This is a 'continuation' of The Phantom of the Opera. It's pretty good.

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This book did not do justice to The Phantom of the Opera or any of its characters. If Erik hadn't truly died at the end of the original novel, he would have died at the thought of this sequel. Very disappointing.

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I was rather disappointed in this book. The writing is not at all stimulating, and completely ignores the adage of "Show, don't tell." While it is mildly interesting, it is forgettable. Certain plot points appear out of nowhere, with no build-up or even a believable background, most noticeably the ending. Very little time is spent on the characters we love, Erik gets only a single, three-page chapter to himself, Christine is all but ignored, and Raoul gets only a cameo appearance. The story could have been compelling and interesting, but the plot fell flat, along with most of the characters.

In fact, the only two characters that had any amount of interest to them were Charles Bloom and Father Joseph Kilfoyle, the former of which nearly saved the book, the latter which was barely explored. In fact, if you skip every chapter except Bloom's, you would be able to understand not only the entire plot, but you would have saved yourself time and a great deal of poorly written "story".

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Good book. Andrew Lloyd Webber confirmed that he is turning this into a broadway musical, set to run beginning the end of 2009.

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I think this story continuation was quite nice as it is a sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway (and West End) musical of the same name, all based on Leroux' original work. My review is based on reading this book alone without reference to the original [by Gaston Leroux] - which I haven't read. I found the book extremely engaging and readable. The fact that different narratives can bring so much life into a story was something I did not believe till I read this novel. I strongly recommend that you read this book for its engaging and immensely rewarding story-telling style.

One's heart can not help going out to the Phantom . There is a lot of heartache and meanness in this world, and the Phantom has had more than his share. Does he find happiness and contentment in the end? Read the book. Go see the show when it opens on Broadway this fall (Love Never Dies). Just has he rejuvenated Leroux's original work, he will rejuvenate and launch this book to new heights.

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We all know the story of *The Phantom of the Opera*...well this is part two...like we always knew, there is more to the Phantom's story....a great book that lets us know what happens to our Phantom after he escapes from the opera house that night...how he lives the next 13 years...what happens when he once again meets his Christine...and the big secret Christine kept from him and hoped he'd never learn .

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