Phantoms

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Michael Leon will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. 

The legend lives on in Phantoms… as modern day Phantom of the Opera, Eric Destler, plots to take over and rule the Palais Garnier with La Divina, the world-famous soprano, Carlotta Caccini, as his queen. But at every turn he is thwarted by his nemesis, the original Phantom of the Opera, now the Opera Ghost. 

Phantoms is set in the dark underground of the famous Paris Opera House and the stage above, where Guiseppi Verdi’s famous opera, Macbeth is being rehearsed. It is about parallel worlds, where opera imitates life with potentially catastrophic results. This is a tale about many phantoms – the real, imagined and ethereal – that haunt us all. And about the phantoms who live in the darkest recesses of the mind, often lurking behind beautiful facades. A world where some masks can’t be seen.

read an excerpt...

Erik expertly opened the champagne, then with a flourish, poured a little into each of the exquisitely hand-carved gold goblets, allowing the champagne to rise up then back, before topping them up. He handed Carlotta a goblet, picked up his own, then raised it to make a toast, but Carlotta spoke first.

“To us, to the King and Queen of the Garnier,” she toasted.

“And to the Phantom of the Opera, replied Erik, “I shall sit in his place.” Suddenly the air was rent with the discordant sounds of an organ before the ghostly apparition of a masked phantom appeared. His loud, disembodied voice echoing off the walls, “To thine own self be true.”

Erik leapt to his feet, alarmed, gesticulating wildly and startling Carlotta.

“There… there… can’t you see it?” The phantom vanished.

“You are mad!” said Carlotta, softly.

“I saw him with my own eyes.”

“Sit down, Erik. Let’s enjoy ourselves.”

Erik went to sit in Banquo’s chair again, but the ghostly apparition of a masked phantom reappeared there again. A shocked Erik stood still. 

“Leave me,” shouted Erik, loudly, now in the mind and body of Macbeth, “leave me, awesome ghost!” The phantom disappeared.

“Shame, my lord!” Carlotta sang back at him, wondering what was happening, but ready to play this musical game.

Erik paced to and fro, now singing Macbeth’s part, pointing to where the phantom had been, acting as if he were truly mad. “That shadow demands blood from me, and it will have it, I swear it will have it!”

“What is wrong with you?” a now troubled Carlotta asked, clearly disturbed by seeing Erik unravel before her. Was this a performance, a scene from the opera, for her benefit?

“The Phantom of the Opera was here,” a tormented Erik cried. Carlotta stood up and breathed deeply. If it was a performance, he would have it. Reincarnated as Lady Macbeth, she faced him.

“Cowardly spirit! Your fright has created idle phantoms,” she sang, her powerful tones ridiculing him. Now wishing to end the disturbing performance, Carlotta picked up her goblet, and toasted Erik.

“René Bourdin has a rival. You never cease to amaze me, Erik.”    Unsure of what had happened, he stood there, in the flickering candlelight, stunned into silence, grappling with the phantoms in his mind.

my review...

An interesting picture of the original opera and the basic cast of characters. The same divas and prima donnas and a very sadistic head of security, Erik. To actually assign a genre to this book is almost impossilbe. It is not a romance to me. It has a flare of the paranormal and a little bit of fantasy. To me a part of it was a horror novel. It is very dark as is the opera. I just thought Erik was a little extra sadistic, shall we say. The fact that I couldn't pin down a genre sure didn't ruin the book for me. 

Michael Leon caught me right at the beginning of this book and that is what kept me reading. There were a couple of things I thought I didn't catch on to, but as I read everything began to fall into place. There are a lot of twists and turns and hidden meanings to make it a very readable book.

about Michael Leon...

Michael Leon is an explorer, writer and author of the new novel, Sentient. Professionally trained in international trade, Michael has spent the last decade reading and writing SFF novels about new worlds to be explored in the future. His latest work, Sentient, imagines Earth in the year 2120. Michael has travelled extensively around Europe, walking the paths of his characters, from the famous European opera houses in Phantoms to the mountain tops of Switzerland in Emissary. 

For more information, go to his web site: www.michaelleon.com.au

Amazon Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Phantoms-Michael-Leon-ebook/dp/B07BZCZLQB/

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