AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ETIENNE DE MENDES'

The Season of the Witch

was sent to

G. K. Sinclair (Australia)

October 2008

For an eternity, they stared at each other. Angel and demon. Heaven and hell. Until he roared in anger and clutched at his face in desperation. She fell, though the feeling was more than purely physical. He rose above her, the oncoming storm dark and despairing, fear rippling through her as she braced for the impact of his lightning rage. She'd stared into hell. Seen the depths of the place where she was certain no mortal should ever enter. She pitied him. He'd stared into heaven. Seen the light that shone above his hellish prison and become entranced with it. He didn't want her pity. He sought her love. The mask was the barrier. It reflected her idealized heaven, seeming to encase her Angel of Music in the beauty she dreamt of. In truth, it encapsulated him in his own darkness, peering out of the shadows cast on his face at the heaven he aspired for. But now she had ripped away the barricade, removing his last defenses. He never intended to reveal his face, but to think of him always as her angel, when the reality was that she was his. The ruse could continue no longer. They had seen each other as they truly were. Angel for demon. Demon for angel. There was no turning back now. He had tasted heaven and it wasn't enough. She had seen hell and it was too much. He knew this. Which was why he said the only words that made sense.

COMMENTS

Congratulations! You are an amazing writer. Your words allowed us to step into the room with Erik and Christine and relive this hellacious moment with them.
Etienne

Congratulations on winning the contest. This is so well deserved and enjoyed by all of Etienne’s phans.
J. McMahon

This is an intelligent and thought-provoking addition to Mr. de Mendes brilliant Phantom sequels. The moving story of Erik and his children sweeps the reader away on a carpet of extraordinary story-telling and envelops them in a decadent world of the privileged and their dangerous secrets. The same luscious dialogue is present and the introduction of new and exciting characters does not hamper the story of the Phantom at all. In fact, this kaleidoscopic background of the French aristocracy serves as the perfect stage for the Phantom to play out his smolderingly powerful life story. Mr. de Mendes makes some powerful statements regarding popular culture in this book that resonates through the intervening years. While some may find this affronting, even harsh, the events that occur are paramount to the action that takes place. For anyone who thought that the story ended with Le Couer Loyal, you were dead wrong. The vibrant Erik that lives and breathes upon the pages of this most excellent novel is as much the feared and respected Phantom of the Opera as the one first explored by Gaston Leroux himself. Another five-star effort from this imaginative and sensational modern author.
Ms. G.K. Sinclair - Brisbane

 

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