Angels of Music

by Kim Newman

Deep in the shadows under the Paris Opera House resides Erik the Phantom, mysteriously enduring through the decades as the mastermind behind a strange and secret agency. A revolving door of female agents are charged by wealthy Parisians and the French Government to investigate crimes and misdemeanours they would prefer to keep out of the public eye.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical, Retellings

416 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2016

About the author

Note: This author also writes under the pseudonym of Jack Yeovil.
An expert on horror and sci-fi cinema (his books of film criticism include Nightmare Movies and Millennium Movies), Kim Newman's novels draw promiscuously on the tropes of horror, sci-fi and fantasy. He is complexly and irreverently referential; the Dracula sequence--Anno Dracula, The Bloody Red Baron and Dracula,Cha Cha Cha--not only portrays an alternate world in which the Count conquers Victorian Britain for a while, is the mastermind behind Germany's air aces in World War One and survives into a jetset 1950s of paparazzi and La Dolce Vita, but does so with endless throwaway references that range from Kipling to James Bond, from Edgar Allen Poe to Patricia Highsmith.
In horror novels such as Bad Dreams and Jago, reality turns out to be endlessly subverted by the powerfully malign. His pseudonymous novels, as Jack Yeovil, play elegant games with genre cliche--perhaps the best of these is the sword-and-sorcery novel Drachenfels which takes the prescribed formulae of the games company to whose bible it was written and make them over entirely into a Kim Newman novel.
Life's Lottery, his most mainstream novel, consists of multiple choice fragments which enable readers to choose the hero's fate and take him into horror, crime and sf storylines or into mundane reality.

Reviews

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Risingshadow.

Kim Newman's Angels of Music is a fascinating novel for those who are familiar with Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1910). I was delighted to read this novel and found myself enjoying it, because it was something different.

If you think that reading Gaston Leroux's novel, seeing its film versions and hearing Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version is everything you need to know about Erik the Phantom, you're gravely mistaken. Kim Newman's novel breathes new life and vigour into this classic tale. The author draws inspiration from Gaston Leroux's novel and pays attention to maintaining the mysterious and thrilling atmosphere that originally drew readers to the story, but delivers his own vision of Erik the Phantom and his deeds by adding fresh elements and humour to his novel.

Angels of Music is a brilliant combination of old-fashioned adventure fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction and horror/dark fantasy elements. It is something unique for those who want to read a good and entertaining mystery novel, because it is slightly akin to Vaughn Entwistle's The Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The author's way of way of writing about mystery elements is entertaining and will keep readers thrilled all the way from start to finish.

Kim Newman's re-imagining of the tale of Erik the Phantom feels wonderfully fresh, because Erik runs a secret detective agency that investigates delicate crimes and misdemeanours that famous and wealthy people prefer to keep secret. He uses his talented women operatives to investigate things.

I'm aware how strange this may sound, but this novel reads like a bizarre blend of The Phantom of the Opera and Charlie's Angels (it also has a tiny dash of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). It would be easy to assume that this kind of a blend would be a recipe for total disaster, but it's not - this novel is a fine achievement in engaging storytelling. Once you begin to read this novel, you won't be able to put it down until you've reached the end.

This novel consists of six loosely related stories:

- Act One: The Marriage Club
- Act Two: Les Vampires de Paris
- Entr'acte: The Case of Mrs Norton
- Act Three: Guignol
- Act Four: The Mark of Kane
- Act Five: Deluge

Each of these stories features a different case and different angels with special skills (as time goes by, the angels move on and are replaced by new angels). It's great that the angels change in each story, because it keeps the novel fresh.

Here's a bit of information about how this novel begins, because the first story provides the basis for the following stories:

At the beginning, three girls - Christine Daaé, Trilby O'Ferrall and Irene Adler - have been sent to Paris Opéra. They're all talented in their own ways, because Christine has a Voice, Trilby has a Face and Irene has a Mind. Their talents attract the attention of Monsieur Erik aka Phantom of the Opera. Erik nurtures their talents and teaches them to do things. He founds a private enquiry agency, the Opera Ghost Agency, which offers services to a special clientele. Soon Madame Apollonie Sabatier, who hosts a salon, asks for Erik's help. She thinks that one of her patrons, Grand Marshal Gérard, is not acting like himself and fears that he may have been "got at" in some way. Christine, Trilby and Irene begin to investigate what's going on...

This is all I'll write about what's going on, because I want to avoid writing too much information about the happenings (the less you know about certain things in advance, the more you'll enjoy the stories, because the author has a few surprises in store for his readers). I can mention that each of the stories is worth reading and delivers good entertainment to readers, because they feature elements of danger, adventure and intrigue.

Kim Newman writes fluently about the different angels and what kind of persons they are, because he fleshes out their personalities in a good way. His portrayal of their deeds, talents and feelings feels vivid, because he aims to entertain his readers and keeps things in motion. It was fun to read about what kind of work the angels did and how they had to act certain roles and wear disguises when they worked for Erik.

I want to mention separately that I found it immensely intriguing to read about what Sophy Kratides, the Angel of Vengeance, thought of Sherlock Holmes and his abilities. It was also interesting to read about Unorna, the Angel of Magic, because she was the so-called Witch of Prague and bore the stigmata of heterochromia iridis (her eyes were different colours). The author wrote fascinatingly about her arcane knowledge and study of the occult.

This novel has plenty of wittiness that I found irresistibly charming. The witty remarks and comments made by some of the characters are inventive and at times delightfully stinging. This is nice, because sharp and stinging humour has always appealed to me.

Kim Newman masterfully evokes a sense of time and place in this novel, because he brings an age gone by to life with his prose. His descriptions about Paris and its various locales and different people feel authentic.

I admire the author's way of easily creating a believable and thrilling atmosphere, because nothing feels forced or heavy in this novel. The happenings during the 1910 Great Flood of Paris are brought vividly to life and so are various other things, including the vampires. His descriptions of Parisian lifestyle, corruption and murders are excellent.

It's great that this novel features many popular culture references and appearances by famous literary characters and historical persons, because it's fun to spot them. For example, Irene Adler, who originally appeared in "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle makes an appearance in this novel, and - of course - Christine Daaé from the original Phantom of the Opera novel is also part of the cast of characters. I can also mention that the Diogenes Club is mentioned in this novel.

If you're a fan of classical music, you'll be pleased to know that several operas are mentioned in this novel. It was intriguing for me to read about how they were used in the stories, because I enjoy listening to classical music and find old operas interesting. For example, it was nice to see the little-known opera Der Vampyr by Heinrich Marschner mentioned in the second story.

I sincerely hope that Kim Newman will continue to write more this kind of novels, because he's one of the best and most talented authors of intriguing fiction (he always manages to surprise his readers with fresh material). This novel provides readers proof of his writing skills, because it has everything - adventure elements, mysterious happenings, intriguing characters and good storytelling - you could ever hope to find in an entertaining novel. I think that this novel will especially appeal to those who enjoy reading historical fiction and mystery fiction.

Kim Newman's Angels of Music is an entertaining and well written novel about Erik the Phantom and his talented angels who investigate various crimes and misdemeanours in their own unique way. If you are looking for a novel that will entertain and thrill you, you simply can't afford to miss this novel, because it's a veritable tour de force of imagination and storytelling. It's an utter delight for fans of engaging storytelling.

My final words are:

Kim Newman's Angels of Music is captivating and well written entertainment!

[OG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uh. I don’t like to criticise but seriously. The tone of this book is off. So sooooo far off. I was expecting Jago and lightfoot, springhealed Jack, Holmes and Watson. Murder and mystery abound with lashings of black humour and a constant clamour of greasepaint, high jinx, curtains tumbling and a nod and wink to the in - on - the joke audience. Great jumping grasshoppers was I in the wrong book.
If you are going to take a character like Erik after the fact of the phantom, a) you need to give some context and not assume the readers knows everything about him, b) make him larger than life, c) watch the Charles Dance version of Phantom and take your cues on humour directly from there.
Instead we have a shadowy overly serious figure that deals in the most ridiculous of investigations. That would be fine if the writer hadn’t made the main characters so dry, so straight. They need to be vaudeville, the need to be love never dies funny and ott for them to fit into the verse the authors created. They are sadly not.

Onto the girls. Why? Why choose characters from other works? Why not go with Christine and the rats from the ballet? Madam Giry as a spy, even Carlotta? That would have worked.
For me the best “Angel” was Irene Adler, But she wasn’t in it for long enough.

Why in lucifers name would you put Christine into this and then barely use her? Also please, if she’s there she’d be with Erik. She’d be his lover, there’s vague hints but if you are going to keep her in the picture there is no other place for her except at Erik’s side.

Gah.

Do I have anything good to say.

No.

On the face of it I’d love to see Christine and Erik fighting side by side running an agency that deals with the macabre and weird. I’d love to see Erik teach Christine to fight and Christine teach Erik to love. I’d love to see the rats and Madam Giry be part of that story and there to be ridiculous stories in the great traditions of Sherlock Holmes and fu Manchu.

Did I find that here?

No.

Does the author need to get a sense of humour?

Yes.

Do I get this book?

Yes, I know what she was trying to do with the book but it’s just not this authors thing.

So in signing off I will say this is worse than the phantom of Manhattan. Sorry.



Not sorry.

[Charles Prepolec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the Paris Opera. And they were each assigned very hazardous duties....now they work for me. My name is Erik...

Kim Newman's latest collection stitches together some previously published novellas, with some entirely new material, and the result forms a very entertaining serial novel. The premise, typically fun and off the wall Newman, is essentially a blending of The Phantom of the Opera and Charlie's Angels. I know, it sounds corny as can be, but it isn't and works extremely well. The Phantom is Charlie, with the Persian as Bosley, and the Angels, who change throughout the years (roughly 1870-1910), are taken from a range of period novels and include the likes of Christine Daae, Irene Adler, Trilby O'Ferrall, Alraune, Eliza Doolittle, and so on. As with Newman's seminal ANNO DRACULA, spotting all the literary and pop culture references is half the fun, while the clever stories themselves provide the balance. Thrilling adventure, fantasy, and horror all come together in this excellent volume. If you've enjoyed Newman's ANNO DRACULA or DIOGENES CLUB stories, you'll love this. If you haven't read Newman before, it's as good a place as any to get started.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's exactly the rollicking, non stop, lurid adventure you would expect from the author of "Hound of the D'ubervilles" and "Anno Dracula", turning the Phantom of the Opera into the head of a Charlie's Angels type gang of crime fighting girls, all pulled from classic literature.

I like these books, they have genuine thick atmosphere, good action and laugh out loud humour, all of which can be tough to find these days. Lots of interesting historical/literary titbits, as well as funny things like making the 1870s and 1880s being reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s, complete with historical Parisian Glam Rock and Yuppies.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a great idea and well written, my attention wavered a bit due to the episodic structure and constantly changing cast. However, some of the sub-stories are as exciting as anything by Kim Newman, especially the one involving the Grand Guignol.

[Chip Coombs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what I expected from Kim Newman, a great adventure full of sly humour and fit to bursting with literary references.

I would have liked to have seen more of Christine Daae (I've always adored the character, so to have a Phantom story with her barely in it was a teeny bit disappointing) but it's not a Phantom re-telling, it's a story set with the Phantom as it's central character. Fully recommend!

[Jennie Rigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual for Newman this is chock full of clever references and beautifully crafted allusions… however: it doesn't really hang together as a novel. It's more of a series of short stories with a linking theme.

Now, there's nothing actually wrong with that as a concept, but I found it immensely frustrating that just as I fell in love with one set of characters and was eager to know what they would do next, they were tossed aside and we got a new set of characters.

As with all Newman it's witty and cleverly written, but I wouldn't say it's essential. Pick it up if you see it, but don't go out of your way.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angels of Music is a hybridization of The Phantom of the Opera and Charlie’s Angels. I know that is a bizarre idea but believe it or not it actually works. It’s Kim Newman‘s universe we just live in it. Newman is very clever he populates his Paris with a host of ass-kicking women and half the fun is figuring out all of his fiendish literary references. Irene Adler is here, as is Trilby, Alraune and many others. We get to visit Paris in several different time periods and this includes a trip to the Grand Guignol theater which is perfect timing for Halloween. Excellent.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, runs a sort of detective agency in 19th century Paris and employs the girls of the theatre as his agents. This is split into stories about the cases that his Angels work on that range from vampiric action to clockwork brides. Great fun with lots of literary and pop culture references (a rhapsody from Bohemia anyone?) with a slight nod to the old tv show of Charlie's Angels.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really love the concept of combining characters from several famous works of literature. Seeing Erik the Phantom and Irene Adler, in particular, as characters in something aside from their original books, was a really exciting concept. Unfortunately, the book didn't really follow through on all the buildup. It felt as though it dragged on forever, plodding from story to story with no real purpose and nothing much tying them together. I pushed through because I kept hoping it would get better, but it never really did.

[Paul Irby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly don’t know why I pushed through to the end of this terribly written book. Stay away unless you enjoy mischaracterizations of familiar literary faces and clumsy descriptions of horror scenes. I recommend Anno Dracula from this author, but this book hits all the wrong notes.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

This should have been SUCH a hit for me but it was a dud. Mashup of Charlie’s Angels with Erik the Phantom of the Opera at the helm and the Paris Opera House as the base of operations. A string of six short stories, each featuring a different trio of Angels with various talents and training.
I made it through the first story with difficulty and didn’t make it any further. The first chapter is ALL telling and no showing and chock a block with plodding backstory and context, describing our first trio of Angels - Christine Daae, who should need no introduction, her talent is song of course. Trilby O’Ferrall is the Angel of Beauty. Irene Adler is the Angel of Larceny and the only one who has not submitted to Erik’s *full* Angel training, which is only alluded to but seems to involved mesmerism and total submission. (No thanks! Irene has her wits about her!) Also Newman puts the women down with not so subtle jabs as he describes each of them, making them seem like immature school room chits. To add insult to injury… What put me off early in the second chapter was the vapid banter among the Angels in the first scene where the reader meets them along with Erik and his assistant, the Persian. The ladies have mad skills, and even though intellect is supposedly Irene’s strong suit, they add zero value to any of the plotting. They are DOLLS. Minions. Agents without any agency. This was the dealbreaker for me. Even as they embark on their first mission in The Marriage Club story to discover who/how/why is pulling the strings to get legendary bachelors in positions of power to settle down with noticeably younger, unknown women, and then do complete 180 changes of mind regarding major political stances, investments, etc.
Intriguing premise for sure. But the Angels get trapped and outwitted in every damn scene. Saved only by Erik’s somewhat removed intervention and the pied piper playing his mesmerizing notes to switch the Angels into elite athletes and assassins.
Great so take extraordinary women and diminish their independence completely. He’s no better than the damn Countess Cagliostro he’s trying to defeat!
I was here for the fantasy and the mystery, but I was also here for girl power, camp literary references, and zany humor. I got none of those. Another reviewer was pining for what this could have been - part romance but more than that a partnership of equals with Christine at the helm beside Erik, him teaching her strategy and subterfuge, and her teaching him the essentials of human emotions to better anticipate and intercept nefarious people and plots (with love being on the lesson plan of course). Then the angels would have a found family vibe with Christine and Erik at the helm and more scenes in the Paris Opera House underground d labyrinth- Bat cave vibes and gadgets and labs please!
Definitely a missed opportunity.

[Ananda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phantom of the Opera meets Charlie's Angels. As a longtime Phantom obsessive I had no chance of resisting this book, and its reimagining of the Phantom as the secretive head of a private enquiry agency headquartered at the Paris Opera delivered very well. What I wasn't expecting was the even more creative reimagining and presentation of the women in the book, from Christine Daae to Irene Adler to Elizabeth Eynsford Hill, all of whom take a detour from their source material to do a tour of duty as one of the Phantom's Angels (always in groups of three, highly trained, but selected for their unique talents). But we also meet a host of ladies from less well known media, or supporting roles, of the period, and I am tempted to read all of their original stories. I didn't recognize Trilby O'Farrell as Svengali's initial victim, nor Kate Reed as Mina Murray's best friend in "Dracula", nor Rima from "Green Mansions".

There are lots and lots of other pop culture and period literary tropes - the Black Bat, a wealthy individual who takes to the rooftops of Paris with his collection of gadgets (but is a serial killer! Twist!) and a "These aren't the ladies you're looking for" moment. Sometimes these feel a bit forced. The plots of the individual stories are fun but I wish the author had leveraged the ladies' pre-existing literary backgrounds a little more consistently. (I loved the inclusion of Sophy Kratides, the Angel of Vengeance, and her exceedingly dim view of Mr. Holmes and how he let her brother, the Greek Interpreter, down.)

Recommended for fans of the 1890-1915 period and its literature and characters, and of course Phantom fans.

[Dianne Landry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where do I start with this ridiculous book? There are apparently 6 stories in this book, each one with three different "angels" working for the Phantom's detective agency. I don't know because I finished one and threw my hands up part way through the second.

Story one: a madam contacts the agency because one of her former clients got married and stopped coming to her brothel. He's an old man who married a pretty young thing named Poupée (really?) Erik and his angels decide to investigate. What they find is some woman who claims to be a descendent of Caliostro who has parties at which rich men meet young women and marry them the same night. The only catch: they aren't really women, they're clockwork dolls. The men are hypnotised so they don't realize they are boinking metal and wax figures. GROAN!

Story two: a group of professional killers who call themselves Vampires, complete with filed teeth and never going out at night, hire the Angels because some useless fop got murdered and the cops are blaming them. They insist it's really a mad in a bat mask and cape who crawls down the sides of buildings. I'm sorry that is where i draw the line. I don't see how anything could get more ridiculous.

Back to the library it went.

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of short stories about the Opera Ghost Agency (a bizarre combination of The Phantom of the Opera and Charlie's Angels) set in a fantastic Paris from 1870-1910. The world resembles (and has some characters from) Anno Dracula. Until 3/4 of the way through the book, I thought that it actually WAS the same world (Act II: Les Vampires de Paris actually features Dracula's "brides" and mentions that he is in England at the time), but the alternate history in this book diverges from the events of Anno Dracula (apparently the Count stays dead in this world). A classic Newman book filled with homages to innumerable stories, books and silent films of the period, although the changes in characters between the stories makes this less enjoyable as a novel. I was somewhat annoyed that Kate Reed is a major character in two of the Angels of Music stories - since I'm used to her a protagonist in the Anno Dracula books (mostly as a vampire), her AoM timeline is different and (I feel) unnecessary since Newman could have used a different character in her place.

[Jason Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner by Kim Newman, author of the "Anno Dracula" alternate history series and the Drearcliff Grange series. "Angels of Music" is a very fun pastiche collection of interlocking stories centered around a single premise: Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, now near-immortal, basically runs a detective agency from the catacombs under the Paris Opera House. His operatives, only three very able women at a time, take on the cases that the French govt (or select very wealthy patrons) want kept quiet. His various operatives include A.C. Doyle's Irene Adler, Albert Aikens La Marmoset, and Newman's own Kate Reed (from the Anno Drcula series). And yes, The Phantom has a majordomo--The Persian--who liases with and helps the operatives. (Any resemblance to "Charlie's Angels" is entirely intentional.)

The book is funny, very written, and chock full of references (both obscure and well known) to pulp fiction of the 19th and 20th centuries. Helps if you get the references, but if you don't the book is still easy to enjoy.

[MH · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Wold Newton pastiche with a clever idea - Charlie's Angels, with the Phantom of the Opera as Charlie and a rotating trio of fictional pre-World War I adventuresses as the angels - told in five short stories of wildly differing tones. When Newman gives himself room to reflect on the changing decades (and literary styles), or to dwell on how many of these heroines were puppets to male masterminds (and how they might feel about that), it's sharp and interesting, and a couple of the stories were really enjoyable (especially the last one). Other stories, though, tested my patience with Grand Guignol gore and perversion or painful sub-Shrek comedy (Charles Foster Kane creating an ugly American paradise in France, including a fast food restaurant called Burgher Kane), and the book ended up being about half clever adventure and insightful meta-fictional commentary, and half, well, Burgher Kane.

[Andi]

As a Phantom of the Opera fan I usually find time for interesting Phantom books.

Finding out this one existed, well, I had to grab it from the used book store I frequented. I also checked out the reviews. Some people enjoyed it, others did not. Where would I exactly fall.

Well, I'd fall in the group of people who sadly could not finish it. I felt probably a disconnect because the lack of the Phantom, and the sheer absurdity of it all. I wanted more involvement from Erik.

Instead, it was more or less a Charlies Angels fanfic. There was obviously some research done to grab the various women from novels that would exist around this time to play his 'angels'. Still, I felt that some of their characters were a bit off. (Trilby for one.)

I guess I'm not the reader for this book. If you enjoy a book that obviously inspires Charlies Angels, Wild Wild West, and various gothic or French literature females then you'd enjoy this book.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very, very Newman book. Erudite, clever, weighted with references and allusions that almost nobody withoutbthe author's encyclopaedic knowledge of the dramatic, gothic, and macabare will recognise, and with a perhaps slightly underwhelming climax. A reinvention of Charlie's Angels, with the titular Angels drawn from Grand Guignol theatre and 'Charlie' a masked fellow living under Paris Opera House.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, though like some of Newman's recent work i think the plot often loses tightness in the author's eagerness to sneak another obscure reference in. If you're a fan of the genre that this riffs off, it'll be a huge treat.

[Margaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought the premise of this one was interesting. Sort of Charlie's Angels, with Erik the Opera Ghost as "Charlie". Unfortunately, I didn't think this lived up to the premise. The first couple of stories were fun, but it kind of wore out quickly. I think my main difficulty was that I felt as though the women didn't seem like full characters to me. They kind of went in and out of the stories and didn't leave much of an impression. And without compelling characters, there just wasn't enough here to hold my attention. Kind of a shame, because I did like the premise.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie's Angels meets Phantom of the Opera. Such a fun concept and I adored the way Newman seamlessly weaves in literary figures and historical events into the story. My biggest complaint (and it's a sizable one) is that there are too many characters and they never seem fully realized. I wish that each novella was just extended into its own novel so we could really get into the stories and the characters. Each story felt like an introduction to a novel, not a fully actualized novella, and definitely not a cohesive part of a novel. I liked what I read; I just wanted more.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird, but in the best way possible. Kim Newman's story-telling style is so unique, featuring unconventionally (and conventionally) strong-willed, dangerous women, which I appreciate. There are few times where I can tell that a man wrote the female perspectives, I think only once in this novel.
Overall, I think that this is a great book. It takes a little while to get into the weird atmosphere, but once you do, it is well worth it.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterfully written, the novel evokes the flavor of nineteenth-century literature and Parisian culture and history. Amusing, clever, and inventive, this Victorian version of Charlie's Angels reinvents Erik the Phantom as leader of a clandestine detective agency investigating bizarre crimes with the help of different trios of "angels" with unusual and sometimes deadly skills. A delicious cauldron of vampires, living dolls, Grand Guignol, witchery, and bloodthirsty villains.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. Written as five short stories, each tale looks at a different group of "Angels", women who deal with any issues that present themselves to the Phantom. While there are aspects of the original tale, most of it is a blending of various other characters and stories I've never heard of. Newman has done her research, you can see that, but since I'm unfamiliar with these stories, it felt a bit disjointed and somewhat pointless.

[Gemma · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a DNF for me.

I found it hard to connect with the characters and the style of writing didn't draw me in. The act 'Les Vampires de Paris' was the only story that was mildly interesting.

Only after DNF-ing just over half way through the book did I realise I already read a book from this author and rated that one 1 star as well. Unfortunately this author's storytelling just isn't for me.

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reason I gave this book only two stars is because it was a bit misleading. I was under the impression that Irene Adler and Christine Daae would be a large part of the book, but they were only in the first and final acts. Each new act saw three new angels rise up to be employed by Erik, the Phantom.

Honestly, this book reminded me of Charlie’s Angels; There are always three angels of music, the Persian is very similar to Bosley, and then Erik is Charlie.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not what I had hoped for. The Phantom is barely present. There is minimal character development. There is a lot of description, which does not hold my interest, and the story writing just doesn’t flow well. The last story was slightly more interesting than the previous ones. The Angels changed constantly, and I barely got a feel for their personalities before they were gone. I expected much more.

[Elizabeth Judd Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit uneven at times (I believe at least 2 of the “episodes” were novellas at first, which makes the book feel a bit more like an anthology than an actual novel), but still fun. As with many other Newman books the cast is made up of an entertaining mix of characters from books and film. A fun idea, well executed for the most part.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some uncomfortable bits of dialogue aside, I enjoyed this one. Kinda wish it hadn't ended on sequel bait though, I feel like this works just fine as a stand-alone piece. Easily in the Top 5 Phantom adaptations I've read or seen, and that Top 5 includes De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise, so that's saying something. :)

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great fun, and it reads like it was great fun to write as well. Plus it will make you want to read at least a dozen more books afterwards. It sits very well alongside the Anno Dracula series - which I think is pretty high praise.