge of the Flame" delivers true justice to the Phantom, and gives readers a deep look into the mind of this intriguing gentleman, brutal killer, and passionate man. I never thought another Phantom book could challenge "Phantom of the Opera" for the top Phantom book ever, but this one is a true contender. Admittedly I've just finished this book for the first time, and am excited about the story, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is the best Phantom book ever! A must read for any Phantom Phan, or lover of Gothic Romance tales."
By Amber Wallace - Amazon Verified Purchase "I really enjoyed this book! I am a huge Phantom of the Opera fan so I was very excited to see it... especially for only $2.99. It was great! Really brought the Phantom to life and gave insight into his mind and his world. I was riveted from the start... couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it!
By Kbm "novel junkie and geek!" "It reminded me of what wicked did for the wizard of oz! This book was very entertaining and a great bargain! We need more of these books."
By cosgamer "This is an amazing book for Phantom fans. Granted, I haven't yet read the whole thing but what I have read is: INTRIGUING, SPELLBINDING, UTTERLY INTOXICATING. That may seem like hyperbole, and with any other work it would be, but with Phantom: Edge of the Flame those words don't quite do it justice. This is a steal at $2.99!
By Kathleen Amazon Verified Purchase "I am not a huge Phantom of the Opera fan, but I don't hate it. I began reading this book because I had read her blog and was always entertained nicely. WOW! I loved it! It was very hard to put down when I needed to do something else. Kristine paints such vivid pictures with her words and brings the characters to life. I felt like I shouldn't really like Erik, but in the end, I did like him and felt so sorry for him. What a great book and I very highly recommend it!!
Amazing!... And Now I Want to Cry..., March 13, 2012 By Stirack Amazon Verified Purchase (Kindle Edition) Phantom: Edge of the Flame, was an AMAZING Phantom read! I have seen some very good 'Phan' fics, but this is definately rated as one of the best. This is, by far, the best Erik I have ever read in a phanfic, why, I'll even say that this take on Erik is as good, if not even a little better I daresay, than Susan Kay's take on him. We get a perfect mix of the gentle, sensitive, and at times even child-like Erik, and the cold-blooded, murderous, insane lunatic that we know he can be (This is one of the first phan fics I've read that are not ridiculously sympathetic and, "Ahh, the poor creeper in the basement...". Yes, the novel is sympathetic to Erik's case, but it also points out his flaws and madness in some rather frank situations.) The story itself is sweet and charmingly romantic, and, thank the realm of fanfiction, NOT a gigantic sex-fest for phans, like myself, who don't particularly like to know EVERYTHING that happens... if you understand my meaning...
Anyway, the love intrest in this novel is NOT Christine! Now, even though this sounds weird, don't be turned off by this comment: ERIK DOESN'T EVEN LOVE CHRISTINE IN THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!! At first, I thought this to be totally out of character, but amazingly, this author can write and somehow, some way devised an amazing story that is true to Leroux's, yet totally new! The humor is absolutely stunning and I was on the floor cracking up more than once. We get the wonderful sarcasm that we all know Erik is meant to have, along with his more gruesome and morbid side of a laugh. ANYWHO!!! Back to the love intrest in this book! All i'll say is that her name is Olivia and that she is American. I need not say more.
All in all, I thought this was an amazing book... until i got to the last five pages. I literally just finished this book less than five minutes ago, and I will say that I am still crying.
WARNING TO ALL SENSITIVE PHANS:
THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU CRY.
The whole thing was great... until the author had to pretty much throw her whole story out the window and do something TOTALLY unforgivable. I won't say it in this review because i don't want to ruin it for anyone, but be forewarned: Do yourself a favor if you read this book: Stop when your phone/kindle or whatever says about 99%- which will be when you are like "Go Erik! This is what you deserve! This is your second chance!" if you read any farther, you will be sourly disappointed and want to burn this author at the stake.
Furthermore, this was a great read. Well written, good characters. My only complaint is the ending, which was horendous (Excuse my spelling if it's wrong...) Besides that... PHANTASTIC!!!
By pet713 "feline lover" (USA) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Phantom: Edge of the Flame (Kindle Edition) A story that will certainly tugged at your heart and mind. So much in tune with the original phantom story, yet different and intriguing, funny, loving and sad all at the same time. A great adventure into the life and mind of the phantom of the Opera. So many twist and turns never quite sure where the story would take me. All I know is that I needed and wanted to follow the story till the end and I was not disappointed! But left wanting to know more. I finished this novel in one day. If you are one of those people who loves intrigue, mystery and romance; then this is a great novel to read. But be warned! You will finish this novel wanting to know more. But is not that the way a novelist should write? Yes, I would say and left to wonder if there will be a continuation of this story? I sure hope so....
By MKRABQ - Amazon Verified Purchase "I cannot get the Phantom out of my mind! I think I fell in love with him! I started reading books again this past year because I let life get in the way for so long. Of all the books I've read lately, I sincerely mean it when I say that I enjoyed Phantom the best! When I have to keep reminding myself that it is "just a story" I know its good! I look forward to more from Kristine Goodfellow!"
By trisha - Amazon Verified Purchase "This is a page-turner. I'm not even a phantom fan, but got totally engrossed in this book. I read it it two days. Tremendous talent. Fantastic story. I hope to see more from this author."
By jdfield "Song to Wake to" (Camelot) "Anybody who's read Song to Wake to will know that I love books that play around with well know stories, which is what Phantom does with a vengeance! Kristine Goodfellow takes the classic story of the Phantom of the Opera and gives it unimaginable depth and interest. The masked man, for me, was the most interesting part of the story. The author has achieved the amazing feat of setting him exactly on the line between sympathetic and scary. he's explained, quite alot, but not enough that he stops being intriguing. The story is super Gothic, which I loved, and the heroine is very cool. She stands up for herself to everybdoy, evern the masked man, which added a nice quirk to the story. The other great achievement of this story is managing to weave genuine romance into the life of the masked man, must have been hard to do, but Kristine manages.
This is a lovely book, the only question I have left is does the 'Phantom: edge of...' style of title mean there are going to be more 'Phantom:revenge of the chandelier' of whatever? I do hope so..."
By Georgia Catoe - Amazon Verified Purchase "Just finished reading Phantom:Edge of the Flame--Phenomenal!!! I truly enjoyed it. I loved how you explored Erik's personality and made him a mature adult with a mature relationship with Olivia. Good job! I think I can actually enjoy the original more, now that I have read your book! CONGRATULATIONS!!"
By Phantom Phan - Amazon Verified Purchase "Gaston Leroux's "Phantom of the Opera" and Susan Kay's "Phantom" are two of my all time favorite books. I've read both of them over a dozen times, and have seen "Phantom" on Broadway and in Las Vegas three times. Although I love Susan Kay's "Phantom," even it fell short (especially, in the last quarter of the book) of doing justice to the Phantom. "Phantom: Edge of the Flame" delivers true justice to the Phantom, and gives readers a deep look into the mind of this intriguing gentleman, brutal killer, and passionate man. I never thought another Phantom book could challenge "Phantom of the Opera" for the top Phantom book ever, but this one is a true contender. Admittedly I've just finished this book for the first time, and am excited about the story, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is the best Phantom book ever! A must read for any Phantom Phan, or lover of Gothic Romance tales."
By Amber Wallace - Amazon Verified Purchase "I really enjoyed this book! I am a huge Phantom of the Opera fan so I was very excited to see it... especially for only $2.99. It was great! Really brought the Phantom to life and gave insight into his mind and his world. I was riveted from the start... couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it!
By Kbm "novel junkie and geek!" "It reminded me of what wicked did for the wizard of oz! This book was very entertaining and a great bargain! We need more of these books."
By cosgamer "This is an amazing book for Phantom fans. Granted, I haven't yet read the whole thing but what I have read is: INTRIGUING, SPELLBINDING, UTTERLY INTOXICATING. That may seem like hyperbole, and with any other work it would be, but with Phantom: Edge of the Flame those words don't quite do it justice. This is a steal at $2.99!
By Kathleen Amazon Verified Purchase "I am not a huge Phantom of the Opera fan, but I don't hate it. I began reading this book because I had read her blog and was always entertained nicely. WOW! I loved it! It was very hard to put down when I needed to do something else. Kristine paints such vivid pictures with her words and brings the characters to life. I felt like I shouldn't really like Erik, but in the end, I did like him and felt so sorry for him. What a great book and I very highly recommend it!!
Amazing!... And Now I Want to Cry..., March 13, 2012 By Stirack Amazon Verified Purchase (Kindle Edition) Phantom: Edge of the Flame, was an AMAZING Phantom read! I have seen some very good 'Phan' fics, but this is definately rated as one of the best. This is, by far, the best Erik I have ever read in a phanfic, why, I'll even say that this take on Erik is as good, if not even a little better I daresay, than Susan Kay's take on him. We get a perfect mix of the gentle, sensitive, and at times even child-like Erik, and the cold-blooded, murderous, insane lunatic that we know he can be (This is one of the first phan fics I've read that are not ridiculously sympathetic and, "Ahh, the poor creeper in the basement...". Yes, the novel is sympathetic to Erik's case, but it also points out his flaws and madness in some rather frank situations.) The story itself is sweet and charmingly romantic, and, thank the realm of fanfiction, NOT a gigantic sex-fest for phans, like myself, who don't particularly like to know EVERYTHING that happens... if you understand my meaning...
Anyway, the love intrest in this novel is NOT Christine! Now, even though this sounds weird, don't be turned off by this comment: ERIK DOESN'T EVEN LOVE CHRISTINE IN THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!! At first, I thought this to be totally out of character, but amazingly, this author can write and somehow, some way devised an amazing story that is true to Leroux's, yet totally new! The humor is absolutely stunning and I was on the floor cracking up more than once. We get the wonderful sarcasm that we all know Erik is meant to have, along with his more gruesome and morbid side of a laugh. ANYWHO!!! Back to the love intrest in this book! All i'll say is that her name is Olivia and that she is American. I need not say more.
All in all, I thought this was an amazing book... until i got to the last five pages. I literally just finished this book less than five minutes ago, and I will say that I am still crying.
WARNING TO ALL SENSITIVE PHANS:
THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU CRY.
The whole thing was great... until the author had to pretty much throw her whole story out the window and do something TOTALLY unforgivable. I won't say it in this review because i don't want to ruin it for anyone, but be forewarned: Do yourself a favor if you read this book: Stop when your phone/kindle or whatever says about 99%- which will be when you are like "Go Erik! This is what you deserve! This is your second chance!" if you read any farther, you will be sourly disappointed and want to burn this author at the stake.
Furthermore, this was a great read. Well written, good characters. My only complaint is the ending, which was horendous (Excuse my spelling if it's wrong...) Besides that... PHANTASTIC!!!