Short Monday: The Music of the Night.

Welcome to short monday. Where I work my way through short story books, poetry books, and whatever else that can be qualified for a short monday. (Please excuse me while I work out the kinks and find the right path for this.)

Short Monday #3: The Music of the Night by Amanda Ashley, part of The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.

Okay phantom fans, are you ready for this? Cristie Matthews is obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera. She manages to take a trip to Paris to visit the opera house where his story took place, and she ends up "accidentally" staying there overnight and, guess who she meets? Yes. The Phantom of the Opera. This is set in modern times, so how could she possibly meet him? He is not a ghost, he is not entirely a normal man (but was he ever?) He is Erik...the vampire. And he actually invites her to his lair to spend time with him for about a month if I remember correctly, because he is so lonely and he would like her to be his Christine, "if only for a little while." (Don't all gag at once, now.)

You would think that with my obsession for vampires and Erik, that Erik as a vampire would thrill me. This did not. I think it was the fact that this was a short story (I think that with a little more effort from the author and a longer length, this could have been good), and I am a picky phantom fan. Also, some things just did not make sense. The ending for example, really bothers me. She lives in the states, he is in Paris and a vampire. How did he manage to get to her in the end? It just bugs me. Also, he did not seem like Erik. He seemed like the movie-musical Erik. The only thing I really liked about that Erik was the way Gerard Butler swirled his cape and made a very attractive Erik. Not necessarily a great Erik, but a more...likable one (at least for a first time phantom viewer like I was).

I am tempted to go on and on about this but I won't. I didn't like it, didn't do a thing for me. Not so sure the author really understands who the phantom is. Personally I think he could make a wicked vampire, but he seemed all...mushy and appalling. I think Erik as a vampire probably depends on which version of him it is. I think I understand him at an okay level, but I can't help but have an image of him for myself. The image I have of him as a vampire is sort of a confusing one. I just can't decide if he'd be one of the worst, or...possibly like (book) Eric Northman or (TV show) Damon Salvatore really...maybe some sort of equal cross between the two. I think he'd be a little snarky but also a little mad (crazy), and maybe, with the right girl, kind of soft in private. Okay, my rambling is over.