TWILIGHT
***WARNING: If you have any intention of reading these books, DO NOT read on! Either I make the whole post a cut or none of it...I choose none. So :P ***
First off, I'm not one of those dumb teenage fangirls who think Edward Cullen is the best fictional male ever and use him as reference for all men. One, that's Mr. Darcy; two, Tom is just as awesome (save for the sparkling-in-the-sun thing) so I hope those girls realize it's not the Abercrombie model-type guys who are like that. Otherwise, they will be depriving themselves.
That said, I do like Edward. Yeah, he's a little overly protective, but Bella is dumb and needs it - she'd be dead otherwise. He could probably do better (read: smarter) than her, but if he's happy with her, fine - apparently, it's true love. The fact that he didn't let himself kill her, for family reasons or otherwise, is pretty commendable. And that he kept his cool during the whole Jacob thing and never forced her to choose - though I seriously wonder what he would have done if she did choose Jake. Given the way he beats himself up when anything happens to her, he'd probably commit suicide for real, or go join the Volturi, or some combination of the two.
Or go provoke the wolves, because up until halfway through the third book, that would have done it. I like the way that conflict was created - traditional stories only tell of sunlight and wooden stakes being the enemy of vampires, not the similarly mythological werewolves (silver bullets - don't work). I know some people don't like how the definitions of the two groups stray from most preconcived notions (though it is stated in the last book that these "werewolves" are simply shape-shifters, as they don't need the full moon to transform - doesn't seem to have any effect on their rivalry, though), I think it makes them that much more human, and this is a very human story. Plus, the sparkly thing is just friggin' cool.
Speaking of the wolves, I do like Jacob, too, and I feel bad for him that he loved Bella so much. But, when you know something is a lost cause, why keep putting yourself in the situation? He had a shot when Edward was gone, but once he came back...*shakes head*. I know how hard it is to get over someone, but he didn't do anything about it until way after it caused him, and Bella, pain. And the whole time, I was just waiting for him to imprint - Edward and Bella were a done deal, he still had a chance for love with someone else, and Bella finally brought that up once (a rare glimpse of her intelligence). He got pissed, but then, lo and behold, he imprints with Renesmee. Toldya.
Ok, on to Bella: as we've established, she's dumb. I hope Stephenie Meyer wasn't trying to create an admirable character or heroine, because she failed if that was the goal. It's not until the very end of the books Bella provides anything - most of the time, it's her ass getting saved (though I will give it to her that there really isn't anything she CAN do when she rolls with the supernatural). She isn't exceptional at anything, she's not super intelligent, and she totally played Jacob. Within a month, she centered her life on Edward, even though he wasn't talking to her, for her own good (the what-ifs from here are too excessive to name and would nullify the series anyways). It's not like she was ever boy crazy before that, but I know all too well how one crush can change that. Still not someone you want 13-year-old girls to look up to: "Oh, you know, just waiting around as an empty shell for the supposed 'love of your life,' who you really only lust after, is SO worth it because, hey! He's probably doing the same thing!"
But you know early on (well, end of the second book), that their relationship will last - if not because Bella won't let go, then because Edward really does love her. It's so blatantly obvious. They're both scared to death of hurting each other, and can't bare to be separated. At least they were made more equal once Bella became a vampire and she could finally bring something to the relationship (it was suggested by Aro that she was born to be a vampire - probably true). Their wedding feels like the beginning of a wonderfully happy journey, even if it took a while after for things to settle down.
Before I get ahead of myself there, I need to cover each book. I think the first, Twilight, was my favorite, because it really sucked you in (pardon the pun). And, because most of the readers are Harry Potter deprived, it followed the pattern of those books (thank you, Amber, for this realization - the HP books are still better than these, I just never put as much thought in to them because I wasn't as intellectually deprived as I was this summer): set up the scene for the year, eventually leading up to a battle royale near the end, and then some concluding scenes. First time Bella asks to become a vampire.
Next one, New Moon (Amber's favorite). Edward "dumps" Bella...yeah, so much for that, because she actually saves his butt for once (with assistance from Alice - that girl is cool, kinda reminds of a girly Liz). Before then, she becomes a hollow shell of a person for 4 months, and even still for a while after that, even with Jacob. If she were a normal person, she would have given up on Edward and stuck with him. But, she's not - remember, born to be a vampire. And then - lo and behold, the bitch who's mate failed to kill Bella the previous year is back, but thankfully the Quileute boys all start turning into wolves so that's all taken care of. I've heard comments that Bella is too quick to accept this supernatural stuff, but as long as there's no apparent danger, I can see why she would. And because she's dumb. Oh, and it's decided that she'll become a vampire after graduation because it's too risky for her not to be, and either Carlisle or Alice will do it - though she wishes it was Edward (sentimentality...ok).
I ended up liking Eclipse a lot, mainly because of the bonding between the vampires and wolves. Mostly due to a common enemy - Victoria the Crazy Biotch is back, with an army of newborns (who are supposed to be psycho, too), and after their killing spree in Seattle, they go for Bella. But - oh! Surprise - they get torn to bits. Oh, and Bella all of a sudden decides she wants to sleep with Edward before she becomes vampire - no indication at all that she's horny in any of the other books...or that Edward is, but that makes him all the more likable (for me, at least). But Bella has to agree to marry him - oh, and then, he'll turn her into a vampire. Ok, it's good to put faith in compromise, but that's just a bit drawn out...
...And not all goes well in Breaking Dawn. The wedding goes fine - cute little Alice practically throws the wedding of the century (it was just adorable when she asked for permission to plan it - oh, and what happens when vampires eat human food? Just curious, 'cause Edward did have cake...I guess their digestive system still works, though, if they know when they're thirsty). Then they go honeymoon on their own little island and practically destroy the house having sex. I knew something bad was coming when they went to the island, because "LOST" has me perpetually scared of uninhabited ones. I half expected Edward to bag a polar bear. But, instead, he somehow managed to knock up Bella. How, I'm still trying to figure out - though if some parts of the body still work, why not the reproductive organs? It's established that they don't work in female vampires, because their bodies don't change, but female fertility is already more restricted than male, so...I guess that makes sense. Though wouldn't Edward know if he was...umm...ejaculating? Too late now. Of course, like any guy, he wants an abortion and Bella, like a dumb teenage girl, wants to keep it (though she already has Edward nailed down, so who knows her reasoning behind that). I'm glad that it switched to Jacob's point of view at this point, because I'm guessing Bella wouldn't have much to contribute other than "OW THIS BABY SUCCUBUS IS KILLING ME BUT I WANT TO KEEP IT ANYWAYS." This scares the wolves and they want to turn on them, but end up not because of Jacob, Seth and Leah forming their own pack (I think Leah is a hermaphrodite, btw). Jacob does a good job of protecting Bella, but it really hurts him - early on, Bella calls Edward a masochist, but I think Jacob is just as deserving of that title. Bella's 20 day pregancy almost kills her - he thinks it does and then goes off to destroy the baby, but imprints. w00t? I would also really like to meet this baby (Renesmee) - aside from her love of human blood (hey, she's half vamp), she sounds like a sweet little cuddly thing. Aww! Bella comes out of it all a vampire, and everything is peachy keen til Irina, still bitter that her mate got killed trying to kill Bella (*rolls eyes*) tells the Volturi they have an "immortal child" - child vampire (Renesmee has a heartbeat, though, so she's human in that sense). So the Volturi come along to kill everyone, but they manage to gather a bunch of other vamps in a stand against them to protect the family, in a final scene not unlike Pirates of the Caribbean 3. But at least that scene in the movie climaxed...nothing happened here. They convinced the Volturi that all was fine and they were all, "well, I guess you're right...ok bye." The Romanians, who wanted to get rid of the Volturi, promptly left after this turn of events. It was quite anticlimactic. But it still ended happy.
I feel bad now, that makes it sound like I didn't like these books...I do, I just think Bella is dumb. I like having a new series to discuss with people and analyze, and there's a lot there. And there are some cool characters.
I liked comparing this to previous vampire stories I've read, too - those being Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice and In The Forests Of The Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Those two follow similar patterns in the nature of the creature - only go out at night, have fangs, immortal, live on human blood. I can't compare how one becomes a vampire in Forests, because I don't remember it...but I do remember that they can heal quickly, and the only thing that leaves a scar is the silver blade of a vampire hunter. In Interview, the only thing that can is fire - it's also the only thing that can destroy. That carries over into Twilight, but the only scarring is caused by vampire venom - which is what transforms a person. In Interview, it was done by a vampire offering their own blood to a person. Those vampires don't do anything cool, though - in Forests, they could change their appearance at will, and in Twilight, like I said, sparkling in the sun. The fact that anyone could even subsist on animal blood is not discussed in the other two, but the taking of human life is, and in Interview, they take care to only go after the bottomfeeders of society. There are also different species of vamps in Interview - specifically, an Eastern European version who is quite breakable, but that's not an issue in the other two. Ok, I had way too much fun doing that...
One thing I thought was a bit interesting (and relieving) is that the existence of God was never refuted. Carlisle was the son of an Anglican pastor in the 1630s, one who went on a tirade against all these creatures (how Carlisle got changed - wrong place at the wrong time). He already disagreed with his father's practice, but his firm faith in God carried over. The series could easily have gone the other way and condemned them all to Hell for aligning with Satan (as Edward sorta believes), but it remains a mystery as none of them know what the afterlife will hold (if and when they get to it). Meyer makes it known in her little bio that she is a Mormon, and I've never met a Mormon who wasn't devout - must be why she included this. I like it, especially since His existence is contested in the Gemma Doyle trilogy (that's a whole other post...possibly).
And, quick little HP parallel - I found it odd how some (most) of the vamps just gave in to their desires and let themselves become human-killing monsters, namely James in the first book. Reminded me of Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who went nuts and bit lots of people, including Lupin and Charlie (or was it Bill? Crap...Amber, correct me!). Ok, I thought that was a slight bit of genius. Yeah.
Ok, I think I have all my thoughts out now...dang, that's a lot. But, like I said, intellectually deprived. This gave me something to think about, but certainly did not replace HP. I'm already psyched for the midnight release of "Half Blood Prince"...though I can see myself at the midnight show of "Twilight," too :D
First off, I'm not one of those dumb teenage fangirls who think Edward Cullen is the best fictional male ever and use him as reference for all men. One, that's Mr. Darcy; two, Tom is just as awesome (save for the sparkling-in-the-sun thing) so I hope those girls realize it's not the Abercrombie model-type guys who are like that. Otherwise, they will be depriving themselves.
That said, I do like Edward. Yeah, he's a little overly protective, but Bella is dumb and needs it - she'd be dead otherwise. He could probably do better (read: smarter) than her, but if he's happy with her, fine - apparently, it's true love. The fact that he didn't let himself kill her, for family reasons or otherwise, is pretty commendable. And that he kept his cool during the whole Jacob thing and never forced her to choose - though I seriously wonder what he would have done if she did choose Jake. Given the way he beats himself up when anything happens to her, he'd probably commit suicide for real, or go join the Volturi, or some combination of the two.
Or go provoke the wolves, because up until halfway through the third book, that would have done it. I like the way that conflict was created - traditional stories only tell of sunlight and wooden stakes being the enemy of vampires, not the similarly mythological werewolves (silver bullets - don't work). I know some people don't like how the definitions of the two groups stray from most preconcived notions (though it is stated in the last book that these "werewolves" are simply shape-shifters, as they don't need the full moon to transform - doesn't seem to have any effect on their rivalry, though), I think it makes them that much more human, and this is a very human story. Plus, the sparkly thing is just friggin' cool.
Speaking of the wolves, I do like Jacob, too, and I feel bad for him that he loved Bella so much. But, when you know something is a lost cause, why keep putting yourself in the situation? He had a shot when Edward was gone, but once he came back...*shakes head*. I know how hard it is to get over someone, but he didn't do anything about it until way after it caused him, and Bella, pain. And the whole time, I was just waiting for him to imprint - Edward and Bella were a done deal, he still had a chance for love with someone else, and Bella finally brought that up once (a rare glimpse of her intelligence). He got pissed, but then, lo and behold, he imprints with Renesmee. Toldya.
Ok, on to Bella: as we've established, she's dumb. I hope Stephenie Meyer wasn't trying to create an admirable character or heroine, because she failed if that was the goal. It's not until the very end of the books Bella provides anything - most of the time, it's her ass getting saved (though I will give it to her that there really isn't anything she CAN do when she rolls with the supernatural). She isn't exceptional at anything, she's not super intelligent, and she totally played Jacob. Within a month, she centered her life on Edward, even though he wasn't talking to her, for her own good (the what-ifs from here are too excessive to name and would nullify the series anyways). It's not like she was ever boy crazy before that, but I know all too well how one crush can change that. Still not someone you want 13-year-old girls to look up to: "Oh, you know, just waiting around as an empty shell for the supposed 'love of your life,' who you really only lust after, is SO worth it because, hey! He's probably doing the same thing!"
But you know early on (well, end of the second book), that their relationship will last - if not because Bella won't let go, then because Edward really does love her. It's so blatantly obvious. They're both scared to death of hurting each other, and can't bare to be separated. At least they were made more equal once Bella became a vampire and she could finally bring something to the relationship (it was suggested by Aro that she was born to be a vampire - probably true). Their wedding feels like the beginning of a wonderfully happy journey, even if it took a while after for things to settle down.
Before I get ahead of myself there, I need to cover each book. I think the first, Twilight, was my favorite, because it really sucked you in (pardon the pun). And, because most of the readers are Harry Potter deprived, it followed the pattern of those books (thank you, Amber, for this realization - the HP books are still better than these, I just never put as much thought in to them because I wasn't as intellectually deprived as I was this summer): set up the scene for the year, eventually leading up to a battle royale near the end, and then some concluding scenes. First time Bella asks to become a vampire.
Next one, New Moon (Amber's favorite). Edward "dumps" Bella...yeah, so much for that, because she actually saves his butt for once (with assistance from Alice - that girl is cool, kinda reminds of a girly Liz). Before then, she becomes a hollow shell of a person for 4 months, and even still for a while after that, even with Jacob. If she were a normal person, she would have given up on Edward and stuck with him. But, she's not - remember, born to be a vampire. And then - lo and behold, the bitch who's mate failed to kill Bella the previous year is back, but thankfully the Quileute boys all start turning into wolves so that's all taken care of. I've heard comments that Bella is too quick to accept this supernatural stuff, but as long as there's no apparent danger, I can see why she would. And because she's dumb. Oh, and it's decided that she'll become a vampire after graduation because it's too risky for her not to be, and either Carlisle or Alice will do it - though she wishes it was Edward (sentimentality...ok).
I ended up liking Eclipse a lot, mainly because of the bonding between the vampires and wolves. Mostly due to a common enemy - Victoria the Crazy Biotch is back, with an army of newborns (who are supposed to be psycho, too), and after their killing spree in Seattle, they go for Bella. But - oh! Surprise - they get torn to bits. Oh, and Bella all of a sudden decides she wants to sleep with Edward before she becomes vampire - no indication at all that she's horny in any of the other books...or that Edward is, but that makes him all the more likable (for me, at least). But Bella has to agree to marry him - oh, and then, he'll turn her into a vampire. Ok, it's good to put faith in compromise, but that's just a bit drawn out...
...And not all goes well in Breaking Dawn. The wedding goes fine - cute little Alice practically throws the wedding of the century (it was just adorable when she asked for permission to plan it - oh, and what happens when vampires eat human food? Just curious, 'cause Edward did have cake...I guess their digestive system still works, though, if they know when they're thirsty). Then they go honeymoon on their own little island and practically destroy the house having sex. I knew something bad was coming when they went to the island, because "LOST" has me perpetually scared of uninhabited ones. I half expected Edward to bag a polar bear. But, instead, he somehow managed to knock up Bella. How, I'm still trying to figure out - though if some parts of the body still work, why not the reproductive organs? It's established that they don't work in female vampires, because their bodies don't change, but female fertility is already more restricted than male, so...I guess that makes sense. Though wouldn't Edward know if he was...umm...ejaculating? Too late now. Of course, like any guy, he wants an abortion and Bella, like a dumb teenage girl, wants to keep it (though she already has Edward nailed down, so who knows her reasoning behind that). I'm glad that it switched to Jacob's point of view at this point, because I'm guessing Bella wouldn't have much to contribute other than "OW THIS BABY SUCCUBUS IS KILLING ME BUT I WANT TO KEEP IT ANYWAYS." This scares the wolves and they want to turn on them, but end up not because of Jacob, Seth and Leah forming their own pack (I think Leah is a hermaphrodite, btw). Jacob does a good job of protecting Bella, but it really hurts him - early on, Bella calls Edward a masochist, but I think Jacob is just as deserving of that title. Bella's 20 day pregancy almost kills her - he thinks it does and then goes off to destroy the baby, but imprints. w00t? I would also really like to meet this baby (Renesmee) - aside from her love of human blood (hey, she's half vamp), she sounds like a sweet little cuddly thing. Aww! Bella comes out of it all a vampire, and everything is peachy keen til Irina, still bitter that her mate got killed trying to kill Bella (*rolls eyes*) tells the Volturi they have an "immortal child" - child vampire (Renesmee has a heartbeat, though, so she's human in that sense). So the Volturi come along to kill everyone, but they manage to gather a bunch of other vamps in a stand against them to protect the family, in a final scene not unlike Pirates of the Caribbean 3. But at least that scene in the movie climaxed...nothing happened here. They convinced the Volturi that all was fine and they were all, "well, I guess you're right...ok bye." The Romanians, who wanted to get rid of the Volturi, promptly left after this turn of events. It was quite anticlimactic. But it still ended happy.
I feel bad now, that makes it sound like I didn't like these books...I do, I just think Bella is dumb. I like having a new series to discuss with people and analyze, and there's a lot there. And there are some cool characters.
I liked comparing this to previous vampire stories I've read, too - those being Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice and In The Forests Of The Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Those two follow similar patterns in the nature of the creature - only go out at night, have fangs, immortal, live on human blood. I can't compare how one becomes a vampire in Forests, because I don't remember it...but I do remember that they can heal quickly, and the only thing that leaves a scar is the silver blade of a vampire hunter. In Interview, the only thing that can is fire - it's also the only thing that can destroy. That carries over into Twilight, but the only scarring is caused by vampire venom - which is what transforms a person. In Interview, it was done by a vampire offering their own blood to a person. Those vampires don't do anything cool, though - in Forests, they could change their appearance at will, and in Twilight, like I said, sparkling in the sun. The fact that anyone could even subsist on animal blood is not discussed in the other two, but the taking of human life is, and in Interview, they take care to only go after the bottomfeeders of society. There are also different species of vamps in Interview - specifically, an Eastern European version who is quite breakable, but that's not an issue in the other two. Ok, I had way too much fun doing that...
One thing I thought was a bit interesting (and relieving) is that the existence of God was never refuted. Carlisle was the son of an Anglican pastor in the 1630s, one who went on a tirade against all these creatures (how Carlisle got changed - wrong place at the wrong time). He already disagreed with his father's practice, but his firm faith in God carried over. The series could easily have gone the other way and condemned them all to Hell for aligning with Satan (as Edward sorta believes), but it remains a mystery as none of them know what the afterlife will hold (if and when they get to it). Meyer makes it known in her little bio that she is a Mormon, and I've never met a Mormon who wasn't devout - must be why she included this. I like it, especially since His existence is contested in the Gemma Doyle trilogy (that's a whole other post...possibly).
And, quick little HP parallel - I found it odd how some (most) of the vamps just gave in to their desires and let themselves become human-killing monsters, namely James in the first book. Reminded me of Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who went nuts and bit lots of people, including Lupin and Charlie (or was it Bill? Crap...Amber, correct me!). Ok, I thought that was a slight bit of genius. Yeah.
Ok, I think I have all my thoughts out now...dang, that's a lot. But, like I said, intellectually deprived. This gave me something to think about, but certainly did not replace HP. I'm already psyched for the midnight release of "Half Blood Prince"...though I can see myself at the midnight show of "Twilight," too :D