We have a bumper crop of new Phantom literature as we race into summer!
Patricia Peacock und das Phantom in der Oper by Tiffany Crockham is a German-language mystery about a crime-solving duo in period times who are stuck trying to protect a famous Italian diva at the Cairo Opera House who is being ruthlessly targeted, along with the rest of the ensemble, by a mysterious figure haunting the place.
The Voyeur of the Opera: Captive in His Lair by Dulcinea Drakos is a sultry retelling of the original story, with plenty of sex scenes and a focus on which of her two lovers Christine will choose in the end.
Not Alone by A.L. Flagg is a flipped-roles modern-day story in which a young woman named Eden is attacked, leaving her severely scarred and hiding from the world, until she falls in love with a newcomer and must decide whether she can come out of isolation and how to deal with the world that hurt her in the first place. (I’d call it a bit more of a Beauty & the Beast story, but like many publishers, this one claims it’s a “fusion” of that story with the Phantom one.)
Chandelier by Michael Leon is the sequel to his previous book, Phantoms, and carries on the story after Erik’s escape from the opera house, moving to the future of the 22nd century where an aging diva hides secrets from other performers and a young pianist is frightened by the sudden and incredible increase of his peformance skills.
The Phantom of Nob Hill Theater by John Luke Maxwell is a gay romance novel about a retired porn actor, the community theater performance he’s involved in, and someone behind the scenes trying to Stop the Show and/or kill the performers. Of course, it’s very sexy. It’s literally in the theater’s name.
The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano is a period story about a young pianist who, when her parents die, discovers a strange connection to a woman currently being held in an asylum and struggles with strange letters and unearthly music that seem to follow her everywhere she goes.
In Too Deep by Elaine Runmore is a period rewrite of the original story, in which Christina is a street busker singing for coins in an English port and is being followed by a mysterious dark figure in the shadows who would do anything to hear her voice...
Behind the Mask by MaryAnn Sires is a prequel to her long-running The Phantom’s Lady series, although the prerelease announcement doesn’t give us much to go on as far as what it’s about. We can probably safely guess it’s at least got some backstory for the Phantom and the other main characters, though!
Corruption by Jenika Snow is a modern-day version of the story in which the Phantom character is a hired killer for the Russian mafia and struggles with his love for the innocent young ballerina he knew in childhood, only to kidnap her and keep her hostage when he realizes that she is about to marry someone else.
A Dance with Danger by Marisa Wright is the story of a ballet dancer who, after his legs are crushed and he loses the ability to dance or walk, hides from the rest of the world, only to be dragged back into the light when he meets his brother’s beautiful ballerina fiancee and a power struggle begins to determine which of the brothers she will choose.
We also have three “maybe” options this week, for those who like to intrepidly find out exactly how much Phantom influence there is in a suspicious work:
The Vanishing of Willa Sloan by Andrea Dias is a modern-day story about a girl whose mother vanishes during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing her to search for her until she discovers that her mother’s past as a ballerina in Paris was far from idyllic and that only traveling to Paris will allow her to finally learn the truth.
The Phantom Violinist: Play Like the Devil by Nigel Street has a lot of classic Phantom elements: a haunted, possibly evil violin that plays unbelievable music, a performer who isn’t sure whether their talent is their own or from some outside force, and of course dangerous performances that spiral out of control. However, it’s hard to tell if this is just one of those works that riffs on other evil violin stories (like Lovecraft’s Erich Zann) or whether it actually has a connection to the Phantom’s original story or one of its successors (the 1989 Little/Englund film would make sense...).
Ximphonic Versus: Symphony of the Phantom Knight by Scotlynd Xing Xin-Bedford is... well, to be honest, it’s very hard to tell what it is? It’s set five thousand years in the past in a fantasy universe in which a prince named Addonnis, a superlative singer, travels around with his mentor Concerto only to discover other ambitions when he encounters the princess of the faraway glass kingdom. It’s got a lot of music, haunting, and other Phantom-esque elements, but it offers no previews and I have no earthly clue what else is going on, so good luck to those who find out!
That’s it for this time, but let’s hope June’s offerings are just as exciting!