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Summary: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Review: The most wonderful book I've read! I highly reccomend it to anyone who has the ability to read. An exquisite blend of horror, murder, suspense, and romance. I loved it! READ IT! If you pick it up you won't put it down, I gaurantee! I just finished it, and now I'm going to read it again!
Rating:
Summary: The Phantom of the Opera
Review: A great book! I highly reccomend it to anyone who has the ability to read. An exquisite blend of thrilling suspense and romance. I loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: Could he have possibly read the book?
Review: Is it possible that "a reader from Prince Edward Island, Canada" could have actually read Gaston Leroux's "Phantom of the Opera" and still have concluded his review by attributing it to "that creative talent, Andrew Lloyd Weber?"Andrew Lloyd Weber is, in fact, very talented and creative, and his Phantom IS memorable. but Weber DIDN'T write the book, and his Phantom is only very loosely based on Leroux's Phantom. I'd suggest reading the book and knowing who wrote it before heaping praise on it. There are a lot of interesting things one could say about the book, but you really ought to know what they are and who wrote it before you review it.
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Summary: A BOOK YOU WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER
Review: No matter how many times you read this book, you will be compelled to take it off the shelf, over and over again, and read it "just one more time." It is touching, haunting, captivating and extremely well written. One could not read this book without being filled with deep emotion. Phantom of the Opera is a true classic that will continue to have an impact on readers for many years to come. What else could we expect from such a talented creator as Andrew Lloyd Webber?
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Summary: Always my love
Review: Never have I been moved so much before! The Phantom of the opera is my favourite book.I started to read it last year and continually read it over and over again--I have read it for at least 30 times.And now I still cry and shiver every time I read it and think of it .I certainly will never forget Phantom's story ,as if it is branded into my memory. Phantom's story is always making people feel sorry for him.He had the most splendid genius (as Leroux had).He was the best in the world,but the only problem was his face,his ugliness,and this drew his favourite Christine away.The lovely Christine was really an idiot ,she didn't deserve Erik's love for her.I have always wished that I was Christine,and accepted Erik.Erik did everything for her,he prtected her,committed murder for her,got chances for her to sing the leading role on stage,taught her to sing...captured her for loving her too much.However,he got nothing in return. .........Raoul was the real monster,if he wasn't in the story,there would be a very very happy ending for Erik and Christine.He separated them! Raoul and Christine finally could be together.......but poor Erik,the Phantom of the Opera,was left behind,died of loving Chrstine too much,and became the real phantom,the real ghost......Perhaps this is the best ending for the story,the tragedy was the most important point to make the novel sucess,and,make everyone remember the poor Erik...
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Summary: The One and Only
Review: I'm always a bit wary about reading classics. Because they are classics, they've inherently had movies, productions, and television specials produced using that story over and over and over again, that anything that could possibly be done with that story has...and then some! (Just the fact that Andrew Loyd Webber's musical version is used as the books logo now proves my case.) But I refused to let that stop me when it came to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The Phantom has always been my favorite of the "classic monsters" because, in point of fact, he is no such thing. Unlike the Wolf-man, Dracula, or Frankinstein's monster, the Phantom is all too human. A human who is unhappy with his body and the way society has treated. What geek can't relate to that? I enjoyed this book. It's difficult to get past the lack of sensationalism these older books always have in their writing style. It's written as if it were a research paper, but that was the author's intent, to make the story seem like it could have actually happened. Once you get past that however (something which took me all of a chapter to do), the book becomes quite enthralling, and is a very quick read. What may surprise some people (not me because someone already told me to expect this), is that the amount of actual time spent covering the "real" Phantom is minimal. But I suppose that's the point. You can't have a mysterious character if the reader knows everything about him. All in all, an excellent read for any true Phantom of the Opera fan. In fact, how could you call yourself a fan if you've never read the book, eh?
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Summary: Great Potential, author muffs it.
Review: I will be mischievous (see other reviewer's comment below) and say that "this is not standard of Leroux's output." (Yes, several of his books are available...in French.) It's far more psychological, darker, less occupied with the mystery aspect and far more with the characters. (For a "typical" Leroux novel, see "Le Parfume de la Dame en Noir") This book often impelled me to throw it across the room. One of the major frustrations of literature is when one finds great characters trapped in lousy novels and one keeps wondering "what if?" (Stanislaw Lem wrote a quasi-essay on this in his "A Perfect Vacuum") Erik is a fascinating character who obviously strikes a chord with many people. We probably all feel somewhat like him--misunderstood, cast out, rejected. The problem is--there is no one else in the book who rises to his stature! The only other characters who are fleshed out enough to even be grasped are Christine and Raoul--both of whom are the conventional pair of lovers. Christine, frankly, is a blithering idiot. (All of Leroux's heroines are blithering idiots.) The writing ranges from good to typically bad potboiler. Set scenes, lots of action. The last scene, when Erik visits the daroga and describes his last meeting with Christine, almost redeems it. (I can't comment on the English version because I read it in the original.) I give this book three stars because of Erik, the description of the Opera House, and some of the minor characters. May the Phantom find an author and a heroine worthy of him!
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Summary: Yuck. . .I'm -not- impressed!
Review: Well, I got to reading this after I had seen the touring "The Phantom of the opera" in my hometown. Well, I was screaming in rage 1 day later as I finished the book. The phantom had no heart what-so-ever and was the cruelest thing in the whole Paris Opera House! I wanted to rip this book apart! He was a monster, inside and out. Well, in the musical, I suppose you don't notice his monster side because of his voice. . .but still, that's not the idea!
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Summary: Absolutely perfect!
Review: Believe me I mean it! Phantom Of The Opera is the absolute best book I've ever read. It explains alot of things left unsaid in the Broadway play. Erik is wonderful, and I realy love the charecter of Raoul. The ending always brings tears to my eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story, but writing needs improvement
Review: After listening once to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack, I immediatly fell in love with the story Phantom of the Opera. But the brief synopsis on the inside of the CD jacket was not enogh to satisfy me. I had toread the book. The book Phantom of the Opera goes in to more depth of the story than the musical. But the author's style was a disapointment. It may be that the pizaz many authors put into their stories was lost when Leroux's story was translated into english. The plot however is superb and Leroux did a good job of finding one so intense to base his story on. If you have'nt listened to the original British cast soundtrack of Phantom, do so. It will be no disapointment!
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