Saturday, May 25, 2019

On the Road Again: "The Angel's Flight" by Louise Anne Bateman

Spoilers! Because this is a sequel, if you haven't read Ms. Bateman's first Phantom of the Opera based novel, The Angel's Shadow, then go back and start there before you read any further!
We begin at the end of the Angel's Shadow with the fire that destroys the Paris Opera House. Meg and Antoinette Giry were in the midst of being quizzed by the chief of gendarmes as to their relationship with the Phantom of the Opera, or Opera Ghost, when the explosions leading to the fire take place.
Standing outside, watching their home and belongings burn and wondering what will become of them, Meg and Antoinette hear a familiar voice instructing them to board a carriage.  Joining Erik, they leave behind the world of ballet and opera, and eventually find themselves in Erik's childhood home, the place he fled years ago.
Meg, in this series, is talented and troubled. She is intrigued by Erik and compulsively followed him and provoked him in the previous book.
He is such a man of mystery. He alternates between kindness and cruelty in his dealings with her. Although she is a young woman, Erik treats her like a child. Now the three of them are all living together. Will Meg survive? Will Erik?
Ms. Bateman takes these beloved characters on some new and surprising adventures and in the case of Meg... sometimes VERY surprising.
If you are a Phantom Phan and looking for a book that will shake up what you think about Meg, Erik and Madame Antoinette Giry, then start with the Angel's Shadow and continue the story with The Angels' Flight.