Ghost Dance: A Sequel to Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera

by Christine Pope

An angel has returned to Paris. But is it the Angel of Music…or Death?
Two years have passed since Christine fled the opera house, put the memories and the horror behind her. And yet, in her dreams, she still hears his voice, feels his moth-light touch on her throat.
The rumors involving the legendary Opera Ghost are merely newspaper sensationalism. The Opera Ghost is dead. His tragic life, his epic opera, his obsession with her voice…ended. But with a slow, heart-pounding dread, Christine lets a lie slip from her lips, and heads for Paris. Alone. Because she has to know if Erik is dead. Or if he’s alive…and wreaking his vengeance.

Genres: Romance, Retellings, Historical

398 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2020

About the author

A native of Southern California, Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in the sixth grade. Many reams of dead trees later, she’s happy to announce that her debut novel, Fringe Benefits,was published by Pink Petal Books on April 8, 2010. Her short fiction has appeared in Astonishing Adventures, Luna Station Quarterly, and the new journal of dark fiction, Dark Valentine. Her paranormal novella, Playing With Fire, was released on August 5, 2010.

While Fringe Benefits is a straight contemporary romance, she writes in a variety of genres, including paranormal romance, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and historical romance. She blames this on being easily distracted by bright, shiny objects, which could also account for the size of her shoe collection.

After spending many years in the magazine publishing industry, she now works as a freelance editor in addition to writing fiction. She lives with her husband and an explosively fluffy Pomeranian mix. Her house is pink, but don’t hold that against her.

Reviews

[Ana]

DNF 30%

[JoAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story!! This book is different from Christine Pope’s usual stories, and I enjoyed it very much. As I’m also a lover of historical romance stories, this story was an excellent step for me back into the world of suspenseful historical romance. The gripping intrigue of whether Erik’s would be revenge would be stopped kept me turning the pages to find out what could possibly happen next. I must admit that I caught myself reading with a feeling of dread as Erik truly seemed to be quite mad and delusional. A word of caution…I highly recommend that you read Gaston Leroux’s original story of “The Phantom of the Opera” before reading this story in order to not be totally confused by this sequel… I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Aly Stratton · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Ghost Dance” sounds like another wonderful paranormal romance by Christine Pope. No way! This is anything but a typical nail-biting Pope story. Like many of us, Christine was addicted to “The Phantom of the Opera.” Now she has pulled all stops out and has written a sequel to Gaston Leroux’s Gothic Romance. Her writing style in this story is radically different from the books we have all read, and cherished. That is not to say I did not like it: I loved it. This time I was happy to read it in Kindle format, however, as I needed to use the online dictionary a couple of times. Her knowledge of French fascinated me. This book illustrates the proverbial love triangle between Christine, Raoul and the “Opera Ghost.” In addition, there is a gripping “who done it” fashioned around stunning and gruesome murders, believed by some to be done by Eric, the phantom. (But isn’t he dead?) Like every book she has written, the final pages will leave you replaying the climax. Bravo Christine! I hope new readers who normally do not seek the genre of paranormal romances will find their way to this marvelous read. Wish I could give this one 6*.

[Stan Hutchings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sequel to the story of the Phantom of the Opera. It would be good to have read Gaston Leroux’s classic Gothic horror/fantasy novel, The Phantom of the Opera (available in Kindle Unlimited), though it is unnecessary; the story does not require it. I did decide to read The Phantom after I finished Ghost Dance. It follows Christine Daaé, now la Comtesse de Chagny, Raoul, the Comte de Chagny, and Erik, the Opera Ghost, about two years after the climax of The Phantom, after Raoul and Christine married, spent time in Scandinavia and have returned to France to Chagny, Raoul's estate. A new murderer has begun stalking the Rue Scribe near the Opera House. Is he Erik, the Opera Ghost? Why he is killing them is an ongoing mystery throughout the book until the final pages. Christine and Raoul return to Paris to attend Meg Giry's wedding to Honoré de Castelo-Barbezac. She was Christine's best friend from the opera. Erik meets with Christine, awakening guilty feelings she had thought buried after her marriage to Raoul, causing intense relationship tension. There is quite an unexpected surprise ending. The flavor of 19th Century writing is evident, and the detail of the fashions of the day give great verisimilitude, though I had to "ask Google" quite often to understand the details and some vocabulary.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely Phantom Retelling!

Years have passed since Christine last saw the Phantom of the Opera. She has married Raoul but the new murders in Paris have compelled her to return and find out if the opera ghost is truly dead. When she finds out he's alive, her life as she knows it will flip upside-down.

Ghost Dance is filled with beautiful prose and complex characters. Pope does an amazing job with handling all the characters I love and adore from the source material. I also liked the mystery-murder plotline and the reveal at the end

However, I found the pacing lagged sometimes and I was a little unsatisfied by the ending. I had wanted to see a kiss "on screen" rather than having it being relayed "off screen".

Despite that, I really enjoyed reading a phantom story that was beautifully written. As a huge phantom Phan, I was very pleased overall.

I recommend this book if you love Phantom of the Opera, especially the original novel.

[Jeanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just re-read Leroux's novel, I was pleased to find that someone had written a sequel. This book didn't disappoint and the ending was everything I'd hoped for. My only complaint is that many times, the author mixes tenses and refers to events as "several years ago" or a "few years ago" or other terms that indicate it's been longer than two years since the events of the first book. It's easy enough to ignore though. I love how she makes call backs not only to the original novel but also the musical and I can't help but wish Andrew Lloyd Webber had turned this into the musical's sequel instead of giving us Love Never Dies.

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sequel by Christine Pope which is a spinoff of Gaston Leroux’s “The Phantom of the Opera” is exciting and unimaginable to say the least. It takes you in to a world of love and intrigue by Erik and Christine after 2 years of a follow-up that includes a surprising and unexpected ending. I highly recommend this book because as always, it’s another of Christine Pope’s great contemporary version of classic tales. She makes these characters come to life with the suspense and excitement benefiting the story.

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Loved this sequel, hope to see more Phantom stories from this author!

*Spoiler alert*

The only part I didn't like was it took Erik fashioning a lifelike mask to get Christine over the hump of acceptance of their love...I'm not dismayed at the author, but rather that flaw that I perceive within the character's person. The original novel made me feel the same. I give this book five stars, and recommend to Phans!

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I loved this! Totally not what I was expecting at all, I got sucked into this sequel straight away and just could not put it down! It’s exciting and intriguing as you enter a world like no other in this classic tale of love and mystery and intrigue and gruesome who dunnit murders! The ending was not what I expected either but it was a great surprise anyways and is one I will read again!

[Kimberly Vasconez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of 2 Men

I loved how the story showed Erik’s love in such a way that he was willing to let it go, while Christine recognized her own love and need for Erik. It also showed the honor and dignity of the time, an honor and dignity so lacking in today’s people. Great story!

[santana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved

I'm definitely someone who always wanted her to be with Erik so I loved the ending to this book and really enjoyed the story!

[tysephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leans more into the mystery elements than romance. Very well-done mystery plot. Ending a little rushed but still highly enjoyable.

[Naomi Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked how this tied in and ended, just wish it had been a bit spicy but tbf that wasn't the vibe of the book