"Twilight"
I finally succumbed to all the hoopla surrounding Stephenie Meyers' Twilight Saga a few weeks ago, and read the first book in the series, Twilight.I know this isn't exactly movie related, but since the film adaptation of Twilight is being released on November 21, it's close enough.
I usually stay away from fad books such as this. I was lucky enough to have gotten on the Harry Potter bandwagon before it became the monster hit that it is today, and I was able to enjoy them apart from all the hype, which was the very reason I avoided Twilight for so long. I didn't want to read them just because everyone else was.
But so many friends told me how good they were that I finally decided to see what all the fuss as about, especially with the movie coming out soon. So I bought the first one, and very quickly devoured it. It's not a great book, but it is a fun and compelling read, not to mention achingly romantic. So in my enthusiasm, I bought the second book in the series, New Moon, and began to read it immediately after finishing Twilight.
And I stopped after 148 pages because I just couldn't take it anymore. It was pissing me off. Meyer took away what made the books so entertaining in the first place, and it drug so much to the point that I just couldn't go on. So I put it down and picked up Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, which I have found far more rewarding.My question is this - does anyone else feel the way I do about New Moon? I know people everywhere (mainly teenage girls) have been eating up Meyer's series right up until the final book, Breaking Dawn, was released in the past few months. But I found the book absolutely interminable, completely devoid of the spark and romantic personality that made Twilight such a joy.
Will the movie live up to that? Doubtful - I'm fully expecting a neutered pre-teen friendly soap opera. It's an interesting phenomenon, and I'm all for kids reading. But is New Moon really the best they could do?
Comments
The first book is addictive, not great literature or anything, but fun, like you said. The rest of the series I could easily leave. I read them all just to finish out the series, but I wish I hadn't spent good money on them. I should really get a library card.
I do look forward to the day when SMeyer quits being a baby and releases "Midnight Sun," the story of "Twilight" told from Edward's POV. The story's already written so there's nothing left for her to cock up, unlike the the 3 books that followed "Twilight."
I don't have too high hopes for the movie. I'll go see it, against my better judgment, but it'll probably be on par with HSM3, just without the singing and dancing. There's hardly a reputable name attached to the entire project.
Sounds like I'm not missing much by continuing with the series. "Twilight" was good, but I thought she started forcing it a little with the late-breaking danger. And "New Moon" is just painful.
You're probably right about it being on par with HSM3...they're targeting about the same audience.
If you ever get curious how the series actually ends, just hit the Wikipedia pages: cheaper and quicker. But the leaked chapters to MS are on SMeyers' website, and it's on par with "Twilight," so I hope she gets over herself and finishes it someday.