Chandelier

by Michael Leon

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GENRE: Sci-fi/ Fantasy Romance

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BLURB:

CHANDELIER is the genre-bending sci-fi/fantasy-romance novel follow up of Michael Leon’s 2019 fantasy-romance book, PHANTOMS. A century has passed since the fabled Phantom ruled the Garnier Opera House. Technology has advanced, and AI has evolved beyond human knowledge. They reside in a virtual Earth, free from the ravages of an environmentally damaged Earth where humans and post-humans live under AI’s qualified governance. CHANDELIER follows one AI sentient’s journey, Benny, whose loyalty for a famous opera singer, Madame D’Arenberg, sets him on a dangerous course, entangling him in The Phantom of the Opera’s deadly web.

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Excerpt:

The twilight between tired revellers and early morning risers had become Erik’s refuge, a place where the pains of past and present could coalesce in his ritual of the macabre. He’d dreamt of his tormentors again, beasts controlled by masters who understood their canine’s savagery as intimately as a mother knew her child and recurring nightly, taunting his mind.

Chilly breezes flowed down from the Lepontine Alps, carving patterns across Lake Como, so he drew his coat closer, protecting all but his face, but he wouldn’t feel an arctic breeze there. He touched his pale cheeks, not to warm them for they were permanently cold, an immovable party mask. Instead, he felt the rough texture of the implanted skin, grafted to his face. Habitually, he reached into his coat pocket for a medicated ointment that soothed and camouflaged his face in equal measure.

A single boat predictably made its way toward the Bellagio port, the first for the day, in wait for the steady procession of commuters and tourists that would navigate the Lombardy region, Italy’s foothills to the Swiss alps. The light from the slow-moving boat cast a darker than usual spotlight on the famous U-shaped lake, lit by its twin light, a crescent moon. It took Erik back to a dark past when he ruled the Garnier from the recesses of its famous lake chamber. His rule was cut short through carelessness, a mistake he would not repeat. He’d return to the jewel of the opera crown and rule that grand world again, but this time he’d lead it from the stage rather than Garnier’s hidden lake.

Were similar dark secrets contained in the black depths of Lake Como? The thought made him grimace, drawing pain. He held his mouth and cheeks, soothing the scar lines camouflaged beneath a thick beard. The scars, like his name, Erik, were all that remained of his past life, contingencies needed to protect him from those who’d seek to destroy him.

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Blog 15 – Chapter Reveal

By Michael Leon

This week’s blog provides an excerpt from Chapter 26 of Chandelier. Dr Flynn takes Benny into one of the digital art exhibitions set up in the Grand Foyer of the Garnier ready for the opening night of La Traviata.

Excerpt from Chapter 26

The Diva kissed him passionately. “Until tomorrow, my love,” she whispered, then left.

Benny could do no more but follow her instructions, meeting Flynn in the Grand Foyer where he was standing in front of one of the digital exhibitions. “Your rehearsal went well?”

“Not well enough. I am still not ready. I have to see the full ramifications of what occurred on opening night.”

Flynn nodded, “I will send you back to that night, but first, there’s something else I want you to see,” he said, turning toward the exhibition. “Set augmented sight,” he said, and they walked into the digital adaption of Kusama’s famous ‘Chandelier of Grief’, a stunning dark three-dimensional space lit only by a single crystal chandelier but illuminated and infinitely replicated in every direction. The original 5-hectare area of a real chandelier and mirrors were recreated within the confined space of the Grand Foyer, making for an ethereal world above and beneath the infinite platform on which they stood.

“I wanted you to see this before your final journey back.” Wherever they walked felt to be the centre of the chandelier universe, so they stopped and turned fully to take in the infinite world. “You asked me what the Sensorium looked like,” Flynn said, signalling to the vastness.

“If the Sensorium designed me, why would I be denied access to it?”

“At first sight, this creation is spectacular, but in time, you’d lose purpose in a sea of images that made little sense to you. The Sensorium would dazzle then overwhelm you. You’re where you were programmed to be.”

Benny nodded, resigned to his Earthbound fate. He was about to ask more when a small light in the distance caught his eye. “Do you see that?”

“Yes. Let’s walk to it together.”

A short walk revealed the Garnier Grand Foyer’s mysterious light, seemingly floating in the digital creation.

“It’s a perfect recreation?” Benny asked.

“No, it’s the actual foyer.”

They walked into the Garnier just as the theatre doors began to open. Satisfied Parisians streamed from all corners, some heading outside for waiting cabs, many queueing for the popular exhibition, open for a few more hours, such was the demand. Some revellers opted for the quieter corners to enjoy a celebratory wine and talk about the night’s spectacular performance. One solitary figure sat sleeping in a chair, seemingly overindulging in the fine wine on offer. Benny cast only a momentary glance before realising that it was Raoul. He turned to question Flynn, but Benny was alone, returned to a past century of opera, the night named in opera folklore as the infamous opening night.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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. His next novel, Chandelier, will be released in 2022. 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.

Website: https://www.michaelleon.com.au

Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelleon0433

Blogger: https://michaelleoncommentspage.blogspot.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5369984.Michael_Leon

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Leon/e/B01LNQALBW%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

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