Twilight Series... Yeah, I'm about to go there. :P

[Doselan]

What are everybody's overall thoughts on the book series?  If you'd like to discuss one book in particular, or the series as a whole, go ahead.  I'd particularly like to hear everybody's opinion on the end of the story and how they think Meyer handled it. 

 

I'll chime in later. ;)

[Loreina]

:) I liked it. It was entertaining, and it had a few new takes on the old theme. I felt that there were a couple of places where she stretched the readers credulity a bit, one of which was the baseball game where Alice supposedly mishandled the appearance of James' coven. But that's perhaps mostly me being rather picky.

 

Are we sticking with the books or can we comment on the movies as well?

[BrickMaster]

my girlfriend has fallen head over heals for the series... personally I've not read the book, but the movie, while having its moments, moved too slowly for me.

[senorita]

As you said i like harry potter series books. There are others as well like Amar Chitra Katha books series which are very popular in India specially for kids. I read about twilight series books & i am planning to go for it. I already read harry potter books. They were awesome.

[Loreina]

Edward is a really complexly written character. Edward, for all his 100-ish years, has never fallen in love, never experienced jealousy, and the frustration and novelty of that for his 17-ish human side really comes through. He has all this 'book knowledge', but no real experience and only vague human memories to guide him. It's all disturbingly new and uncomfortable, yet fascinating and irresistible. He's trying to act like a modern teen, but the courtesy and charm of the Edwardian gentleman keeps peeping out. For me, Edward carried the book. And if you haven't read the excerpts from Midnight Sun, do.

Bella is not as interesting. She is really just another reworking of Cinderella, updated for the 21st century. The circumstances of her inferiority are due not to her social status or lack of money, but to her shyness and lack of physical coordination - again, rather a stretch of the readers' credulity, but tolerable. Edward is her Prince Charming of course.

Many people are comparing this story to "Romeo and Juliet" but it is much closer to the Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty archetypal fairy tales. However, this time Prince Charming is more than just a pretty face.  :)

 

The movie was imo, rather poorly done. Too much of Meyers best dialogue was altered. Stewart portrayed Bella as being much more morose than she is in the book, which was the director's fault, imo, for she's usually better. And they added some scenes that were not in the book for no reason that I could see. I would have liked instead to see more of Edward's family. They cut the scene with Alice and Jasper in Edward's room, which was hilarious in the book, and would have given the viewers a better feel for his family's strong bonds and talents. Also, casting could have been better in some of the minor characters (Renee, Victoria, Jessica). *shrugs* That said, Pattinson did a superb job with the character of Edward.

[Doselan]

I can agree with all this.  Especially the movie. >.< 

 

I must add on, however [spoiler alert!]

 

that I was not as pleased with the ending.  I'll confess to it... I'm a guy, I love action scenes and battles etc.  And after this huge battle at the end of Eclipse, Meyer begins building up to this monster of a battle at the end of BD, and then all of a sudden... they talk it out?  I mean... come on.  Bella masters her power, is prepared to beat the odds in this all out killer battle and they all hold hands and walk away?  I mean, I'm all for resolving conflicts peacefully, but you can't build up a battle for an entire book and then give me nothing.  I was quite dissapointed in the lack of climax in the end of BD.  Other than that I feel the story wrapped up fine, and I'd have to say Eclipse was probably the best book in the series for the fact that she actually delivered what she built up to. 

 

Having said that, New Moon was my favorite book, because I really really love the wolves. :D  Especially Jacob. :P

[Loreina]

:) Yes, Jacob has some really great lines in New Moon, so I am hoping that the 'playing with the dialogue stuff' is not gonna happen in the movie version. I think that New Moon and Eclipse are the strongest books in the series, the most interesting.

(SPOILER WARNING)

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I found Breaking Dawn to be bland and somewhat predictable, almost inevitably so. I think the author should have written more of it from Edward's point of view. Parts of the honeymoon, the battle, and the end would have been much more suspenseful and interesting, from his POV. The reader, lacking Bella's thoughts, would have been always wondering, 'OMG what have I done!', 'Is she going to lose control?', 'Will they kill me?' etc. But once inside Bella's head, the reader knows her determination, and knows it's not gonna happen. It takes the edge off the action. If she didn't want to use Edward's POV, then Jacob's would have been a good second choice.

 

When they film Breaking Dawn,   I think the punishment of the Denali informant will provide sufficient pain and blood thirsty action for the audience, if done properly.  ;)

 

[Doselan]

Here's hoping.  But I must say.  There's something about a large-scale battle that can never really be substituted... But anywho...

[Loreina]

:) Without a doubt! But in this instance, Meyer had sort of written herself into a corner. Carlisle runs the Cullen coven, and his philosophy is dominant. It's a central theme of the books. That philosophy would only ever allow a defensive response to the Volturi. 

 

I am wondering how they will portray the battle from Eclipse.  Given the attributes of the vampires and shape-shifters, how can we mere mortals keep up with the action?

 

 

[Doselan]

I'm not sure, but I certainly hope it'll be an awesome action scene.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this new director does with New Moon.  From the trailers, it looks to be pretty cool!

[Loreina]

Absolutely!  :)

[Mystica]

the only one from the movie cast that I really liked was Carlisle. I felt the others, especially Edward and Bella, did a poor job of it. Not because they suck as actors, but because they simply don't have that debth yet that is required for those characters. This is not something you can 'act' really, it's there or not and it can come with age, but not to everyone.

 

The movie Edwards constantly came across to me as 'teenage boy forcing himself to come across all mysterious and alluring'. Cute, but not much else than cute. Definately not a century+ year old vampire. Bella was this woe-be-me-wannabe-gothic-but-not-quite type thing that just didn't work. Now what it is with authors of vampire stories and their constant love for using a x-century old vampire and a 16 year old girl (it's àlways a 16 year old girl), is beyond me, but the two of them both in the movies felt way too forced for me to enjoy either of them.

 

Now Carlisle, that actor knew how to put down a veggie vampire while still eminating that otherworldy/mythical/etherical feel just by standing there. The rest.... not.

 

 

[Doselan]

Hmmm.  I've definitely not heard that opinion before.  Interesting. 

 

I find it odd that a female exists who doesn't want to bed Robert Pattinson (actor for Edward). :P ;D

[Loreina]

Now Carlisle, that actor knew how to put down a veggie vampire while still eminating that otherworldy/mythical/etherical feel just by standing there. The rest.... not.

 

I agree that Peter was very good!  And very attractive. But then, I'm older, so it makes sense that I'd find the 300-yr.old vampire more attractive.  ;) ;D

 

Now what it is with authors of vampire stories and their constant love for using a x-century old vampire and a 16 year old girl (it's àlways a 16 year old girl), is beyond me, but the two of them both in the movies felt way too forced for me to enjoy either of them.

 

And having seen them both in other things, I blame this on the screenplay and the director, mostly because young actors need a lot of direction. And the script was just lacking in many ways.

 

 

[Mystica]

Hmmm.  I've definitely not heard that opinion before.  Interesting. 

 

I find it odd that a female exists who doesn't want to bed Robert Pattinson (actor for Edward). :P ;D

 

lol it takes more to ruffle these feathers than a pretty face ;) Don't get me wrong, the pretty face is cute. But cute alone just doesn't cut it.

[Loreina]

Hmmm.  I've definitely not heard that opinion before.  Interesting. 

 

I find it odd that a female exists who doesn't want to bed Robert Pattinson (actor for Edward). :P ;D

 

:D  Well, Rob is a wee bit young for me *lol*. But I do want to see how he grows as an actor and a musician. I think he has a lot of potential. And Kristen Stewart has what I call the chameleon quality, by which I mean she can change her physical appearance so much that she's almost unrecognizable as the same person. If she can master it, she'll be able to play any kind of role.

[Doselan]

Well, that is if she can learn to act. :P  lmao

[Mystica]

Well, that is if she can learn to act. :P  lmao

 

QFT!! LOL

[wavemistresstrammell]

I didn't think the series was as good as everyone made it out to be. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a cute series, but it's as someone described it somewhere online, it's a series more aimed at 12 year old girls (or at least I thought so). There's always the big debate about which is better, Harry Potter or Twilight. Harry Potter all the way, I fell in love with the series when I was 11 and I'm 20 now... can't compete with that Meyers, sorry.

 

I thought the whole series was very telegraphed. You knew how everything was going to work out. New Moon annoyed me (that's the second book right? sorry if I'm wrong), the whole book is pretty much nothing but her being depressed because Edward leaves... it got annoying.

 

See what I mean? Aimed at 12 year old girls : p

[Avalanchemike]

ughughughughughugh. Twilight.

 

For me, I hate the series. I've read every one of the books and quite honestly they're pretty ridiculous. The characters are flat, the overall story is pretty boring, blahblahblahtwilighthate. Of course, I have to realize the books aren't exactly aimed at me. :P

 

For their target audience, I'd say the books are decent. Not great, but not bad either. They got my younger sisters reading, a feat in itself. I could probably count the books they'd read before that. Now they're at least open to reading, and if it does that to any of the other girls* out there then I've no reason to complain.

 

I think most of my dislike comes from the fans of the series, more than the books themselves. I understand that for most of these teenage girls, this is the first book series they've read by choice and it's something aimed at them and they understand it. It goes right after what many of them want. But some of the stories I've heard are just ridiculous, such as the girl tossing acid in the boy in a science class who disliked the series, or girls waiting five hours to catch as glimpse of that actor guy.

 

*Not to generalize the readers, as obviously there are some who aren't girls, and some who are reasonable, at least. For example, the people in this thread!

[Ashaman Kovan]

Screaming, incoherent fan girls can always ruin a good thing lol. I went with my sister to Barnes and Nobles when BD first came out. You know, the midnight release party or whatever. It. Was. Horrible. Lol. All the 12-17 year old girls running around in their "Bella Prom Dresses" and whatnot....They even had a contest with two manequins where all these little girls had to dress the "Edward" and the "Bella" in their prom clothing. They used rolls of toilet paper for said clothing...It was a pretty gruesome experience. And I definitely agree with Doselan on the count of the whole build up to a big fight with the Volturi and then....Bam. Words prevail.

 

Overall, it was allright stuff. But i'm also a much bigger Harry Potter fan. Even though I feel like that was aimed at an even younger demographic to begin with. Then again I read The Sorcerers Stone in 1998 when I was...12 and I've read every book in the series at least 3 times up till now. Being 23 they still are more engaging than twilight. Which i've only read once. The series I mean.

[Loreina]

:) Apples and oranges folks. Why would you even want to compare them?  HP is essentially an adventure series with a mystery, or perhaps a series of mysteries. Who is Voldemort? Why did Harry survive? Will he defeat Voldemort? etc. Every book is full of new questions, even as the old ones are answered. You get to watch the main characters grow over several years, always meeting those exciting challenges, sometimes with success and sometimes without. It has very broad appeal.

Twilight is just a love story. It has some other stuff going on, sure, but in the end, all the reader really cares about is will the girl get the guy she really loves and live happily ever after?  Some people (especially critics and literary types) sneer at that type of story. But within our human culture we have a need for that kind of story, or it wouldn't have been such a huge success with its target audience.  This reminds me of the story of Paul McCartney and his "Silly Love Songs". John Lennon spoke disparagingly about writing love songs, saying he'd written enough silly love songs, the world didn't need any more of them. Paul disagreed, sat down, and wrote the song "Silly Love Songs" for his new band, Wings. It was a hit, making a liar out of John. Obviously, we can never have too many love songs. The Twilight reaction proves you can never have too many love stories where people do what's right instead of what's most expedient, and the good guys always win.  ;D 

[Naeann]

Dose... meet another who has no desire to "bed" Robert Pattinson.  I was more attracted to the guy who played Jacob.

 

I found them entertaining.  I read them all.  They have their flaws and the movie was just ok.  The chick who played Bella made me feel her nervousness thru the whole thing and that bugged me. 

[Ashaman Kovan]

Dose... meet another who has no desire to "bed" Robert Pattinson.  I was more attracted to the guy who played Jacob.

 

I found them entertaining.  I read them all.  They have their flaws and the movie was just ok.  The chick who played Bella made me feel her nervousness thru the whole thing and that bugged me. 

 

Is your little picture thingy there a picture of the chick who played Kaylie on Firefly and Serenity?  :-\

[Loreina]

Dose... meet another who has no desire to "bed" Robert Pattinson.  I was more attracted to the guy who played Jacob.

:) My niece is crazy about Taylor Lautner. She's at the 'cutting pictures out of the magazines' stage.  ::)  I look at her and remember that I did the same thing for my crush on John Davidson when I was 13. *fotfl* But he had such a beautiful voice. And dimples.  ;D