SMeyer's epic and comparative fail...
I will never believe SMeyer didn't read L.J. Smith (an author of teen vamp/witch/etc books who wrote decade+ ago) and steal things from her. I am currently reading L.J. Smith's Vampire Diaries and the similarities are uncanny, and I am not just talking about the fact that both are 4-volume series. Let's see: we have a narrator girl in a small town, whom a lot of boys like. We have a mysterious new boy in her school who is a vampire who doesn't eat humans blah blah. I am too lazy to list the similarities but suffice it to say they are ample.
However, LJ Smith >>>>>>> SMeyer. Smith is a fun, pulpy read while SMeyer is that horrible one-night stand which makes you feel unclean afterwards. Shall I count in how many ways Smith's quartet is better?
1. I have no idea if Elena and Stefan engage in sex in any point during the books, but there is no half-vampire baby biting her way out of Elena's womb and named after a Loch Ness monster.
2. Elena is not my favorite heroine in the whole wide world, but I actually like her just fine. She has a personality!. And *gasp* female friendships. And a world that does not revolve 120% around Stefan. She does not get married out of high school, does not desire to be turned into a vamp, and also does not state every ten minutes how gorgeous her boyfriend is.
3. Stefan - a bit of an angsty vamp cliche but he actually has a personality. And I can see why Elena likes him - he is a very good guy. Oh, and he almost rips the necks off a bunch of people and certainly leaves them in need of long-term hospitalization. Plus, I can actually buy the love story. Most importantly, at no point does he sparkle.
4. Vampire Brady Bunch v. sibling vamps who hate each other and have killed each other in the past? I know who I prefer.
5. These books actually have *gasp* a plot and are not solely about marbley, sparkly perfection of vampiredom. In fact, a rather twisty plot. I approve.
6. Aaaaaangst. There are deaths and resurrections and a lot of torture. Yum.
7. Vampire Baseball? What's that?
*uses icon from another retelling of angsty high school vampire cliche that actually works*
However, LJ Smith >>>>>>> SMeyer. Smith is a fun, pulpy read while SMeyer is that horrible one-night stand which makes you feel unclean afterwards. Shall I count in how many ways Smith's quartet is better?
1. I have no idea if Elena and Stefan engage in sex in any point during the books, but there is no half-vampire baby biting her way out of Elena's womb and named after a Loch Ness monster.
2. Elena is not my favorite heroine in the whole wide world, but I actually like her just fine. She has a personality!. And *gasp* female friendships. And a world that does not revolve 120% around Stefan. She does not get married out of high school, does not desire to be turned into a vamp, and also does not state every ten minutes how gorgeous her boyfriend is.
3. Stefan - a bit of an angsty vamp cliche but he actually has a personality. And I can see why Elena likes him - he is a very good guy. Oh, and he almost rips the necks off a bunch of people and certainly leaves them in need of long-term hospitalization. Plus, I can actually buy the love story. Most importantly, at no point does he sparkle.
4. Vampire Brady Bunch v. sibling vamps who hate each other and have killed each other in the past? I know who I prefer.
5. These books actually have *gasp* a plot and are not solely about marbley, sparkly perfection of vampiredom. In fact, a rather twisty plot. I approve.
6. Aaaaaangst. There are deaths and resurrections and a lot of torture. Yum.
7. Vampire Baseball? What's that?
*uses icon from another retelling of angsty high school vampire cliche that actually works*