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Just Bought Twilight...Mistake?

Twilight: Is the book good?

  • It's good

    Votes: 6 35.3%
  • It sucks

    Votes: 11 64.7%

  • Total voters
    17

Barbados Slim

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Okay, I've got a faction of friends who love the book series and a faction who say it blows, including one person who saw the film and wants to "punch it in the face." So...I was going to sit in this weekend and just read it before the film comes out, which I have to see because of my sweet Kristen.

So, which faction of friends have it right? Is it good or bad?
 
I checked it out at the library...couldn't get through the first chapter. Poorly written drivel. Just my humble opinion.
 
My research into the books lead me to believe that unlike Harry Potter which transcends age (course, books 1 and 2 are pretty juvenielle but still enjoyable) these books don't quite do that.

My guess - and I haven't actually read them - is that if your a 13 year old girl - or able to enjoy a book that is targeted for that age - you'll enjoy the book. If you're a bit more discerning than that, then you'll probably be disappointed.

All that being said, I haven't actually read them - this is just based on the 50 or so reviews I read on Amazon and some other research I did before I let my 13 year old daughter read them.
 
My sister and cousin love the books but think the fourth and last of the series, Breaking Dawn, exists in another universe.

On an arrangement with my sister I agreed to read the series in exchange for her reading Dune. I got about 100 pages into the first book before I put it down. The main character is extremely annoying and the prose is somewhat sub-par in my mind. I'm going to muddle through, I'm told the writing gets better, but I don't have any expectations.

Based on what I've read so far it sucks. I might change my opinion later.
 
I'm an adult and read them, knowing that they were targeted to young teens...but I teach young teens so that's ok :D

I enjoyed the series for what it was...fun teen vamp romance stuff.

Meyers The Host, for an adult audience, was a pretty good, Sci Fi kinda read.
 
Sucked.

I work with a few people who are pretty voracious readers. I introduced them to the Charlaine Harris "Sookie" books. Afterwards, they caught on to the Twilight crap, and the praise was endless from them (and still is). Due to a lost wager, I am forced to read the first Twilight book.

I am roughly halfway through it, and it's like this ....

The author is pretty clearly a fan of Charlaine Harris. She has decided she wants to write fanfiction set in Harris' universe. And so that's exactly what she does.

She has created a main character that is a whiney - very whiney - self-absorbed teenager. She constantly throws herself pity parties where she convinces herself that she is the most heroic person ever, because she's sacrificing her happiness to be with her dad. Well whoopidy fucking doo. She sees herself as a "plain Jane, nothing special" but every single girl in school is jealous of her, and every single male in school wants her.

The boys fight over her. Repeatedly. And often. She tries to protest "Oh, I'm just an ordinary girl" but the boys are all "No, you're the most beautiful girl we've ever seen and we must all have you".

And so the vampires come out and say "Here we are. We know we'll all die if we tell you this, but we want you." The werewolves do the same thing. "No, it's us who will die." Because your typical high school is full of vampires and werewolves.

Ok, seriously, vampires? In a fucking high school? It's set in a normally-overcast town, where the sun doesn't shine. Ok fine. And yet for all the "mortals" know about the vampires, they have never once made the connection? If the sun is out, they're not here? Maybe there's something to that? And they move supernaturally fast. And they're all completely pale, yet "painfully beautiful" to watch?

The book, at least as far as I have read so far, is nothing more than a bad Mary Sue fanfiction.
 
I've heard the story is basically Interview With A Vampire for the teenage girl audience. I have also heard the stars of the movie adaption thought it (movie/story) sucked. Not good when the cast even say they didn't like the material.
 
I read the entire series because a friend recommended them to me. I'd never heard of it before that. Yes it did seem very much aimed at the teenage audience, but I thought they were entertaining.
 
Never read it myself, and wouldn't bother. I hate vampires. I hate vampies as "dark heroes" even worse. I hate vampires as objects of female swooning most of all.

I know a girl who loves it though. Best way to find out? Read it.
 
I don't know if it's good or bad, all I know is it's not really intended for a 25-year-old man and it's totally cool that a lot of teenagers love it.
 
Sucked.

I work with a few people who are pretty voracious readers. I introduced them to the Charlaine Harris "Sookie" books. Afterwards, they caught on to the Twilight crap, and the praise was endless from them (and still is). Due to a lost wager, I am forced to read the first Twilight book.

I am roughly halfway through it, and it's like this ....

The author is pretty clearly a fan of Charlaine Harris. She has decided she wants to write fanfiction set in Harris' universe. And so that's exactly what she does.

She has created a main character that is a whiney - very whiney - self-absorbed teenager. She constantly throws herself pity parties where she convinces herself that she is the most heroic person ever, because she's sacrificing her happiness to be with her dad. Well whoopidy fucking doo. She sees herself as a "plain Jane, nothing special" but every single girl in school is jealous of her, and every single male in school wants her.

The boys fight over her. Repeatedly. And often. She tries to protest "Oh, I'm just an ordinary girl" but the boys are all "No, you're the most beautiful girl we've ever seen and we must all have you".

And so the vampires come out and say "Here we are. We know we'll all die if we tell you this, but we want you." The werewolves do the same thing. "No, it's us who will die." Because your typical high school is full of vampires and werewolves.

Ok, seriously, vampires? In a fucking high school? It's set in a normally-overcast town, where the sun doesn't shine. Ok fine. And yet for all the "mortals" know about the vampires, they have never once made the connection? If the sun is out, they're not here? Maybe there's something to that? And they move supernaturally fast. And they're all completely pale, yet "painfully beautiful" to watch?

The book, at least as far as I have read so far, is nothing more than a bad Mary Sue fanfiction.

You should cheat on your bet and just read the Wikipedia plot summary. It's probably better written and it'll go much faster! :p
 
I'm an adult and read them, knowing that they were targeted to young teens...but I teach young teens so that's ok :D

I enjoyed the series for what it was...fun teen vamp romance stuff.

Meyers The Host, for an adult audience, was a pretty good, Sci Fi kinda read.

While i enjoyed The Host i thought it was a rip of Octavia Butlers Xenogenesis series.
 
I got it from the library during the summer and couldn't get through the first chapter either. It was something that I was interesting in...and still am, just not have the ability to get through it. Maybe that is why I'm curious about the movie.e
 
Well, I'm halfway through. It's pretty poorly written, this particular excerpt had me laughinng for about five minutes straight:

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" he asked.
"No." What I didn't mention was that my stomach was already full--of butterflies.

Bella is unsufferably perfect, a total Mary Sue. Edward is a creepy stalker. And nothing significant has happened storywise.

I'll continue on but I don't get it other than Edward is some idealized, total female fantasy.
 
I'm no fan of the National Review, but I found this piece of theirs on the series pretty disturbing (features spoilers).

Meyer once retorted to critics who accused her of misogyny, “I am not anti-female; I am anti-human.” Whether she was aware of it or not, this was far more than just a flippant remark. Just like the allegedly positive messages about romance and sexuality, any value that Meyer and her characters place on human life is only on the surface. More than once, Edward and his family look the other way — or even provide assistance — when fellow members of their species hunt humans, just as long as those humans aren’t people they know.
 
As a guy I really enjoyed Twilight and read it in one sitting then read the three sequels over the course of two weeks. :)

They aren't particularly deep but once you get used to the writing style they are excellent showing a sort of ideal life.
 
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