My Thoughts On "Vampires at the Opera" (book review)

In literature, anything can and often does happen.  New worlds are formed.  Old worlds are conquered or explored.  So what would happen if two fictional, literary worlds collided and meshed together to become one story?  If it's done well you get a book like Vampires at the Opera by Christine Prebler.  This novel answers a couple of "what-if" questions that only the most creative of minds may have asked.  What if the Phantom of the Opera and Dracula were to meet?  Furthermore, what if these two monsters actually became allies?    I wish that I had thought to ask these questions myself, but I never would have been able to handle the new universe with an adept hand like Prebler did.  And so I happily enjoyed her words as I was taken into the result of the melding of two of my favorite stories.

 The shadowy worlds of Vlad's castle and Erik's Paris opera house seem on first glimpse to be far apart in scope.  Prebler, however, believably shows us how these two legendary Gothic figures could have come to meet and join forces.  Are they monsters or simply misunderstood?  In the original novels one could find evidence to support either claim.  Vampires at the Opera is not merely a tale of two misunderstood men, but it is also a story of deep love that goes beyond life.  Erik and Christine, Mina and Vlad.  These two couples give new meaning to hot romance.

Without giving too much of the plot away, I just want to say that this is a book that should be enjoyed by fans of both the original works of literature.  Prebler has masterfully weaved the worlds into one without damaging the structural integrity of what had come before.   

Life and death, passion, love and undeath all dance wildly through the pages and make this a highly intriguing tale.  One can only hope that there is more on the horizon for the two unique couples from Prebler's world.  I'm definitely eager for a continuation.  A sequel could bring this new world to exciting places. 

With steamy love scenes and a new spin on old characters,  Prebler has written a book that has found itself a permanent spot on my shelf to be visited again and again in the future.