I admit that I decided to read this book because I just saw the musical again. I love the musical and wondered if the book was as good. I was surprised to see that several elements in the book were also included in the musical. However, the book is much darker and not as coherent. In this case, I thought the musical and even the movie were much better than the book. This book is interesting if you want the back story of the phantom and Christine, but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. That said, it's worth reading if you are a huge Phantom fan and because it is a good gothic read.