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Book Review of Twilight (Twilight, Bk 1)

Twilight (Twilight, Bk 1)
Etoulania avatar reviewed Doesn't Live Up to it's Hype on + 3 more book reviews


The only people who think these books are amazing are the ones who haven't been exposed to the first generation of this type of novel. (i.e. the teen vampire-romance novel sub-genre) For me, because I've been reading this genre since I was about 10, these books are pretty much old hat. Those of us who were actually reading the genre when it got its start, beginning with authors such as L.J. Smith, will have a hard time getting into these books. I went back and re-read my original copies of Smith's "Vampire Diaries" and they are every bit as good as I remember. Meyer's only redeeming feature is that she put a new spin on the vampire myth with the bit about them being "sparkly". Even the business about the Cullens being "good vampires" is old hat for anyone familiar with Meyer's predecessors. I think the popularity of this series is largely attributed to two things: Meyer very cautiously blending religion / religious beliefs and practices in with vampirism and pure dumb luck of striking the market at the right time, when this sort of thing was EXACTLY what the audience wanted. I've known people who are very opposed to reading vampire novels who loved this series because of the very Christian way she went about writing these. (A vampire who is 100 years old and still a virgin? Saving himself for marriage. PLEASE.) I personally found the religious spin to be lame, but as a creative writer I understand that there's a market for it.