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The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer

post #1 of 11
5/27/08 at 9:51pm
Thread Starter 
I have to admit that I was kinda skeptical reading Twilight. Vampire falls in love with Teenage girl? Angst and Romance? I initially thought this would be some trashy novel with bad sex scenes.

I was pleasantly surprised instead. Ms Meyer's concept of Vampires isn't very original. However she has a strong feel for dialougue and the Bella/Edward relationship is an appealing one. It's light reading but highly attractive in its own way. Nothing too complicated. There's hardly any sex scenes in fact. Just some good tight writing.

It's important though not to treat the series as a Horror Thriller. Think of it as light romance and you'll be fine.

Anyone here read the books yet?
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post #2 of 11
6/2/08 at 1:39am

Read the books- WILL see the movie(s)

Finally, a vampire series that doesn't confuse sex with romance or violence with heroism. So much of these characters are about restraint and thinking, morally, about what they're doing. The books are good, quick reads- there's plenty of action, she does mess with vampire mythology a bit (like the only reason they stay out of the sun is that their skin sparkles in the sunlight, giving them away as something other than human) and the characters, while barely fleshed out, do keep your attention. And then of course, there's a lot of teen angst, and the story is told from a teenage girl's point of view, so obviously hormones, emotions and incorrect conclusions and a martyr attitude from the heroine might hang people up. But I liked the books, I'm going to read the next one when it comes out in August- and I'm taking my family to see the movie in December.
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post #3 of 11
6/2/08 at 3:52am
I was hooked on the first book.
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post #4 of 11
6/2/08 at 3:53am
I hadn't even heard of the series until the movie trailer came out- it's amazing how well-recieved a book can be and yet it's still off mainstream radar!
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post #5 of 11
6/2/08 at 4:06am
I really liked the fact that I could read Twilight in a day. It just flows- like stream of conciousness- like a journal or diary, and just as interesting. It's not deep, but it doesn't need to be- it's fun and engaging and makes you want more...and you totally feel for Jacob. According to reviews I've read, Edward really isn't in New Moon much (which frustrated Edward fans.) Basically it sounded like Edward dumps her, Jacob consoles her and she gets closer to him- until all of a sudden he starts avoiding her too, just before she runs off to save Edward. And you know why Jacob started ignoring her- I think it'll be a good book, I just ordered it off Amazon. I think it'll help me fill in the blanks- wasn't it a tad bit jarring not being able to get all of the New Moon references in Eclipse?
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post #6 of 11
6/2/08 at 4:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bonnylea View Post
I hadn't even heard of the series until the movie trailer came out- it's amazing how well-recieved a book can be and yet it's still off mainstream radar!
It's because of the market. A lot of readers mistake Twilight as some kind of trashy Vampire Mills & Boons series. Have you heard of Christine Warren or Sherilyn Kenyon? They're bad novels with lots of sex to stimulate "passion".

Add to the fact, that it was marketed as a Young Adults Book didn't help as well. The whole thing as an "OC for Vampires" feel to outsiders. Thereby making it very easy to dismiss.

What do you think?
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post #7 of 11
6/2/08 at 5:00am
I think you're right that the young adult target audience didn't make it mainstream- also, I guess the covers do look sort of trashy romance novel-esque. I didn't really notice that before....
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post #8 of 11
6/2/08 at 5:03am
I don't read that much- once every couple of years really- I love it, I just get busy and sidetracked. There are tons of books I've started and never finished- It's like if I can't get into it right away and if I can't finish it in a day it doesn't get read.
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post #9 of 11
6/2/08 at 5:09am
Did you read the first chapter of MIDNIGHT SUN (TWILIGHT from Edward's POV) ? That was interesting- It looks like she might be doing the next book from Jacob's POV too- that would be cool- right now I think very few of the characters are really fleshed out- it'd be nice to learn more about them.
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post #10 of 11
6/2/08 at 5:13am
Thread Starter 
I am a bit like you, bonnylea. I only started reading the series a few weeks ago. I was aware of its success for some time but I only started reading after I heard news of the Twilight movie production.

I've read Twilight and Eclipse so far. Stephenie Meyers has a very nice way in making you feel for the characters. She has a sense of humour as well. I like the fact on how physically inept Bella is in the books. Bella (I think) gives me a very everyman kind of feel as the protaganist. A wise choice, I feel

She isn't a very detailed writer. Meyers isn't Tom Clancy or Stephen King for that matter. Her books have a very light breezy feel to them that make for some addictive reading. There're no big battle sequences or Theories described (All the action seems to happen off screen). But that doesn't make things no less real.

The Twilight Series is basically the Bella/Edward Love Story. Short and simple. A lot of readers were turned off New Moon because Edward dissappeared afer the first 100 pages of that book. Myself included.

I am not going to buy the book. But I'll borrow it at our library.
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post #11 of 11
6/2/08 at 5:25am
Some people compare Stephanie to J.K., just because of the success of the books- but it's like comparing apples to oranges- Meyer has a conversational style- but doesn't spend a lot of the fine details. JK (though not as superfluous as an author like Dickens) prefers to describe every detail, so very little is left to interpretation. I like both styles, but Meyers is refreshing because it is so dialougue and interaction-driven, and hence, faster-paced and more about the characters, not the circumstances.
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