i have no idea when i read this one, but it was one of the first sh pastiches i ever read and i Loved It. i checked it out from the library at least three times and i remember it fondly. could i tell you what the plot was? something something sherlock holmes something something dr veneer something something phantom of the opera idk not really ( )

Watered down version of both Erik and Sherlock, but still a good light read. Not something that will require a visit with a therapist after. cough {Phantom}.

You should know, IMO anyway, you should be very familiar with both Erik and Sherlock to be able to appreciate this one.

I have heard many terrible things about it, but I personally really enjoyed it.

Update: Now that I actually have the book and can savor it slowly without being in a rush to get it back to the library, I bumped it up a star. I really enjoyed it much more, reading slowly. ( )

As with the other novels in the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series this fuses Sherlock Holmes with a classic of horror, science fiction, or fantasy. In this instance the Phantom of the Opera.

The novel opens with an explanation that it is written by Doctor Henry Vernier, Holmes’ cousin, and not Watson. This seems a sensible method of justifying the different style needed for the more gothic and romantic elements; however, instead of merely freeing himself from Watson’s voice, Siciliano has his narrator criticise Watson for actively misrepresenting Holmes’ real personality and beliefs. This leads to some scenes that – while they fit in the context of the story – do not unfold in the way the reader expects Holmes to act.

The overarching plot of a mysterious being haunting the Opera and mentoring a young soprano remains the same; with a Holmes made less a figure only of cold reason and some changes in sub-plots, the story was fresh enough that I was still uncertain whether the Phantom is supernatural even knowing the original.

Viewed as gothic detective fiction rather than a Sherlock Holmes story, the novel is well written. The mirroring and contrasting of both the Phantom’s genius and his passion with Holmes and Vernier respectively is particularly notable.

Overall I enjoyed this novel and would recommend it, and the rest of the series to people looking for cerebral detection or a new spin on a tale. However, of the Further Adventures I have read, it is the least authentically Holmesian, so would probably irritate those who consider Conan Doyle’s’ voice a large part of their enjoyment of Holmes stories.
( )

It's been several years since I read this book, so my review is probably going to be vague since I don't remember a lot about it.

I do remember that I wasn't impressed with the characterizations. I've never really read anything with Sherlock Holmes in it, so I can't comment on him. But Christine, Raoul, and Philippe were all horribly done. They were as two-dimensional as could be and nothing like their counterparts in Leroux's original novel. Christine is obsessed with money, Raoul is a foolish jerk (as he always is in derivative works of PotO, sad to say), and Philippe is just as bad as his brother (except more cold-hearted).

And the ending just kills it for me; I hated it. ( )