Twilight

[Freaked out]

Twilight.

Who read it? Admit it - some of you have. I'll admit, I got sucked into the vortex and read the first three, and then today, while checking something up on wikipedia (friggin wikipedia) I accidently got the whole story on the last book - damn. Looks like it would've been even more of a disappointment.

Warning - could be spoilers here.

So, if you did read it what did you think?

I found it to be tedious - the characters were flat and boring. I don't know about you, but how many times can I read about Edward's perfect face, perfect smile, perfect eyes - perfect breath - I mean gawd. It was getting to be a bit much don't you think? Oh, let's not forget the heroine - or the miserable excuse for one, whose entire existence is hinged upon her parasitic sycophantic co-dependency with her main love interest. WTF honestly.

Anyway, I did read all three.... hoping for more Jacob Black - the only guy either not perfect or perfectly insecure in the whole bloody book.

So come on, who read it? Whaddya think? Am I being too harsh here?

[lycanox]

heroine - or the miserable excuse for one, whose entire existence is hinged upon her parasitic sycophantic co-dependency with her main love interest. WTF honestly.

Sounds like Heroine al right.

Anyway, what is it about.

[BlindWatcher]

I heard today in the morning radio talk show I listen to this is becoming HUGE with teens and adults as well. This is gonna turn into a multi million dollar franchise. Movies , tee Shirts, etc. I know quite a few people reading these books. My wife is one of them.

[BlindWatcher]

Originally Posted by lycanox

Sounds like Heroine al right.

Anyway, what is it about.

Vampires, Vampires and more Vampire!

[Freaked out]

Originally Posted by BlindWatcher

I heard today in the morning radio talk show I listen to this is becoming HUGE with teens and adults as well. This is gonna turn into a multi million dollar franchise. Movies , tee Shirts, etc. I know quite a few people reading these books. My wife is one of them.

Send my condolences to your wife after she reads book 4..... Hey, ask her what she thinks of Bella.

Originally Posted by lycanox

Sounds like Heroine al right.

Anyway, what is it about.

Oh shit, where to begin? (WARNING SPOILERS)

Bella, is a 17 year old girl who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. At school she meets Edward Cullen of the Cullen family who she discovers is a vampire. To say she falls head over heels for him is an understatement. The obsessive quality of how her entire ego hinges upon this guy is unsettling. Bella, as a character, is supposed to be a misfit of sorts, a bit quiet, a bit clumsy and humble (she doesn't know her beauty). Instead, she comes off as a self-effacing static character who can't seem to act independently of her love interest, suffers from a low self-esteem (that is never resolved, but I guess it doesn't have to be Edward - or Mr. Perfect, loves her back). She never evolves, never learns anything about herself, and never gets out of the mud of her own self-absorbed obsession for Edward. But the characters are all made out of card-board here. There's no depth to them. For example, for anyone that has read it, who got irritated by the ubiquitous "eye rolling" thing? That's what they all do, they roll their eyes. The dialogue, ugh, don't even go there.

Anyway, another potential love interest emerges, a werewolf, named Jacob Black - whose family (pack) hate and kill vampires. So, you can see, the story had potential. I only stuck with the story hoping she'd dump the cold-fish vampire and get it on with the hot-blooded werewolf. Doesn't happen.

Now there's a movie. I'll rent it. I'm not paying $113.42 (kidding but it feels like that sometimes) to go watch it on the big screen.

Lycanox - you should read the book (lol) here I am trashing it. But give a read - you'll see what I mean.

I mean Stephanie Meyer - the author, is apparently (very very) religious - and a Mormon, the book is for teens (so no sex - damn it) but it certainly revolves around that sort of emerging adolencent sexual tension - but why does she make her main character such a louse? I mean what a loser role-model. Your entire self-worth wrapped up in the eyes of a guy. I thought maybe she was being clever about it and the story would change, but after I accidently read the spoiler, I realized it was exactly as sappy as I thought it was.

[Mystery]

I am reading it. I am almost done with book two, New Moon. I AM ADDICTED!!! They are excellent even for adults. The movie is out in a week I think, though I doubt it will be nearly as good as the book. I want to just disappear into the book I swear.

[lycanox]

So basically they have the standard werewolves versus vampires again. And the traditional forbidden love relation with one.

This should get interesting if it cached on.
And we just cleaned up the mess resulted from Underworld.

[Freaked out]

Originally Posted by Mystery

I am reading it. I am almost done with book two, New Moon. I AM ADDICTED!!! They are excellent even for adults. The movie is out in a week I think, though I doubt it will be nearly as good as the book. I want to just disappear into the book I swear.

Okay - I forgive you. I admit (secretly) that yeah, I looked forward to pajamas and Twilight for the last three weeks. I'm a bit bummed (post novel depression) that it's over but c'mon - don't you think Edward this and Edward that was a bit much. Jacob was a much hotter candidate! And the no sex thing was a drag. I admit, I like my books to have a bit of that in it. Anne Rice never disappointed (before she found religion that is).

Originally Posted by lycanox

So basically they have the standard werewolves versus vampires again. And the traditional forbidden love relation with one.

This should get interesting if it cached on.
And we just cleaned up the mess resulted from Underworld.

Yeah, I know, it's almost getting cliche isn't it. She does sort of borrow quite a bit. But still the story had reams of potential - but Meyer killed it!

I want just a book about hot-blooded werewolves - not cold stuffy vampires.

[lycanox]

Yeah, I know, it's almost getting cliche isn't it. She does sort of borrow quite a bit. But still the story had reams of potential - but Meyer killed it!

The sites of the people that read too much into this stuff aren't.

I want just a book about hot-blooded werewolves - not cold stuffy vampires.

Try Bitten from Kelly Armstrong.
Or Wolf's rain. Even do that series is technically the reversal of the theme.

[BlindWatcher]

Love wolves and anything about wolves. My home is full of them. The wolf is my Spirit Guide.

[Mystery]

Originally Posted by Freaked out

Okay - I forgive you. I admit (secretly) that yeah, I looked forward to pajamas and Twilight for the last three weeks. I'm a bit bummed (post novel depression) that it's over but c'mon - don't you think Edward this and Edward that was a bit much. Jacob was a much hotter candidate! And the no sex thing was a drag. I admit, I like my books to have a bit of that in it. Anne Rice never disappointed (before she found religion that is).



Yeah, I know, it's almost getting cliche isn't it. She does sort of borrow quite a bit. But still the story had reams of potential - but Meyer killed it!

I want just a book about hot-blooded werewolves - not cold stuffy vampires.

Keep in mind I am only finishing book 2 but so far, nope Edward does it for me. I have like fallen for him myself, LOL. I am way more into vampires though.

[Freaked out]

Originally Posted by Mystery

Keep in mind I am only finishing book 2 but so far, nope Edward does it for me. I have like fallen for him myself, LOL. I am way more into vampires though.

Alright - you have Edward, I'll take Jacob

Originally Posted by BlindWatcher

Love wolves and anything about wolves. My home is full of them. The wolf is my Spirit Guide.

Interesting, so is mine evidently - but I always thought wolves were facinating beautiful creatures. When I was younger I worked at a zoo and I took care of two timber wolves, so I was fortunate to be able to say I've cared for a couple.

Originally Posted by lycanox

The sites of the people that read too much into this stuff aren't.


Try Bitten from Kelly Armstrong.
Or Wolf's rain. Even do that series is technically the reversal of the theme.

Hmm, I don't follow you - you mean there are websites out there where this is a huge deal - I'm so intrigued - please give me a link - please please. I gotta read some of that.

Thanks for book suggestions, maybe I'll head to Amazon and order me a copy of Bitten. Sounds good - can't wait! (hey, I hope it has at least some sex in it)

[Mystery]

Originally Posted by Freaked out

Alright - you have Edward, I'll take Jacob



Interesting, so is mine evidently - but I always thought wolves were facinating beautiful creatures. When I was younger I worked at a zoo and I took care of two timber wolves, so I was fortunate to be able to say I've cared for a couple.



Hmm, I don't follow you - you mean there are websites out there where this is a huge deal - I'm so intrigued - please give me a link - please please. I gotta read some of that.

Thanks for book suggestions, maybe I'll head to Amazon and order me a copy of Bitten. Sounds good - can't wait! (hey, I hope it has at least some sex in it)

DEAL!!!

[phedrereine]

I read the first three. I loved Twilight and New Moon but thought Eclipse was pointless and rehashed some of the issues in New Moon. I read the spoilers for Breaking Dawn, found out about LockNessie and how Jake - oh, I guess I shouldn't spoil that for some people - but yeah, I found out how horrifying the plot was, and I don't plan on reading it. Apparently Meyer didn't understand why BD was getting some bad reviews because she thought she was giving readers what they wanted. That is never a good idea. You have to be aware of your audience, but you don't sacrifice the story for what readers think they want.

I don't want to see the movie. It doesn't look that good to me, to be honest. I like Kristen Stewart but think she was miscast as Bella. Anyway..

No, these books don't hold a candle to Anne Rice or some of the paranormal romance authors out there. But remember, they're teen friendly and tame, and there's this big vacuum since Harry Potter ended, so that's a big reason why they're so popular.

I liked Jacob at first, too, but thought he turned into a bit of an ass later on..

[Freaked out]

Originally Posted by phedrereine

I read the first three. I loved Twilight and New Moon but thought Eclipse was pointless and rehashed some of the issues in New Moon. I read the spoilers for Breaking Dawn, found out about LockNessie and how Jake - oh, I guess I shouldn't spoil that for some people - but yeah, I found out how horrifying the plot was, and I don't plan on reading it. Apparently Meyer didn't understand why BD was getting some bad reviews because she thought she was giving readers what they wanted. That is never a good idea. You have to be aware of your audience, but you don't sacrifice the story for what readers think they want.

I don't want to see the movie. It doesn't look that good to me, to be honest. I like Kristen Stewart but think she was miscast as Bella. Anyway..

No, these books don't hold a candle to Anne Rice or some of the paranormal romance authors out there. But remember, they're teen friendly and tame, and there's this big vacuum since Harry Potter ended, so that's a big reason why they're so popular.

I liked Jacob at first, too, but thought he turned into a bit of an ass later on..

LOL. I can't tell you how glad I am that you posted on this. You don't miss much, so I'm dying to know, what did you think of Bella in the story - didn't you find her "damsel in distress" routine a bit annoying after awhile - she always had to be saved - did she ever find her self-esteem? Does Meyer even care? I don't know, I was just hoping the character would evolve a bit. But it was difficult to relate to her.

On Rice, she was really great. The Witching Hour series and Vampire series were the best. She did, I admit, get into a formula - that went something like this: Man (handsome and for some reason is immortal) has sex with woman. That pretty much sums it up. I'm not complaining but how many ways can you describe the male .... you know. I mean I think I read flagstaff LOL!

[lycanox]

Originally Posted by Freaked out

Hmm, I don't follow you - you mean there are websites out there where this is a huge deal - I'm so intrigued - please give me a link - please please. I gotta read some of that.

http://www.geocities.com/queenwolf2007/sillyshit.htm
This site offers an interesting collection.
I know of even worse of this stuff. But this is the only link I have at hand.

Note, if they incidentally are correct about some stuff. It is either directly copied from a more reputable site. Or just to point out how wrong we are supposed to be.

Thanks for book suggestions, maybe I'll head to Amazon and order me a copy of Bitten. Sounds good - can't wait! (hey, I hope it has at least some sex in it)

Rest assured, it does.

[Freaked out]

Originally Posted by lycanox

http://www.geocities.com/queenwolf2007/sillyshit.htm
This site offers an interesting collection.
I know of even worse of this stuff. But this is the only link I have at hand.

Note, if they incidentally are correct about some stuff. It is either directly copied from a more reputable site. Or just to point out how wrong we are supposed to be.

Rest assured, it does.

Thanks, I actually just ordered Bitten from Amazon (should get it by the 20th) I'll let you know how it goes. I can't wait, I hope it's good.

I also checked out that site, some the host's comebacks to emails was very entertaining.

[Nu Kua]

My youngest son and about 8 of his classmates are planning to go see this film together when it opens here on the 21st.
Now you all talking about the books so excitedly makes me want to see the film as well.

Originally Posted by Freaked Out

I found it to be tedious - the characters were flat and boring. I don't know about you, but how many times can I read about Edward's perfect face, perfect smile, perfect eyes - perfect breath - I mean gawd. It was getting to be a bit much don't you think? Oh, let's not forget the heroine - or the miserable excuse for one, whose entire existence is hinged upon her parasitic sycophantic co-dependency with her main love interest. WTF honestly.

That is what happened to the Children of the Earth series.
They started out really well and then become just like that. Nobody could be more beautiful rich, handsome, strong, wise, caring, noble, ect, than Ayla and Jondalar, in any and all circumstances you found them in.
Oh and their lovemaking! Always most breathtaking and spectacularly intense, complete with rainbows and fireworks and golden harps.

[lilalove16]

Ive heard so much about this series that I want to go out and get the books.
but if it wouldnt be a bother could someone tell me what Twilight is about.... Just a brief summary

[Freaked out]

Originally Posted by Nu Kua

That is what happened to the Children of the Earth series.
They started out really well and then become just like that. Nobody could be more beautiful rich, handsome, strong, wise, caring, noble, ect, than Ayla and Jondalar, in any and all circumstances you found them in.
Oh and their lovemaking! Always most breathtaking and spectacularly intense, complete with rainbows and fireworks and golden harps.

hhhhhmmmm now I want to get the series LOL !

Originally Posted by lilalove16

Ive heard so much about this series that I want to go out and get the books.
but if it wouldnt be a bother could someone tell me what Twilight is about.... Just a brief summary

You know you really should - just don't fight it. I'm sure there are plenty of used copies out there you can borrow (don't spend any money on them! Ha ha).

I just sucked into reading the 4th one, yes, despite the fact I already spoiled the plot for myself.

Yeah, at least there some's sex in it (finally) but is it ever CORNY! LOL. It's just terrible, why can't I stop reading it....

Hey Lycanox, BITTEN arrived today courtesy Amazon ! Should be good :)

[phedrereine]

Originally Posted by Freaked out

LOL. I can't tell you how glad I am that you posted on this. You don't miss much, so I'm dying to know, what did you think of Bella in the story - didn't you find her "damsel in distress" routine a bit annoying after awhile - she always had to be saved - did she ever find her self-esteem? Does Meyer even care? I don't know, I was just hoping the character would evolve a bit. But it was difficult to relate to her.

Yeah, she was annoying. It didn't hit me how annoying she was until after I'd finished. Then I just sat there thinking.. wow. Why did I read this so avidly? A mystery. lol. It's true that the biggest problem was that she didn't seem to develop as a character, or stand on her own apart from Edward. Now, I haven't read the 4th, so I can't really confirm this, but I can surely say that by the end of the third she didn't seem any different than at the beginning of the first. And I know the plot of the 4th can't have helped. Another thing that bothered me about Bella was how she complained incessantly about being even a few months older than Edward. I got it, she didn't want to be any older than Edward had been when he turned. But honestly. Did we really need that? She could have learned better from this, but she didn't, because by the end of the series she apparently got everything she wanted - at 18. She didn't really learn anything. What are young girls supposed to take away from this? A popular mainstream heroine who hates aging and so doesn't have to do it, because what a horrible fate that would be. Great.

Originally Posted by Freaked out

On Rice, she was really great. The Witching Hour series and Vampire series were the best. She did, I admit, get into a formula - that went something like this: Man (handsome and for some reason is immortal) has sex with woman. That pretty much sums it up. I'm not complaining but how many ways can you describe the male .... you know. I mean I think I read flagstaff LOL!

Rice actually went into the psychology behind the vampire. It was deep. My favorite is The Vampire Lestat. But yeah.. I find that I either need some real depth or steamy hot sex from my vampire novels.. otherwise, no interest.

You should check out Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, too. Really fun, quick reads. There are vampires, Lykae (werewolves), demons, kick ass Valkyrie.. and really, really hot paranormal sex. I mean, really.

[lycanox]

http://www.southparkzone.com/episode...roundable.html

How true.
I know exactly how the gothkids feel.

[medicvet]

I never got into the Anne Rice novels that deep, but I did read the first one, and saw the movie "interview with the vampire"...and then read another one where one of the dudes decided he wanted to be a rock star..but never really got into them.

If you want a good individual stand alone awesome vampire book,tryreading "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. I think that is the finest body of work since Bram Stoker brought the vampire to life...or ...unlife, as the case may be here..here are some reviews of the book:

Amazon.com Review
If your pulse flutters at the thought of castle ruins and descents into crypts by moonlight, you will savor every creepy page of Elizabeth Kostova's long but beautifully structured thriller The Historian. The story opens in Amsterdam in 1972, when a teenage girl discovers a medieval book and a cache of yellowed letters in her diplomat father's library. The pages of the book are empty except for a woodcut of a dragon. The letters are addressed to: "My dear and unfortunate successor." When the girl confronts her father, he reluctantly confesses an unsettling story: his involvement, twenty years earlier, in a search for his graduate school mentor, who disappeared from his office only moments after confiding to Paul his certainty that Dracula--Vlad the Impaler, an inventively cruel ruler of Wallachia in the mid-15th century--was still alive. The story turns out to concern our narrator directly because Paul's collaborator in the search was a fellow student named Helen Rossi (the unacknowledged daughter of his mentor) and our narrator's long-dead mother, about whom she knows almost nothing. And then her father, leaving just a note, disappears also.
As well as numerous settings, both in and out of the East Bloc, Kostova has three basic story lines to keep straight--one from 1930, when Professor Bartolomew Rossi begins his dangerous research into Dracula, one from 1950, when Professor Rossi's student Paul takes up the scent, and the main narrative from 1972. The criss-crossing story lines mirror the political advances, retreats, triumphs, and losses that shaped Dracula's beleaguered homeland--sometimes with the Byzantines on top, sometimes the Ottomans, sometimes the rag-tag local tribes, or the Orthodox church, and sometimes a fresh conqueror like the Soviet Union.

Although the book is appropriately suspenseful and a delight to read--even the minor characters are distinctive and vividly seen--its most powerful moments are those that describe real horrors. Our narrator recalls that after reading descriptions of Vlad burning young boys or impaling "a large family," she tried to forget the words: "For all his attention to my historical education, my father had neglected to tell me this: history's terrible moments were real. I understand now, decades later, that he could never have told me. Only history itself can convince you of such a truth." The reader, although given a satisfying ending, gets a strong enough dose of European history to temper the usual comforts of the closing words. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Considering the recent rush of door-stopping historical novels, first-timer Kostova is getting a big launch—fortunately, a lot here lives up to the hype. In 1972, a 16-year-old American living in Amsterdam finds a mysterious book in her diplomat father's library. The book is ancient, blank except for a sinister woodcut of a dragon and the word "Drakulya," but it's the letters tucked inside, dated 1930 and addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," that really pique her curiosity. Her widowed father, Paul, reluctantly provides pieces of a chilling story; it seems this ominous little book has a way of forcing itself on its owners, with terrifying results. Paul's former adviser at Oxford, Professor Rossi, became obsessed with researching Dracula and was convinced that he remained alive. When Rossi disappeared, Paul continued his quest with the help of another scholar, Helen, who had her own reasons for seeking the truth. As Paul relates these stories to his daughter, she secretly begins her own research. Kostova builds suspense by revealing the threads of her story as the narrator discovers them: what she's told, what she reads in old letters and, of course, what she discovers directly when the legendary threat of Dracula looms. Along with all the fascinating historical information, there's also a mounting casualty count, and the big showdown amps up the drama by pulling at the heartstrings at the same time it revels in the gruesome. Exotic locales, tantalizing history, a family legacy and a love of the bloodthirsty: it's hard to imagine that readers won't be bitten, too.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

http://www.amazon.com/Historian-Eliz.../dp/0316011770

[Freaked out]

Originally Posted by phedrereine

Yeah, she was annoying. It didn't hit me how annoying she was until after I'd finished. Then I just sat there thinking.. wow. Why did I read this so avidly?

LOL - Hey that's what I'm asking myself (as I'm busy eating up the 4th novel).

What are young girls supposed to take away from this? A popular mainstream heroine who hates aging and so doesn't have to do it, because what a horrible fate that would be. Great.

Oh I know. The 4th book is worth the read, I'm not giving away any spoilers here, but much of it is written (so far - I'm about 1/2 done) in the POV of Jacob, so that does make more interesting. (You really should read the 4th and let me know what you think, I just know you'll be swearing a blue streak LOL.)

You should check out Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, too. Really fun, quick reads. There are vampires, Lykae (werewolves), demons, kick ass Valkyrie.. and really, really hot paranormal sex. I mean, really.

That sounds good, I'm going to check it out ! Thanks

EDIT: Thanks Medivet, that books sounds good too (I think the Rice book you're talking about is either called Lestat or Queen of the Damned - not sure)

[lycanox]

Hey Lycanox, BITTEN arrived today courtesy Amazon ! Should be good :)

So what do you think of it sofar?