After hearing a lot of media hype about the Twilight movie coming out this weekend, last week I decided to read the books. I’ve always liked sci-fi and fantasy books for the exact reason my mom hates them. They’re entirely separate from this world. They’re an escape. I spend most of every day at law school or doing homework for law school. I’m so burned out at the end of the day, that all I want is something to distract my mind. As I mentioned a while ago, I tried to pick up a Pynchon novel, but I can’t get myself into it. Chaste, teenage, vampire romance, however, is a page-turner.
I’ve read the first 3 books in the series and I just started the 4th one (I was going to wait until my finals were over, or at least until my memo had been turned in, but my resolve wore thin).
I would compare the series to the DaVinci Code, in the sense that they’re not great literature, but the story is good, and they’re page turners. I can burn through these books quickly, and they hold my attention, but I don’t think I’ll re-read them several times.
The Harry Potter books are completely different. J.K. Rowling is a truly gifted writer beyond the children or fantasy genres. Her character development and intricate plot-weaving constantly amazed me when I read Harry Potter. Twilight just isn’t as strong. I frequently find the characters making contradictory or shallow choices. Holes in the plot are often conveniently solved with “vampire magic” and I find the romance between the two main characters increasing implausible. The author (Stephanie Meyers) built up good chemistry in the first book, but the relationship between Bella and Edward hasn’t advanced much.
The books feel like they were written for teenagers and they get a little schmaltzy romance novel at times. Overall, if you’re looking for something fun and quick to read over the holidays, dive right in, but don’t expect a lot of depth in this pool.
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