Twilight Saga

As many of you know, I have been reading the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. Who can refuse teen vampire fiction. It's like 80's brat pack movies--so ridiculous and yet so seductive. I actually didn't like much about Meyer's first book Twilight except the all too enticing plot. There is never much reason to love or even like the characters, all of whom are underdeveloped. Nor is there much in the way of wordsmithing. Meyer is repetitive and droning when she isn't in the thick of an action sequence. Don't get me wrong. The first three books are worth the read. She is nothing if not a master of plot. But her books were written for the screen not for book snobs like me.

The second and third books, New Moon and Eclipse, are a much better effort on all fronts. Still Meyer is nauseatingly repetitive with regard to the smell of Edward's breath and the marble coldness of his skin. And of course I can hardly bear the constant self-flaggelation that makes liking her main character, Bella, nearly impossible. If you can avoid frustration over these points, books two and three are a great deal more fun.

My profound disappointment was that Stephanie Meyer did not become a better writer as she grew her series. She fails to be concise where she ought to be and to delve into the emotional content of her characters. Book four, the final episode in the series, is a total flop with a cheap ending. I honestly recommend not reading it and just being satisfied with the first three. A comparison between Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowling is proposterous. Though in a sense Twilight did "fill my Harry Potter void" for a brief time, Meyer certainly can not be placed on par with the black belt of writing that J.K. Rowling has become. Rowling grew as an author with every installment, while Meyer's seem to flounder and give us more of the same. I wonder if such growth is the result of the tutalage of an experienced editor or simply inherent talent. Regardless, enjoy Twilight, Eclipse and New Moon, but skip Breaking Dawn.